The Modern Scholar: The Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas

by Peter Kreeft

"An enthusiastic admirer of the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas, professor and philosopher Peter Kreeft details the rational thought and precise literary talent that established Aquinas as the foremost thinker of his time—and as the most important philosopher for the almost two thousand years between Aristotle and Descartes. A landmark of philosophical achievement, Aquinas’s Summa Theologica has given theologians and philosophers much to discuss since the thirteenth century. Peter Kreeft explains why." (The Modern Scholar)

Genres: Philosophy, Theology, Religion, Christian, Nonfiction, Biography, Audiobook

Audible Audio

First published September 24, 2009

About the author

Peter Kreeft is an American philosopher and prolific author of over eighty books on Christian theology, philosophy, and apologetics. A convert from Protestantism to Catholicism, his journey was shaped by his study of Church history, Gothic architecture, and Thomistic thought. He earned his BA from Calvin College, an MA and PhD from Fordham University, and pursued further studies at Yale. Since 1965, he has taught philosophy at Boston College and also at The King’s College. Kreeft is known for formulating “Twenty Arguments for the Existence of God” with Ronald K. Tacelli, featured in their Handbook of Christian Apologetics. A strong advocate for unity among Christians, he emphasizes shared belief in Christ over denominational differences.

Reviews

[sch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jul 2020. Rereading. Finished, excellent. Also surprisingly helpful for teaching THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE.

Jul 2017. Rereading before teaching a class on dialectic in August 2017. Very good.

Jun 2015. Clear. Many direct quotations, thorough explications, and helpful analogies, illustrations, and allusions to other intellectuals. I've learned some elements of Thomistic philosophy. Kreeft's professorial persona sometimes grates. The biographical sketch in the first lecture and the judgments on contemporary culture throughout the series are not always sufficiently critical. Very good.

[booklady · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always wanted to take a course on Thomas Aquinas. Now I can finally cross that off my bucket list ... if I had one. As it is, I don't think I'll really count this course to my credit though until I do it all the way through at least once more. There were a number of chapters I listened to twice, or started over (even more than once!) but I cannot say I began to absorb the depth of this course, probably because each new chapter felt like I was beginning a brand new subject, although if I was more familiar with TA's Summa it would certainly help. Why do I find reading it like reading my daughter's engineering textbooks? (sigh) Must keep trying...

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I'm on lecture 10. I've re-listened to several of the lectures: the ones on metaphysics and epistemology--I have to keep reminding myself what those words mean! LOL! Probably could listen to this several dozen times and still not 'get' it all. But a surprising amount IS making sense! And I am really, really enjoying it!

[Philip · Rating 1 out of 5]

"If the computer you are using was programmed by chance instead of intelligently designed you wouldn't trust it would you? Then why would you trust your brain's argument for atheism." If that sounds like a conclusive proof that God must exist, then this is the lecture series for you. "Certainly you think man is more important than vegetables. If not, then don't invite me over for dinner." If that demonstrates to you why mankind is a more important creature than all other living beings, then this is for you. If you want to hear how holy and perfect Aquinas was as a Christian and saint, then this is for you. If you want to learn about Aquinas as a great medieval philosopher and theologian, then you should probably look elsewhere. In here you will only find out how Aquinas was right in everything he said about God and how most later philosophers have been dreadfully wrong.

[C. A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely clear and thorough.
If you find it hard, don't worry. No one is expected to fully understand a philosopher in a single read/listen.
Will definitely be re-listening to this.

[Jared Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m unable to put all my eggs this basket, but my henhouse has just been remodeled. Highly recommend for any Christian engaged in philosophy.
Kreeft makes the case that Aquinas has done quite thoroughly in philosophy what books like “Biblical Critical Theory” by Christopher Watkin seek to do in identifying Christianity as the most fruitful, compelling, and ultimately reasonable faith. In short, theology is the life and light of philosophy.

[Justinian the Great · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. I recommend it.

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The audiobook lecture series was a terrific introduction to the world and philosophy of theological giant, Thomas Aquinas.

Thomas is renowned for having reconciled the intellectual reasoning of the ancient philosophers, such as Aristotle and Plato, with the doctrine of Jesus Christ. He was so prolific at expounding on theological principles that the church ended up assigning several scribes to him so that he could philosophize verbally and allow them to record it for him––thus speeding up the process. In all, he made some one-hundred thousand pages of philosophical thought.

Four stars for such a great introduction!

[Michael Lapointe · Rating 5 out of 5]

From audio. Excellent. I wanted an introduction in concrete thoughts of Thomas Aquinas, and this gave the ideas along with common examples to illustrate the ideas. I found them accessible and clear. It was excellent to walk through these thoughts. His thinking is quite remarkable, and it seems quite important for those interested in exercising and developing their thinking to especially work with the kind of quality of thoughts here. Thomas is especially a middle road synthesizer, a balanced and healthy path for developing our thinking. Really loved it.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accessible introduction to Thomas Aquinas' philosophy.

[Mike O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essentially just a series of college lectures, this was part of my "Lenten" reading anda desire to get a grounded introduction to this important thinker, but Kreeft's engaging presentation is definitely centered around Aquinas' philosophy more so than theology, though it doesn't ignore the latter.

[Diem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tremendously challenging but worth the trouble. Even if my mutterings upon having to hit rewind so many times didn't reflect a sense of enjoyment.

[Rick Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could listen to Peter Kreeft talk philosophy all day. After giving this time to digest, I'll definitely have to go back and listen to specific lectures again.

