E-Book Overview
The <em>Summa Contra Gentiles, one of Aquinas's best known works after the <em>Summa Theologiae, is a philosophical and theological synthesis that examines what can be known of God both by reason and by divine revelation. A detailed expository account of and commentary on this famous work, Davies's book aims to help readers think about the value of the <em>Summa Contra Gentiles (SCG) for themselves, relating the contents and teachings found in the SCG to those of other works and other thinkers both theological and philosophical. Following a scholarly account of Aquinas's life and his likely intentions in writing the SCG, the volume works systematically through all four books of the text.
E-Book Content
Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Contra Gentiles
Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Contra Gentiles A Guide and Commentary
z Brian Davies
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1 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America © Oxford University Press 2016 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Davies, Brian, 1952– Title: Thomas Aquinas’s Summa contra gentiles: a guide and commentary / Brian Davies. Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2015044427| ISBN 978-0-19-045654-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 978-0-19-045653-5 (cloth : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Thomas, Aquinas, Saint, 1225?–1274. Summa contra gentiles. | Thomas, Aquinas, Saint, 1225?–1274. | Apologetics—Early works to 1800. Classification: LCC BX1749.T45 D38 2016 | DDC 239—dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015044427
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed by Sheridan, USA
For Christopher Arroyo and Paul Kucharski—once again.
Contents
Prefacexvii
1. The Summa Contra Gentiles and Its Context
3
1.1 Aquinas’s Life 3 1.2 Aquinas’s Writings 5 1.3 When and Why Did Aquinas Write the Summa Contra Gentiles? 8 1.4 Aquinas Explains Himself 10 2. Approaching the Question of God’s Existence (SCG 1,10–12)
17
2.1 Kinds of Natural Theology (SCG 1,10–11) 17 2.2 Faith versus Demonstration (SCG 1,12) 22 2.3 Comments on the Above 25
2.3.1 Should Natural Theology Not Be Avoided Altogether? 26
2.3.2 “God Exists” as Self-Evident 32
3. Arguing for God’s Existence (SCG 1,13) 3.1 Argument One 36
3.1.1 “Everything That Is Moved Is Moved by Another” 38
3.1.2 “There Is No Procession to Infinity among Movers and Things Moved” 40
3.2 Argument Two 42 3.3 Three More Arguments 44
3.3.1 The First Argument 44
3.3.2 The Second Argument 45
3.3.3 The Third Argument 45
3.4 What Has Aquinas Achieved in the Natural Theology Offered in SCG 1,13? 45
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Contents
3.4.1 Some Initial Problems 45