INTRODUCTION & SPEAKING SLOWLY

Reading: From How to Think Like Aquinas

• Introduction: Why You Should Think Like Aquinas (and How)
• Speak Slowly and Carry a Big Heart and Mind
• The Power of Pure Prayer

Discussion: (Feel free to answer as many or as few of these questions as you like in the discussion forum.)

• What are your distractors?
• What keeps you from praying so as to perfect your thinking and doing? 
• What is the difference between wisdom and knowledge?
• Why are both important for living a fruitful life both intellectually and in virtuous action?

Activity: Make a list of the things that distract you from study. Then, make a “counter list” of things you can do to avoid those distractions. Attempt to overcome the distractions of your life by staying consistent with your spiritual development routines that should include prayer (LOTS of prayer!), study, and service to those who are near.

Studiositas: The Foundational Virtue of Thomism

Reading: From How to Think Like Aquinas

• From the Cell to the Wine Cellar: On Crafting a Study Space You Can Love
• The Benefits and Perisl of Friendliness to Study
• The Power of Pure Prayer

Discussion: (Feel free to answer as many or as few of these questions as you like in the discussion forum.)

• Complete this sentence with your best understanding: “Thomism is…”
• How plausible is it for you in your current state to participate in contemplative study each day? What sacrifices would you need to make it make it more plausible?
• Describe the difference between studiositas and curiositas.
• How is studiositas like a guide rail to holiness?

Activity: Create a place in your living quarters that is specifically reserved for study. Also, create a realistic schedule in which you allot a certain amount of time to dedicate to contemplative study. Be intentional about the items you place in your space and the amount of time you dedicate to working there.

Aquinas’ The Two Ways to Truth

Reading: From How to Think Like Aquinas

• Set Your Intellect Free by Avoiding Worldly Entanglements
• The Imitation of Christ (And Those Who Imitate Him)

Discussion: (Feel free to answer as many or as few of these questions as you like in the discussion forum.)

• What is meant by the “in-between” mentioned in the video?
• Describe what it meant by “Baptizing the secular” and provide an example from your own life.
• Describe what is meant by abstraction and provide an example from your own observations of nature.
• To which Saints do you most often pray for intercession any why?

Activity: Limit your use of technology to only things that will be productive to your natural and spiritual life. Let nothing distract you from your payer and study time so that you can have the maximum amount of contemplation possible during your day-to-day activities. Be sure to view the “Bonus Module” on how to confront digital addictions so as to thrive spiritually in a technological world.

Detached Life: How to Be Catholic in the Digital Age

I am a huge proponent of digital wellness. As Dr. Vost wrote, our devices are the primary culprits when it comes to distractions to the spiritual life, I’ve spent more time than most analyzing current research on technological addictions, triggers, device use statistics, etc. In fact, I wrote three books on the very topic! But, I also created a free video series on the current realities and dangers of technology. Here it is for you to use in developing your own action plan to using technology appropriately as a tool to advance your soul in sanctity.

The Thomistic Lexicon

Reading: From How to Think Like Aquinas

• Loving the Truth Regardless of its Source (and On The Perfection of Memory)
• How to Read Any Book: On the Power of Understanding

Discussion: (Feel free to answer as many or as few of these questions as you like in the discussion forum.)

1. Which of the Thomistic Lexicon words did you not understand prior to this lesson, but have a better understanding of now?
2. Which words do you still struggle with?
3. Why are the intellect and the will the most important powers of the soul?
4. Take a look at the graph on page 92 of Vost’s book (the triangle titled “The Vegetative, Sensitive, and Intellectual Powers of the Soul” for all you who are using eReaders). Use the words from within the triangle to explain the difference between the following powers of the soul:
   1. vegetative
   2. sensitive
   3. intellectual

Extra Resources: Here, you’ll find links to added resources to help you grasp the proper definitions that Aquinas uses throughout his work.

The first is a free eBook that Matt Fradd and Robert Delfino co-wrote called You Can Understand Aquinas: A Guide to Thomas’ Metaphysical Jargon. It is a very brief read (19 pages!) and does a great job of breaking down some of the terms used in this lesson. Note that in order to get the free eBook, yo’ll have to sign up for Matt’s free newsletter, which is also a good thing because Matt produces some great resources for Thomists of all levels. You Can Understand Aquinas: A Guide to Thomas’ Metaphysical Jargon by Matt Fradd and Robert A. Delfino download it at pintswithaquinas.com

The other resource is a link to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, a peer-reviewed academic resource by the University of Tennessee, Martin. The article is titled Aquinas: Metaphysics and is authored by Professor Gaven Kerr from Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a longer article and very meaty, but it does a good job of describing not only the words covered in this lesson, but many more as well. That can be found at https://www.iep.utm.edu/aq-meta/

The Summa Structure

Reading: From How to Think Like Aquinas

• Filling Your Mental Cupboard to the Brim: On Building a Knowledge Base

• Knowing Your Mental Powers-and Their Limits

• Conclusion to Part 1

Discussion: (Feel free to answer as many or as few of these questions as you like in the discussion forum.)

1. What are the four parts of every article in the Summa Theologica?
2. How would you consider your ability to read the Summa at this point; are you a beginner, intermediate, or advanced level Summa reader?
3. Was Aquinas ever wrong? If yes, does this diminish his credibility in any way?
4. How can the structure of the Summa affect the way your mind approaches spiritual truths and your evangelization efforts?

Activity: The Summa is  best used as a resource document, a search-and-find documents of sorts much like a catechism. It isn’t necessarily something you can (or should) read from beginning to end.

Head over to newadvent.com/summa and click on a few of Aquinas’ articles from the Summa. Accustom your mind to is structure and use this structure to retain some (or all) of the information gleaned from the articles you view in your memory. Feel free to keep notes to help you recall this information and plan on how you can put it into practical application in your life.

Aquinas’ 5 Ways

Reading: From How to Think Like Aquinas

• Prologue to Part 2

• Reason Gone Wrong

• Premises of Sand

• Wrong Thinking about the Faith

Discussion: (Feel free to answer as many or as few of these questions as you like in the discussion forum.)

1. Which of Aquinas’ 5 Ways helps you to personally rationalize God’s existence best?
2. What types of “holes” can you deduce that exist in Aquinas’ 5 Ways? In other words, how might modern critics attempt to “debunk” them either through a rational argument or simple ignorance? (Remember, we must anticipate the opposing view in order to objectively defend the truth)
3. How would you begin a conversation with someone who asks you why you believe God exists? Would you use the 5 Ways in your answer? Yes or no? Explain why.

Extra Reading: Does God Exist?: A Socratic Dialogue on the Five Ways of Thomas Aquinas by Matt Fradd and Robert Delfino does a great job of laying out the Aquinas’ 5 arguments. The context is a conversation between an atheist and a Catholic philosophy student as they meet each day for coffee to talk about Aquinas. Very light-hearted, but it does get very heavy, so be warned.

EXPERT INTERVIEW: DR. KEVIN VOST

Dr. Kevin Vost is arguably one of the leading Thomist thinkers in the United States. His knowledge of Aquinas’ philosophy and theology is renown in his many books on the topic including this courses primary text, How to Think Like Aquinas, as well as others such as the One Minute Aquinas and Hounds of the Lord. 

In this interview we build upon our previous lesson on the 5 Ways of Aquinas for the Existence of God. Dr. Vost fields several arguments that modern philosophers pose to “debunk” Aquinas’s 5 Ways and argues quite successfully that Aquinas’ premises are, in actuality, still correct. 

Aquinas’ Spiritual Path