Week 3 Course Material

Course Slides and Readings

Before the third session, please read:

• "The Work of the Six Days," in Aquinas and the Metaphysics of Creation by Gaven Kerr. Link here.

Further Reading

Optional reading:

• "The First Part," in Aquinas's Summa: Background, Structure, & Reception by Jean-Pierre Torrell. Link here.

Assignment

After the third session, write 300 words in response to one of the following:

1. Give one comparable and one contrasting feature of the Platonic notion of Idea in Aquinas's understanding of creation.

2. Describe Aquinas's understanding of the Empyrean heaven, including its possible location(s).

3. Set out the parallels between the first three and the second three days of creation, including an explanation of the difference between distinction and adornment.

4. Explain Aquinas's understanding of the firmament, and the possible reasons why the waters above the firmament do not simply fall to earth.

5. Would we describe Aquinas's approach to the seven days of creation as a literalistic approach? Why or why not?

6. Describe the distinction between the two types of perfection of a being (in substance and operation), and how this relates to the seven days of creation, in particular, when God rests.