トマス・アクィナス（c.1225-74年）は、今も西洋思想に絶大な影響を与え続けているスコラ学の代表的神学者で哲学者です。初心者向けにキリスト教の神学のすべてを体系づけて記した『神学大全』を著し、多くの論叢を呼びました。本書では、歴史的背景を踏まえ、当時の教会や文化を描き出し、今日的な論争でも引き合いに出されることが多いアクィナスの思想をわかりやすく解説します。(cf. Selected Philosophical Writings (Oxford World's Classics))
   

• The best introduction to Thomas Aquinas aimed at non-specialists
• Discusses Aquinas as both a philosopher and a theologian
• Illustrates the different debates and the significant role that the writings of Aquinas play in contemporary debate

  
Thomas Aquinas, an Italian Catholic priest in the early thirteenth century, is considered to be one of the great Christian thinkers who had, and who still has, a profound influence on Western thought. He was a controversial figure who was exposed and engaged in conflict. 
 
This Very Short Introduction looks at Aquinas in a historical context, and explores the Church and culture into which Aquinas was born. It considers Aquinas as philosopher, and looks at the relationship between philosophy and religion in the thirteenth century. Fergus Kerr, in this engaging and informative introduction, will make The Summa Theologiae, Aquinas's greatest single work, accessible to new readers. It will also reflect on the importance of Thomas Aquinas in modern debates and asks why Aquinas matters now.