--- product_id: 1976065 title: "Aquinas: A Beginner's Guide" price: "C$1846" currency: NIO in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.ni/products/1976065-aquinas-a-beginners-guide store_origin: NI region: Nicaragua --- # Boosts philosophical debate skills Concise 200-page primer Clear intro to Aristotelian-Thomistic metaphysics Aquinas: A Beginner's Guide **Price:** C$1846 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > 📘 Elevate your mind, join the thinkers' club! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Aquinas: A Beginner's Guide - **How much does it cost?** C$1846 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.ni](https://www.desertcart.ni/products/1976065-aquinas-a-beginners-guide) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Master Aquinas in a Snap:** A concise, beginner-friendly guide that distills complex medieval philosophy into clear, digestible insights. - • **Unlock Aristotelian Wisdom:** Explore foundational concepts like act & potency, form & matter, and the famous Five Ways with clarity and precision. - • **Join the Intellectual Elite:** Ranked #6 in Medieval Western Philosophy, this book is a must-have for millennial managers craving intellectual edge. - • **Philosophy Meets Practicality:** Equip yourself with arguments that elevate your online and offline discussions on theology and metaphysics. - • **From Novice to Conversationalist:** Perfect for those new to philosophy yet eager to engage confidently in high-level debates and social circles. ## Overview Aquinas: A Beginner's Guide by Edward Feser is a highly rated, concise introduction to the philosophy and theology of Thomas Aquinas. It breaks down Aristotelian-Thomistic metaphysics and key concepts like intellect, will, and morality, making complex ideas accessible for newcomers. Ideal for professionals seeking to deepen their intellectual toolkit and engage confidently in philosophical and theological discussions. ## Description Aquinas: A Beginner's Guide [Feser, Edward] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Aquinas: A Beginner's Guide Review: An Excellent Primer on the Philosophy and Theology of Aquinas - This is an excellent primer on the philosophy and theology of Aquinas, as well as an excellent introduction to the Aristotelian metaphysical framework upon which Aquinas built his philosophical views. The book covers some biographical information about Aquinas, discusses Aristotelian-Thomistic metaphysics, briefly defends the natural theology built from such metaphysics, and describes Aquinas's thoughts on intellect, will, and morality. The text provides a thorough description of the meaning behind key terms that can be easily confused with quite different concepts due to their similarity to words used in more contemporary parlance -- even a word as simple as "motion" can be understood to mean something different to Aquinas than it does to a modern audience. In particular, I found the discussions on act and potency, form and matter (specifically, as it regards the soul), the convertibility of the transcendentals, the five ways, the intellect and the will, and on morality to be quite valuable. Overall, the book is more of an overview than it is a thorough defense of every aspect Aquinas. That said, it's thorough enough if you're unfamiliar with the subject. If you've heard about Aquinas and want to understand his thinking and his arguments in a broader sense, this is an excellent book to pick up. I highly recommend it. It is relatively short and very clear and concise, but it may be difficult to understand for those not already somewhat versed in philosophy or familiar with the Aristotelian-Thomistic view. I speak as a bit of a dabbler, myself. I listened to this book twice a couple of years ago as an audio book, and I could only understand it in bits and pieces - as though I was catching only glimpses of some scenic view through the gaps between trees as I sped along a wooded road. After spending some time perusing Edward Feser's blog [...] I eventually built up enough of an understanding to really glean a lot of substance from this text. In addition to recommending this book, I'd also recommend a review of some of Feser's posts on Aquinas as a supplement. Review: Great crash course in A-T philosophy - I've had the works of Aquinas on my list of things to study for some time. A few months ago, I found myself mid-discussion in an atheist forum online and was challenged by arguments against Intelligent Design and "First Cause". I turned to YouTube where a random comment mentioned Ed Feser for anyone interested in actually understanding Aquinas. After lurking on his blog for a few months, I decided I needed to buy his book for a fuller understanding. I have had no theology or philosophy training, but I do learn well on the fly and the book was written in a more casual format which made it easier for me to grasp. It certainly aided my discussions online. I've had two agnostics now tell me that they have more in common with Aquinas than they thought, and one who was particularly prone to ridicule even asked what I was reading so he could look more into it. It certainly helped absorbed the content quicker to put it into discussion right away. Forced me to really think about the causes in different specific examples to get a better handle on it. It's great to see the response to so many common objections, and I particularly liked learning about the difference between immanent and extrinsic teleology. Was glad to put Paley behind me! And I felt like I was watching a disappearing magic trick when he said on page 14, "Matter by itself without anything else (including any form) would just be non-existent." Great book, great arguments, and supports all those observations you made when you were a kid playing outside without a care in the world. ## Features - used book, philosophy ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #46,497 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #6 in Medieval Western Philosophy #49 in Religious Philosophy (Books) #150 in Religious Leader Biographies | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 633 Reviews | ## Images ![Aquinas: A Beginner's Guide - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/813PUhTDs6L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An Excellent Primer on the Philosophy and Theology of Aquinas *by R***S on April 13, 2016* This is an excellent primer on the philosophy and theology of Aquinas, as well as an excellent introduction to the Aristotelian metaphysical framework upon which Aquinas built his philosophical views. The book covers some biographical information about Aquinas, discusses Aristotelian-Thomistic metaphysics, briefly defends the natural theology built