Phil 43165:  Aquinas on Faith, Hope, and Charity

Freddoso

304 Malloy 631-7327

E-mail: afreddos@gmail.com

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Purpose----Texts----Requirements---- Syllabus----Online Handouts----Paper Assignments-----Grade Scale

Purpose of Course:  A close examination of St. Thomas Aquinas's treatment of the three so-called 'theological virtues', viz., faith, hope, and charity. We will begin with a general overview of St. Thomas's moral theory and his general treatment of grace, the infused virtues, and the theological virtues in Summa Theologiae 1-2. This will include questions on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the necessity and nature of grace, divine adoption, and the New Law of grace. Then we will spend the bulk of the semester on questions from the treatises on faith, hope, and charity in Summa Theologiae 2-2.
Texts: 
  • Summa Theologiae 1, 1-2, and 2-2, qq. 1-23 (my translation). This covers everything in the course except the treatise on charity and one question from Summa Theologiae 3.

  • Summa Theologiae 2-2, qq. 24ff. and 3, q. 23 from the New Advent Website. (This is for whatever I have not translated from the treatise on charity, and one question from Part 3 of the Summa.)

  • In addition, there are several supplementary texts available on the online handout section of the course website.

  • For those interested, the Latin text of the Summa Theologiae is available online at Index Corporis Thomistici, which was created by Prof. Enrique Alarcon of the University of Navarre, Spain.
Requirements:
  • Class Participation (25% of course grade).  This consists of two separate things:  

    (a) You must submit to me by email, before 10:00AM on each class day, a question/comment based on the readings assigned for that day.  I expect the questions/comments to be well thought out and well articulated.  They will serve as the starting point for my class comments on the day in question.  (I pay close attention to the quality of these questions in determining the participation component of the grade.) (15% of course grade)

    (b) Active and intelligent participation in seminar discussions.  In general, student initiative and signs of self-motivation will be rewarded in this course. (10% of course grade)
  • Papers. You are required to write three 6-7 page papers, worth 75% of the course grade.  These will be due on 10/16, 11/2, and 12/9 and should be submitted electronically in .doc or docx format as email attachments.  The topics will be assigned, though you have the option of writing the last paper on a topic of your own choosing, as long as you clear the topic with me first.  

Syllabus:
I. Introduction to St. Thomas's Moral Theory