The purpose of this reading guide is to enable anyone who is going to study (or is studying) in a field other than philosophy, but who desires a complete education (which necessarily includes the study of philosophy), to obtain an introduction to philosophy which is sufficient to understand the primary issues, and their implications for other areas of study. My goal here is for the student to be directed, in the most orderly way, through these readings. I will suggest, in each main section: the best place to start (a), alternative readings which are helpful (b & c). For each suggested reading, I try to give some books that could be helpful complimentary readings.
It
will be quite obvious that I tend to suggest primarily those books which are
influenced either by ancient Greek and medieval thought, or by Thomas Aquinas
directly. This is because I am of the opinion, I confess up front, (1) that
Christianity is true, and, (2) that the philosophical approach which must be
true in order for Christianity to be true, is a form of Moderate Realism.
Moderate Realism finds, I think, its best exposition and defense in the
writings of Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, and those who seek to explain and expose
their philosophical positions. That being said, I try to give, where possible,
readings from other traditions or philosophical schools. I may update this list from time to time. Pour la viersion en langue Français, suivez ce lien.
1. Some great Introduction to philosophy
books :
a. Jacques Maritain, An
Introduction to Philosophy
b. Norman Geisler and Paul D. Feinberg, Introduction
to Philosophy: A Christian Perspective.
c. Complimentary books:
i.
Craig G.
Bartholomew and Michael W. Goheen, Christian Philosophy: A Systematic
and Narrative Introduction
ii.
Steven B.
Cowan and James S. Spiegel, The Love of Wisdom: A Christian
Introduction to Philosophy.
iii. Mark W. Foreman, Prelude to Philosophy: An Introduction for Christians.
2. History of Philosophy
a. Jacques Maritain, An
Introduction to Philosophy
b. Frederick Copleston, A History of
Philosophy (There are many different editions of this series, but
there is a minimum of 8 volumes.)
c. A series of absolutely exceptional books that
everyone needs :
i.
Joseph
Owens, A History of Ancient Western Philosophy;
ii.
Armand
Maurer, Medieval Philosophy (which could be replaced by, or
read along with : Étienne Gilson : La Philosophie au Moyen
Age)
iii.
Étienne
Gilson and Thomas Langan, Modern Philosophy (which could be
replaced by, or read along with : James Collins, A History of
Modern European Philosophy)
iv.
Étienne
Gilson, Thomas Langan and Armand Maurer, Recent Philosophy, 2
volumes.
d. Probably the best series on the History of
Ancient Philosophy is written by Giovanni Reale, A History of Ancient Philosophy, 4 vols.
3. Philosophy of Human Nature (of Mind)
a. Ed Feser, Philosophy of Mind
b. George Klubertanz, The Philosophy
of Human Nature
c. Robert Edward Brennan, Thomistic
Psychology: A Philosophical Analysis of the Nature of Man.
d. These readings are best complimented by reading:
i.
Aristotle, De
Anima
ii.
J. P.
Moreland and David M. Ciocchi, eds. Christian Perspectives on Being
Human : A Multidisciplinary Approach to Integration
iii. Jesse A.
Mann and Gerald F. Kreyche, Reflections on Man: Readings in
Philosophical Psychology from Classical Philosophy to Existentialism)
4. Logic & Rhetoric
a. Peter Kreeft, Socratic Logic (This
could be complimented, but certainly not replaced by: Os Guinness, Fool’s
Talk : Recovering the Art of Christian Persuasion).
b. Stan Baronett, Logic, 2nd edition
c. Complimentary books:
i.
Propositional
Logic and Predicate
Logic par Howard Pospesel.
ii. Aristotle, Rhetoric
5. Metaphysics/Ontology
a. Étienne Gilson, Methodical Realism and The
Unity of Philosophical Experience. These should be read together.
i.
Complimentary
readings :
1. George B. Klubertanz, Introduction to
the Philosophy of Being
2. W. Norris Clarke, The One and the
Many : A Contemporary Thomistic Metaphysics;
3. Jacques Maritain, Sept
Leçons sur l’être et les premiers principes de la raison speculative;
4. Jacques Maritain, Existence
and the Existent
b. Étienne Gilson, Being and
Some Philosophers
i.
