Chapter 6 - The Approach to Thomism Summary and Analysis

Chapter six is an attempt to give a very basic overview of St. Thomas' philosophy, also known as Thomism. Thomism is essentially a philosophy of common sense, in contrast to the philosophies of the modern period, which very often claim things that are quite contrary to common sense. Thomism holds onto the basic idea that things really are what they are and that we can know what things are through our senses. It is opposed to any skeptical form of philosophy that denies that we can know anything at all. However, despite how sensible St. Thomas' philosophy is, there are still many difficulties for readers, especially if the reader is untrained. First, St. Thomas uses a philosophical language that will be foreign to most readers. Second, he uses the logical form...