from such metaphysics, and describes Aquinas's thoughts on intellect, will, and morality. The text provides a thorough description of the meaning behind key terms that can be easily confused with quite different concepts due to their similarity to words used in more contemporary parlance -- even a word as simple as "motion" can be understood to mean something different to Aquinas than it does to a modern audience. In particular, I found the discussions on act and potency, form and matter (specifically, as it regards the soul), the convertibility of the transcendentals, the five ways, the intellect and the will, and on morality to be quite valuable. Overall, the book is more of an overview than it is a thorough defense of every aspect Aquinas. That said, it's thorough enough if you're unfamiliar with the subject. If you've heard about Aquinas and want to understand his thinking and his arguments in a broader sense, this is an excellent book to pick up. I highly recommend it. It is relatively short and very clear and concise, but it may be difficult to understand for those not already somewhat versed in philosophy or familiar with the Aristotelian-Thomistic view. I speak as a bit of a dabbler, myself. I listened to this book twice a couple of years ago as an audio book, and I could only understand it in bits and pieces - as though I was catching only glimpses of some scenic view through the gaps between trees as I sped along a wooded road. After spending some time perusing Edward Feser's blog [...] I eventually built up enough of an understanding to really glean a lot of substance from this text. In addition to recommending this book, I'd also recommend a review of some of Feser's posts on Aquinas as a supplement. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great crash course in A-T philosophy *by A***Y on December 31, 2021* I've had the works of Aquinas on my list of things to study for some time. A few months ago, I found myself mid-discussion in an atheist forum online and was challenged by arguments against Intelligent Design and "First Cause". I turned to YouTube where a random comment mentioned Ed Feser for anyone interested in actually understanding Aquinas. After lurking on his blog for a few months, I decided I needed to buy his book for a fuller understanding. I have had no theology or philosophy training, but I do learn well on the fly and the book was written in a more casual format which made it easier for me to grasp. It certainly aided my discussions online. I've had two agnostics now tell me that they have more in common with Aquinas than they thought, and one who was particularly prone to ridicule even asked what I was reading so he could look more into it. It certainly helped absorbed the content quicker to put it into discussion right away. Forced me to really think about the causes in different specific examples to get a better handle on it. It's great to see the response to so many common objections, and I particularly liked learning about the difference between immanent and extrinsic teleology. Was glad to put Paley behind me! And I felt like I was watching a disappearing magic trick when he said on page 14, "Matter by itself without anything else (including any form) would just be non-existent." Great book, great arguments, and supports all those observations you made when you were a kid playing outside without a care in the world. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A clear introduction, but too short for the subject *by T***N on September 27, 2012* In this book, Dr. Feser does a superb job of introducing readers to the Scholastic techniques and terminology used by St. Thomas Aquinas (and nearly every other philosopher in Europe between Augustine and Descartes). He also clearly describes the pitfalls that arise from trying to tackle Aquinas with the assumptions and metaphysical baggage of modern philosophers. Those modern philosophers -- I agree with Feser here -- are generally a menace. Most of them, of course, lived too soon to take Einstein's advice, `Make things as simple as possible, but not simpler.' But they had the excellent examples of Euclid and Aristotle, not to mention Aquinas himself, teaching the same lesson, and ignored it. Too many modern philosophers try to reduce everything to one simple principle, and it is always too simple to explain the complexity and variety of reality. Everything is evolution (Spencer), or everything is bundles of sensation (Hume), or everything is economic conditioning (Marx), or everything is will (Nietzsche), or, most commonly, everything is the instrumentally measurable properties of matter (too many materialist philosophers to count). It is as if a beginning physics student should complain because Newton had three laws of motion: why couldn't he keep it simple and make do with one? In fact, learning physics takes a good deal of study, because it is dealing with complex things, and you have to know the methods and the terminology. And so it is with philosophy. Feser does a grand job of outlining the methods and defining the principal terms used by Aquinas. By the end of the book, we can at least see that Scholastic philosophy is appropriately complex; that it could not be simpler and still have the power to explain things. And we have some idea what counts as an explanation in Scholastic terms, and what counts as a proof (which is not the same thing). It is a philosophy with an admirable disdain for bafflegab and bullroar. It's a pity, once he has done this, that Feser gets hardly any further with Aquinas's work. The rest of the book is taken up with an analysis of the `Five Ways', Aquinas's celebrated arguments for the existence of God. This analysis is good in itself, and it clears up many of the ill-founded objections to those arguments, but it hardly gets you off the first page of the Summa Theologiae. Far too early in the journey, the guide packs up and goes home, leaving you with some very sheer cliffs to climb before you even get up into the mountains. I would have liked the book better if it had gone some distance further into the Summa, pointing out some of the difficulties in the climb (so to speak) and interesting sights along the way. As it is, we are left with the seeming assumption that God has nothing better to do but sit around existing and having his existence proven. I know from reading Dr. Feser's blog that he does not agree with this assumption at all. It's too bad that this book leaves the opposite impression. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.ni/products/1976065-aquinas-a-beginners-guide](https://www.desertcart.ni/products/1976065-aquinas-a-beginners-guide) --- *Product available on Desertcart Nicaragua* *Store origin: NI* *Last updated: 2026-04-22*