Start Here!
This website aims to provide an introductory and free English-language course in Aristotelian-Thomistic philosophy. Accurate English-language resources on Aristotelian-Thomistic philosophy are quite rare. Those that exist are very liable to be influenced by modern (e.g Cartesian or Humean) assumptions about philosophy that Aristotle and St. Thomas either explicitly repudiate or would find absurd. Aristotelian-Thomistic philosophy is a philosophy of certainty. It is certain because it claims that man can know reality through his senses, as well as reason from his senses to conclusions he can be certain of. This is in contrast to modern philosophers of every persuasion, which either deny that the senses can know reality or deny the efficacy of reason.
The goal for this course is to give readers enough background knowledge so that they can start to read the Metaphysics of Aristotle and the Summa Theologicae of St. Thomas Aquinas. It is not intended to be particularly rigorous, but it is intended to challenge the assumptions that some readers may have about philosophy.
What is this course based on?
The Logic portion of this course is based on my own English translation of parts of a Spanish translation of Régis Jolivet’s work Curso de Filosofia (trans. Leandro de Cesmas, O.C.), which is an excellent and very clear course. These sections are supplemented with Socratic Logic by Peter Kreeft, which is an excellent textbook in English, though it misses a few things that Jolivet covers. For the History of Philosophy and Metaphysics portions I will be leaning on Jacques Maritain’s An Introduction to Philosophy.
As these works will be cited and quoted often, it is useful to abbreviate them. The abbreviation guide is below (all citations are in MLA style):
(CdF): Jolivet, Régis. Curso de Filosofia. Translated by Leandro de Cesmas, 4th ed., Club de Lectores, 1978.
(SL): Kreeft, Peter. Socratic Logic. 3.1 ed., St Augustine’s Press, 2010.
(ItP): Maritain, Jacques. An Introduction to Philosophy. Translated by E. I. Watkin, Sheed & Ward, 1930.
All other citations are either cited in the MLA style and placed at the end of the relevant article or, if citing an image, the link is just placed in the relevant image.
Another useful work is Aquinas by Edward Feser, but this is not cited in the text.
What is the timeline for this project?
The aim is to be constantly updating and editing the textbook, but rough drafts of each of the traditional parts of Aristotelian philosophy will be published on a somewhat fixed schedule.
By April 2026, we aim to finish the Logic Course and History of Philosophy section, as well as make a small introduction to Aristotelian Metaphysics.
Do I need to Pay?
This text is 100% free and will remain freely available. However, you can support the project by buying a paid subscription, even for one month. All money will be reinvested into improving and maintaining the project.
How do I Start?
Take a look at the Table of Contents.