Thomas Aquinas on the Passions

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Robert Miner (Baylor University) has sent along word that this book, Thomas Aquinas on the Passions, has appeared. Published by Cambridge University Press, the book is a study of questions 22-48 of the Prima secundae of Thomas’s Summa theologiae—you know, the questions that everyone skips over on the way from questions 6-21 on the way to question 94, article 2!

Here’s a scrape from the CUP website (link to book):

The Summa Theologiae is Thomas Aquinas’ undisputed masterwork, and it includes his thoughts on the elemental forces in human life. Feelings such as love, hatred, pleasure, pain, hope and despair were described by Aquinas as ‘passions’, representing the different ways in which happiness could be affected. But what causes the passions? What impact do they have on the person who suffers them? Can they be shaped and reshaped in order to better promote human flourishing? The aim of this book is to provide a better understanding of Aquinas’ account of the passions. It identifies the Aristotelian influences that lie at the heart of the Summa Theologiae, and it enters into a dialogue with contemporary thinking about the nature of emotion. The study argues that Aquinas’ work is still important today, and shows why for Aquinas both the understanding and attainment of happiness requires prolonged reflection on the passions.

Part I. The Passions in General

1. The sensitive appetite

2. The definition of passion

3. The activation of passion

4. The morality of the passions

Part II. Particular Passions: The Concupiscible Passions

 5. Love

 6. Hatred and concupiscence

 7. Pleasure

 8. Sorrow

Part III. Particular Passions: The Irascible Passions

9. Hope and despair

10. Fear

11. Daring

12. Anger

 Epilogue: the passions, the virtues, and happiness

 Many happy sales (and reviews!), Robert!