[Richard Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think that I would have liked Thomas Aquinas personally. It would have been great fun to stay up all night talking with him. His ideas were infused with a simplicity and goodness that is attractive even to an unbeliever. But the problem for me is that it is all based on religious premises that are just not live propositions for me. Yes it is interesting to think about what it would mean if pigs could fly. What would their wingspan have to be? Could they soar like eagles? How would their diet change after they became airborne? It could be a lot of fun and might even shed some light on real world questions, but spending a lot of time on this would never feel productive. I'm not saying that religion or faith or spiritual matters are a waste of time. To the contrary, I think that they are an important part of a complete life, but I think that they are inherently outside of the range of rational analysis and that applying rational analysis in areas like this is more likely to yield absurdities than meaningful answers. Thomas was a good man, but he spent a lot of time barking up the wrong tree.

[Pseudo · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as pedagogy is concerned, Kreeft does a great job explaining Aquinus, using good analogies to sum up his analogical reasonings. He trully does his idol justice. Too bad the book is a bit antagonistic : it seems Kreeft intends not merely to explain a certain philosophy but to convince the reader of its superiority (especially compared to modern philosophers). While not particularly fond of the philosophers he criticizes, I did feel the contradictors were too conveniently picked. Seldom does he really confront Aquinus to Spinoza, or other major classical philosophies, rather disproving already pretty marginalized schools of thought like nihilism, existentialism, deconstructionism, etc.
In imitating the form (disputatio) of his model, he falls prey to the same mistake : it's easy to appear sensible and rationnally triumphant when you artificially choose your opponent's arguments. It doesn't actually replace a real dialogue and it doesn't mean you trully won the debate.
Aside from that -and maybe partially because of that, as it is both annoying and amusing to try and notice the subtle rhetorics with which he tries to entice the reader- this is a great book, definitely food for thought.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazon review:

An enthusiastic admirer of the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas, professor and philosopher Peter Kreeft details the rational thought and precise literary talent that established Aquinas as the foremost thinker of his time - and as the most important philosopher for the almost 200 years between Aristotle and Descartes.
A landmark of philosophical achievement, Aquinas's Summa Theologica has given theologians and philosophers much to discuss since the 13th century.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a superb primer to Thomas Aquinas. I'm not at all hesitant to admit that I to re-listen a number of times for the bigger picture of the lectures to become cemented in my mind. Even if you have no prior knowledge of him, but you still want to learn about them, this is an excellent starting point.

[Coyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the information presented in these lectures is useful and interesting, it's not terribly well presented. While Kreeft clearly has a solid grasp on Aquinas, he's not a great lecturer. The course guide to this series was far more useful than the audio portion.

[Edward C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well done. This is a great introduction to Aquinas' thought: basic enough for the uninitiated but thorough enough that those at least somewhat familiar with Thomism can come away with something.

[Jay Medenwaldt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book. It was interesting, well presented, and easy to understand (considering the depth of Aquinas' philosophy). I think this is one of my top 3 favorite books. It has instantly made me a huge fan of Aquinas and Peter Kreeft (author).

[Leo Dion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great companion to Kreeft's Summa of the Summa. Offers great insight to Aquinas and how he fits in the modern world.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Performed with Kreeft's usual wit and clarity.

[Brian Cajes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing intro one of history's greatest philosophers.

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

This had as much information being fired at the listener as the course on the History of China did. But I enjoyed this a lot more.

[Vlad Stepanov · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping to read something firsthand by Thomas Aquinas. This, however, was a lecture, and the speaker was very monotone. It was a hard listen.

[Chandler Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Misunderstands Protestants at times and seems to have a hobby-horse to prove that evolution/natural selection is consistent with Thomas, but overall an excellent introduction.

[Philip Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yea interesting. I'm not a Thomist, but I enjoyed this and learned a lot.

[Alexander Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful

[Carl Palmateer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, accessible without being too watered down. Prof Kreeft's voice is just a bit too easy going.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first foray into Thomas Aquinas. The author, Peter Kreeft, is a catholic devotee of Thomism, and this permeates the whole book, for better or worse. I found the lectures to get progressively more annoying as Kreeft dismissively put a match to all opposing straw views and delighted in Aquinas's simple common sense approach. Aquinas clearly suffered from a Middle Ages obsession with forms, essences, spirits, beings, natures, mind, soul, hierarchies, and a whole list of theoretical assumptions that must have seemed so common sensical to him, but have been seriously questioned by later thinkers (not to mention earlier thinkers) as to their relevance to epistemology and metaphysics. I'd like to see Thomas go head to head with a good reductionist. IMO, Thomas simply deduced his way to the nice conclusions that he wanted in the first place, which isn't so bad because he seemed like a pretty nice guy.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite Modern Scholar lectures. It was wonderful to listen to Philosophy lectures from a believer (I had an experience in college Phil class where the teacher tried to convince the students to be agnostic).

Prof. Kreeft kept favorably comparing Thomas Aquinas' Philosophy to common sense. I got the impression the philosophy was ingrained in Prof. Kreeft upbringing.

Other recommended (Modern Scholar as well as Great Courses) include:
Effective Communication Skills by Dalton Kehoe
The Art of Conflict Management: Achieving Solutions for Life Work by Michael Dues
The Great Debate: Advocates and Opponents of the American Constitution by Thomas L. Pangle
Faith and Reason: The Philosophy of Religion by Peter Kreeft
Questions of Value by Patrick Grim