Summa Theologica
A systematic work of Christian theology by Thomas Aquinas, organized into questions and articles that present objections, arguments, and replies.
Scholasticism: A medieval method of learning that uses reasoned debate and authoritative texts to examine disputed questions. Aquinas uses scholastic disputation to organize each article around objections and replies.
Scholastic disputation: A formal procedure for examining a question through objections, a contrary authority, a reasoned response, and replies. Each article adapts this procedure to resolve a focused theological question.
Prima Pars: The first part of Aquinas’s Summa, treating God, creation, angels, and human nature. It establishes the account of God and creation on which later moral theology depends.
Thomas Aquinas: A medieval Dominican theologian and philosopher whose works became central to Catholic theology. He composed the Summa as a systematic presentation of Christian doctrine.
Summa contra Gentiles: A theological work by Thomas Aquinas that presents Christian teaching in relation to non-Christian beliefs and philosophical arguments. It shares Aquinas’s systematic method but has a different purpose and audience.
Aristotelianism: The philosophical tradition based on Aristotle’s writings and their later interpretation. Aquinas adapts Aristotelian concepts to explain Christian doctrines throughout the work.
Objection: An argument presented against a proposed answer to a disputed question. Aquinas states opposing arguments before giving his own response.
Prima Secundae: The first division of the Summa’s second part, treating human action, happiness, passions, and law. It lays out the general framework for Aquinas’s account of moral life.
Albertus Magnus: A German Dominican theologian and philosopher who taught Thomas Aquinas and advanced the study of Aristotle. As Aquinas’s teacher, he helped form the intellectual setting in which the Summa was written.
Sentences of Peter Lombard: A twelfth-century collection of theological authorities and questions that became a standard textbook in medieval universities. Aquinas’s Summa offers a new synthesis rather than following the established commentary format.