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Thomas Aquinas

Born in 1225 AD, St. Thomas Aquinas is generally considered to be one of the greatest medieval philosophers. Together with St. Augustine (comparable in genius yet completely distinct in style and method), the two men most adequately sum up the achievements of the Middle Ages. Aquinas was a man of both religious and academic background, being as he was a Catholic priest of the Dominican order as well as a university teacher. He is one of the greatest theologians of Roman Catholicism and is one of only 33 Doctors of the Church.

He was profoundly prolific as a writer and, at a conservative estimate, wrote about eight million words of substantial depth and meaning that are still of relevance today. Perhaps his most significant contributions were two massive collections written for students: Summa Contra Gentiles (translated as On the Truth of the Catholic Faith) and Summa Theologiae (Summary of Theology). A testament to the intellectual rigor that went into his writings is the style in which he chose to write them. He employed the technique of Disputation, one of the great methods of teaching of his age. As such, when presenting a particular position, he would do so by first presenting three of the strongest arguments against it, thereby requiring him to dispute them.

Web Resources On Thomas Aquinas

IEP: Thomas Aquinas
Wikipedia: Thomas Aquinas

Book Resources On Thomas Aquinas

Aquinas's Shorter Summa by Saint Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas Theologian by Thomas Franklin O'Meara

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