Aquinas Fall 2016
Prof. Andrea Robiglio, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
Prof. Richard C. Taylor, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI USA
Thomas Aquinas Fall 2014:
Theomorphism or Anthropomorphism? Conceiving God in Aquinas and his Arabic Sources
Prof. Richard C. Taylor, Marquette University, Milwaukee
(email: richard.taylor@hiw.kuleuven.be or Richard.Taylor@Marquette.edu)
Prof. Andrea Robligio, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
(email: Andrea.Robiglio@hiw.kuleuven.be)
Last website update 29 November 2013
Live Classroom Course Meeting Times*:
28 August - 18 September: Thursday 9:00 - 11:00 am U.S. Central Time
25 September - 18 December 9:00-11:00 am US Central Time / 16h-18h European Central Time
Brief Course Description
In recent years the powerful influence of the Arabic tradition on the development of the philosophical reasoning and insightful doctrines of Aquinas has been firmly established in international conference meetings and publications on Aquinas and ‘the Arabs’. In connection with that work, this course will begin with five weeks of a graduate introduction to Aquinas and then become an international collaborative graduate seminar with the subtitle, “Theomorphism or Anthropomorphism? Conceiving God in Aquinas and his Arabic Sources.” Team taught by professors at Marquette and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, this course will have assigned readings, video lectures, an online discussion board, student presentations (beginning in the sixth week), and weekly live video meetings for two hours of discussion involving students at Marquette and KULeuven as well as other selected international auditors. The content focus will be on issues, proofs, attributes, divine actions and more with particular reference to the initial (and often lasting) reasoning of Aquinas formed in connection with his use of ideas and arguments from the Arabic tradition. The course will close with four weeks of lectures on conceptions of God developed by later thinkers in engagement with the account of Aquinas. The structure of the course will follow the model found at https://academic.mu.edu/taylorr/Aquinas_Fall_2013_MU_KUL/Course_Description.html.
Marquette grading will be based on course participation (50%) and a final professionally prepared course paper of 20-25 pp. (50%).
Fall 2015 Aquinas and Bonaventure on Divine Creation and Hhuman Knowledge
Fall 2014 Aquinas: The Nature & Attainment of Happiness
Fall 2013 Aquinas: Metaphysics
Fall 2012 Aquinas: Soul & Intellect
Fall2011 course, Aquinas and the Arabic Philosophical Tradition on ‘Creation’
Click HERE.
Aquinas Fall 2016
Two Courses at MU and KUL
Brief Description
In Fall 2016 (i) the graduate course “Aquinas and ‘the Arabs’: Five Major Issues” will be taught in the Philosophy Department at Marquette University by Prof. Richard Taylor (Marquette) with the collaboration of Prof. Andrea Robligio (KU Leuven, Belgium) and (ii) the graduate course “Aquinas in Context” will be taught at the Philosophy Institute at KU Leuven by Prof. Robiglio with with the collaboration of Prof. Taylor.
These global collaboration courses will be taught using online tools and classrooms with face-to-face discussion in live video with Professors Taylor & Robiglio and their students. Though these are distinct courses, there will be eight (8) live class meetings for discussion of common texts and issues studied by both classes:
29 September 10-11 am
6 October 9-10 am
13 October 9-10 am
20 October 9-10 am
10 November 9-10 am
17 November 9-10 am
1 December 9-10 am
8 December 9-10 am
All detailed information concerning the articulation of the topic, the required readings and further bibliography will be provided in the detailed syllabi for the courses at MU and KUL.
A Remark on Method
In recent years the powerful influence of the Arabic tradition on the development of the philosophical reasoning and insightful teachings of Aquinas has been firmly established in international conference meetings and publications by members of the Aquinas and ‘the Arabs’ International Working Group and other scholars. It has also become abundantly clear that Aquinas is most fully understood through the method of source based contextualism involving the location of the thought of Aquinas in relation to the sources he himself studied in forming his own philosophical and theological doctrines. This is one of the key approaches that will be followed in these courses.
Désiré-Joseph Cardinal Mercier (1851-1926)
in the garden of the KUL Institute of Philosophy
al-Farabi Avicenna Averroes Aquinas Bonaventure Augustine
Marquette Hall
Philosophy Department, Marquette University
