Analytic Thomism: Philosophical Anthropology

Undergraduate / Graduate

Neo-Aristotelian analytic philosophical work in ethics and in the philosophy of mind treats developing a proper understanding of human nature as central to understanding the character and place of rationality in our lives, what it is for human beings to be in right relations with themselves and one another, and those qualities of character crucial to human happiness. In this course, we will consider new work in analytic neo-Aristotelian philosophy alongside Aquinas's understanding of the human being. For Aquinas, the human being is the intellectual animal-the highest sort of animal and the lowest of intellectual creatures. Human beings have distinctive strengths and challenges on this view, and turning to Aquinas sheds a new light on contemporary philosophical work.