Abstract
Brian Davies and Eleonore Stump (eds),
The Oxford Handbook of Aquinas
, The Oxford Handbooks in Philosophy, Oxford University Press: New York, 2012; 608 pp.: 9780195326093, £95.00/$150.00 (hbk)
As many will no doubt testify, Thomas Aquinas’s thought is not the easiest to understand. His intense scrutiny of themes theological and philosophical arguably appeals mostly to the most analytical of minds, which leaves the writings of the so-called Angelic Doctor to languish behind more contemporary and reader-friendly tomes. However, Aquinas’s ideas are durable, and, for those who dare to pick up his Summa contra Gentiles or the Summa theologiae, there is ample reward for industry. Moreover, those who study Aquinas with this Oxford Handbook within reach will find their comprehension of this medieval giant significantly increased.
The Oxford Handbook of Aquinas consists of thirty-eight chapters arranged within eight main parts, plus some very useful appendices charting Aquinas’s writings in Latin and English translation. As one would expect, the opening part examines the historical background, including a brief but absorbing biography from Jean-Pierre Torrell, and studies on Aquinas’s relation to Aristotle, Latin-Christian writers, the various shades of Platonism, and Jewish and Islamic authors. Parts 2 and 3 address metaphysics and theology proper, with chapters on, for example, God’s being, the famous ‘Five Ways’, and God’s impassibility and omnipotence. Ethical issues (e.g., human freedom, emotions, law, virtues) are dissected in Part 4; the philosophy of mind and knowledge (e.g., how we know, faith and reason) in Part 5; and Aquinas’s theory of language and philosophical theology (e.g., the Trinity, sacraments, resurrection) in parts 6 and 7, respectively. To conclude, Part 8 offers an outline of developments in Aquinas’s thought and an account of his (on-going) influence.
The editors’ aim is for this handbook to help people connect with Aquinas and provide a near comprehensive guide to his thought. In many respects, the aim is fulfilled. Most chapters in this volume are well written and engaging, Brian Davies’s chapters on happiness, language and prayer especially so. Some chapters, particularly those dealing with the more metaphysical or philosophical aspects of Aquinas’s thought, employ Aquinas’s Latin to clarify his position (e.g., Eleonore Stump’s chapter on God’s simplicity, Ludger Honnefelder’s on God’s goodness), to great effect. However, there are five less positive comments to make. Several of the contributors comment on the lack of space with which they have to play. Should there have been fewer chapters covering greater ground on selected themes? Second, I detected no key for how to reference Aquinas’s Summa theologiae (to explain, e.g., what ST II–II q.140 a.2 ad 2 means), or any of his other works, which may have been useful for newcomers to Aquinas. Third, a glossary of Latin would have been helpful. Fourth, all thirty-two contributors are based either in North America or in Europe, and, of these, only two are female scholars, leaving me to wonder in what ways these phenomena bias the handbook. Finally, the price is surely prohibitive for most.
These reservations aside, I am pleased to commend The Oxford Handbook of Aquinas. It is sure to help students and scholars alike interact even with Aquinas’s most difficult ideas.