Complimentary
readings :
1. Michael Loux, Metaphysics : A
Contemporary Introduction.
2. Joseph Owens, An Elementary Christian
Metaphysics
c. Thomas Aquinas, De Ente et
Essentia,
i.
Complimentary
readings:
1. Plato, The Sophist,
2. Aristotle, Metaphysics
3. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Aristotle's Metaphysics
6. Natural Theology/Philosophy of Religion
a. James F. Anderson, Natural
Theology : the Metaphysics of God
b. D. Elton Trueblood, Philosophy of
Religion or Brian Davies, Philosophy of Religion: A Guide and
Anthology
c. Advanced readings:
i.
Thomas
Joseph White, Wisdom in the Face of Modernity: A Study in Thomistic
Natural Theology
ii.
James Barr,
Biblical Faith and Natural Theology
d. Complimentary Readings:
i.
Gerard Smith, Natural Theology:
Metaphysics II
ii.
Maurice R.
Holloway, An Introduction to Natural Theology
7. Epistemology
a. Frederick D. Wilhelmsen, Man’s Knowledge
of Reality: An Introduction to Thomistic Epistemology
i.
Complimentary
Readings:
1. Louis P. Pojman, What Can We Know :
An Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge, 2nd edition;
2. Robert Audi, Epistemology: A contemporary
introduction to the theory of knowledge, 2nd edition
b. L. M. Regis, Epistemology
i.
Complimentary
Readings :
1. Fernand
Van Steenberghen, Épistémologie
2. Joseph Owens, Cognition
c. Jacques Maritain, The Degrees of
Knowledge
i.
Complimentary
Readings:
1. Étienne
Gilson, Thomistic realism and the critique of knowledge
8. Moral Philosophy
a. Ralph M. McInerny, Ethica
Thomistica : The Moral Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas
i.
Complimentary
Readings :
1. Jacques Maritain, Neuf
Leçons sur les Notions premières de la philosophie morale;
2. Norman L. Geisler, Christian
Ethics : Contemporary Issues & Options;
3. Scott B. Rae, Moral Choices : An
Introduction to Ethics;
4. Roberston
McQuilkin and Paul Copan, An Introduction to Biblical Ethics :
Walking in the way of Wisdom
b. Advanced Readings :
i.
Étienne
Gilson, Moral Values and Moral Life : The Ethical Theory of Thomas
Aquinas
ii.
Charles de Koninck, De la Primauté du Bien Commun contre les
personnalistes : Le principe de l’ordre nouveau.
iii.
R.
P. Sertillanges, La Philosophie Morale de Saint Thomas d’Aquin;
iv. Rebecca Konyndyk
DeYoung, Colleen McCluskey and Christina Van Dyke, Aquinas’s
Ethics : Metaphysical Foundations, Moral Theory, and Theological Context
c. Complimentary Readings:
i.
Thomas
Aquinas, Commentary on Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
ii.
Thomas
Aquinas, Disputed Questions on Virtue;
iii.
R. Scott
Smith, In Search of Moral Knowledge : Overcoming the Fact-Value
Dichotomy;
iv.
Aristotle, Nicomachean
Ethics
9. Aesthetics
a. Étienne Gilson, The Arts of the
Beautiful and Forms and
Substances in the Arts
i.
Complimentary
Readings:
1. Jacques Maritain, Art and Scholasticism;
2. Jacques Maritain, Art and Poetry;
3. Josef Pieper, Only the Lover
Sings : Art and Contemplation;
4. Roger Scruton, Beauty : A Very
Short Introduction
5. Umberto Eco, The Aesthetics of Thomas
Aquinas
6. Jacques
Maritain, Creative Intuition in Art and Poetry;
7. Louis Markos, Restoring Beauty :
The Good, the True, and the Beautiful in the Writings of C. S. Lewis
8. Christopher Scott Sevier, Aquinas on Beauty
9. Umberto Eco, On Beauty
10. Armand A. Maurer, About Beauty : A
Thomistic Interpretation
