Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica and the Question of the Will

May 13, 2003
James Skemp

Whenever I think about Medieval Philosophy, from this point on after taking this class, I will also think about religion. When I think about religion I think about God and free will. So, since I need to have a topic for this final analysis, I decided that I should probably take one of these topics, and find some writer who would be the best to analysis in this area. After looking at the articles, I decided that I would take Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologica and look at how he answers the question of what the will is, and whether it acts of its own accord.

May 11, 2003
James Skemp

This semester, we looked at Michael Corrado’s Analytic Tradition in Philosophy: Background and Issues, Tim Crane’s Elements of Mind: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind, and The Cambridge Companion to Husserl. Through these writings we have learned more about the Theory of Intentionality, from two different perspectives, the Analytic Philosophy tradition – as shown by Corrado and Crane – and the Phenomenological tradition – as showcased by Husserl, or, more perhaps more appropriately, the individuals writing on Husserl.

May 7, 2003
James Skemp

1. Present Algazali’s argument for the incoherence of the philosophers and Averroe’s response to it. Also present your own critique. Algazali, in The Incoherence of the Philosophers, argues that “what is customarily believed to be cause and what is believed to be an effect is not necessary, according to our opinion; but each of the two [namely, cause and effect] is independent of the other.” [1: 283] In other words, while philosophers believe that there exists such a law that if x occurs then y occurs – that there is a system of cause and effect – Algazali believes that there is no relationship between cause and effect.

May 5, 2003
James Skemp

Francis Bacon's New Atlantis was the first chosen source to read for this Age of Reason class. Bacon's work best fits as a beginning reading for various reasons, one of which is the applicability of the book as showcasing the major ideas of the Age of Reason at the beginning of their formation, in many cases. For this paper, I will begin by examining Bacon's New Atlantis, in a specific area, and then pursuing that area's progress, or reiteration, in some of the other readings from this age.

April 27, 2003
James Skemp

In this paper, I will be trying to discuss Edmund Husserl’s theory of impossible objects and meanings in the Logical Investigations. His theories of experience, knowledge, truth, and fact, will also be discussed in an attempt to determine their relation to these impossible things. By looking at the Logical Investigations Investigation by Investigation, I hope to see where he speaks of his ideas of experience, knowledge, truth and fact. After looking at these ideas, I should be able to end by speaking of impossible things.

April 21, 2003
James Skemp

We often hear of the importance of one. This will briefly look at the numbers of just how important one is. After that, I’d like to discuss this issue (knowing full well that I will end up going off on a tangent). The importance of one person when there are x people: x people % that one person equals (1/x)*100 1 100 2 50 3 33.3 4 25 5 20 6 16.

April 13, 2003
James Skemp

Often times we will hear one say to another that they do not believe in God. They will then say, as a way to prove to the other that they are right, that God does not exist, that if God exists then God would have the power to strike him down, as he is a non-believer. Of course, this cannot happen for various reasons, which I will attempt to discuss below.

March 30, 2003
James Skemp

In Tim Crane’s book, Elements of Mind: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind, we are given a contemporary look at the Analytic Tradition, and their use of the ideas of Intentionality to come to the truth about perception and thought. Crane attempts to explain to the reader how perception and thought are related, as well as the role of intentionality in relation to perception and thought. For the most part, when we speak of the terms ‘perception’ and ‘thought’ we can rely almost solely upon a particular individual.

March 24, 2003
James Skemp

1. According to Augustine, God is not responsible for the existence of evil. What is his argument? Present the argument in detail. In On Free Will, Augustine speaks of man’s freedom to will, or make decisions, for himself. He also speaks of evil, and how a man can do evil, as well as where evil comes from. Now, Augustine believes that man is inclined to do Good, which is to follow God and seek out happiness, through virtuous activity, and not through the goods of this physical world.

March 13, 2003
James Skemp

The following is a paper written for a Religion and Medieval Philosophy course. Every time I heard someone speak of scholasticism I never quite knew what they meant. Having heard of it in many classes in the philosophy of religion ‘genera’, I was convinced that it was something that refers to philosophers who dealt with the philosophy of religion, and specifically in the time period of the medieval era – especially around the years of St Thomas Aquinas and St Augustine.

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Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica and the Question of the Will

The Analytic and Phenomenological Traditions in Relation to Intentionality

Religion and Medieval Philosophy: Final Take Home Exam

Experience as the Central Value of the Age of Reason

Epistemology: Paper on Husserl and Logical Investigations

The Importance of One

On the Saying "If God exists, let him strike me down where I stand"

Crane's Intentionality of the Mental in Relation to Perception and Thought

Religion and Medieval Philosophy: Mid Term Take Home Exam/Essays

Religion and Medieval Philosophy: Textual Analysis Paper 1

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