The Theological Philosophy of the Aesthetician Thomas Aquinas

This book primarily focuses on Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologica as the main source material and foundation to showcase his aesthetic and artistic thoughts, while also referencing his other works and existing research findings to thoroughly compile and analyze the main content and characteristics of Aquinas’s aesthetic thought. By situating Aquinas’s aesthetics within the broader framework of medieval aesthetic thought and the history of aesthetic development, the book demonstrates how Aquinas inherited and transformed ancient philosophy and aesthetic ideas, especially those of Plato, Aristotle, and Plotinus. It further shows how he accepted, developed, and perfected medieval aesthetic thought, establishing him as a major consolidator of medieval aesthetic ideas. Through the examination of the relationship between Aquinas’s aesthetic thought and both modern and twentieth-century aesthetics, the book reveals the enduring vitality of Aquinas’s aesthetic and artistic philosophies.