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I try here to list all existing thomistic philosophy textbooks, as far as possible ranked from best to worst.
See FAQ #3 for the value of the ranking of these textbooks.
So far, the best Philosophy textbooks I've found are those by François-Joseph Thonnard, A.A., but I'm just beginning my research project.
Thonnard, F.-J.
Précis de philosophie,
Paris, Desclée, 1950.
Thonnard, F.-J.
Précis
d'histoire de philosophie, Paris, Desclée, 1966.
Thonnard, F.-J. Extraits des grands philosophes, Paris, Desclée, 1937.
Thonnard also gives a long list of other Philosophy textbooks in his "Précis de philosophie". I would trust his list more than my very partial list here.
Gardeil, Henri Dominique. Initiation à la philosophie de saint Thomas d'Aquin, Paris, Cerf, 1953.
Description
Four small volumes (V. 1. Introduction. Logique.--v. 2. Cosmologie.--v. 3. Psychologie.--v. 4. Métaphysique)
Pros
- Short, readable, consistent with St. Thomas, contains many primary texts from St. Thomas.
Cons
- No Ethics! Ouch!
Phillips, Richard Percival. Modern Thomistic philosophy, Westminster, Md., Newman Press, 1964.
Description
Two volumes. Reprinted by John Haldane in Modern Writings on Thomism.
Grenier, Henri. Thomistic Philosophy, Charlottetown, Canada, St-Dunstan's University Press, 1950.
Description
Four volumes (V. 1. Introduction. Logique.--v. 2. Cosmologie.--v. 3. Psychologie.--v. 4. Métaphysique)
Cons
- Could have been written in 1250, even though the copyright is for 1950!
- No Criteriology, etc.
Mercier, Désiré. A manual of
modern scholastic philosophy, 3rd Ed., London, Routledge & K. Paul,
1962.
Pictures of the pages for 1916 edition (Huge PDF documents):
volume I,
volume II.
Farges, Albert. Cours de philosophie scolastique d'après la pensée d'Aristote et de s. Thomas mise au courant de la science moderne, 19 édition, Paris, Berche et Pagis, 1935
Description
Two volumes.
Hugon, Édouard. Cursus philosophiae thomisticae, Paris, Lethielleux, 1907.
Cons
- Only in Latin!
- Six volumes, and no Ethics!
Gredt, Joseph. Elementa Philosophiae Aristotelico-Thomisticae, Barcelone, Herder,1961.
Cons
- Only in Latin!
Boyer, Charles. Cursus philosophiae ad usum seminariorum, Paris, 1936.
Cons
- Only in Latin!
Maritain, Jacques, 1882-1973. Éléments de philosophie. Paris, Téqui, 1921.
Description
Two volumes. V. 1 Introduction générale à la philosophie--v. 2. L'ordre des concepts : petite logique.
Cons
- Too incomplete: only a general introduction, and a formal logic.
Jean DAUJAT, Y a-t-il une vérité?, Paris, édition Téqui, 1974, 606 pages.
Highly recommended by Mister X21: "Le principal intérêt de l'ouvrage est d'être très clair, très bien construit et de contenir, dans un style limpide, les principales thèses de la philosophie thomiste. C'est à mon sens le MEILLEUR ouvrage quand on veut débuter".
Maquart, François Xavier. Elementa philosophiae, Paris, éd. Blot, 1938.
4 volumes :
- Tome 1 : introduction à la philo et logique
- Tome 2 : cosmologie ou philosophie de la nature
- Tome 3-1 : psychologie et critique de la connaissance
- Tome 3-2 : métaphysique : ontologie et théologie naturelle
Quoting Mister X21: "Yes, this textbook is in Latin, but when you've finished
with the introductory works and the French textbooks, this work remains a
very precious tool."
Grenet, P. Le Thomisme, Paris, PUF, collection Que sais-je? ( no. 587), 1964, 128 p.
Often recommended by Garrigou-Lagrange. Online version available in French:
Volume 1,
Volume 2,
Volume 3.
Collin, Henri. Manuel de philosophie thomiste ; adapté aux derniers programmes de l'enseignement secondaire, Paris, Téqui, 1932.
Description
Two volumes. Apparently still available (Tome 1: logique, Tome 2: psychologie, Tome 3: critériologie).
According to [H.V.]: «Je pense que pour un débutant, l'ordre d'exposé adopté par Collin, et que l'on peut contester pour des raisons théoriques, est le plus clair : il faut arriver rapidement aux principes clé de la métaphysique. Le cours de Jolivet, que j'aime beaucoup, est plus rigoureux et plus complet mais il ne peut constituer un livre de début : il ne faut jamais confondre ce qui est dans les têtes et ce qui est dans les livres !»
Jolivet, Régis. Traité de philosophie, Lyon, Vitte, 1940.
Description
Four volumes.
Professor Dennis Q. McInerny, from Our Lady Of Guadalupe Seminary, has written a whole series, which took him 10 years:
- Being Logical
- The Philosophy of Nature
- Philosophical Psychology
- Epistemology
- Metaphysics
- Natural Theology
- A Course in Thomistic Ethics
Unfortunately, none of the books are available for free on the Internet, and there are no plans for relinquishing ownership of them in that way (Nancy LaRoza, e-mail dated 2007-August-29 08:49). Prof. McInerny doesn't get any money from sales of these books, since he has given ownership to the FSSP. Unfortunately, the FSSP seems to love money more than the transmission of wisdom, since these books would do more good if they were available for free on the Internet.
Prof. McInerny kindly sent me two volumes, so I will update the rank of this series after reading them. He also recommends the works of Brother Francis Maluf, available from the Saint Augustine Institute, as well as Nature, Knowledge and God, by Br. Benignus, F.S.C.
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