Course Number: PHS 741
Course Title: St. Thomas Aquinas on Being and Nothingness
Term: Summer 2016
Professor
Dr. Robert A. Delfino
Email: [email protected]
Skype: robert.delfino5 (email me first to set up a Skype session)
1. COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course will help students to learn the most important metaphysical doctrines of St.
Thomas. It presents an understanding of reality from Being itself (God) to nothingness
(complete absence of being). We shall mostly focus on primary texts from Aquinas, but, when
appropriate, we shall read selections from other thinkers who have influenced Aquinas, such
as Aristotle and St. Augustine. Online only with an optional synchronous component.
2. ENVISIONED LEARNING OUTCOMES
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
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Demonstrate the ability to read and analyze St. Thomas Aquinas’s texts.
Demonstrate the ability to define and understand Aquinas’s metaphysical terminology
and principles.
Demonstrate the ability, in writing, to argue for a conclusion in a clear and logical
manner.
Describe and understand the difference in Aquinas between metaphysics and other
disciplines, such as revealed theology.
Describe and understand important questions and arguments Aquinas raises in
metaphysics (for example, the problem of universals and his arguments in the five
ways).
Describe and understand the relationship between Aquinas’s metaphysical views and
some topics in contemporary science.
3. COURSE SCHEDULE
Week 1: Introduction/Overview
Watch Video Lecture #1 (click on hyperlink to your left)
 In this video, I shall discuss briefly the topics that we will cover in this course, including
Aquinas’s inheritance from Aristotle, Aquinas’s views in On Being and Essence,
Aquinas’s view of metaphysics as a science of being qua being, the five ways of
proving God’s existence, God as Being itself, the real distinction between being and
essence in creatures, analogical predication of being, transcendental attributes of
being, being and the problem of universals, being and the problem of individuation,
and the relevance of Aquinas to contemporary metaphysics.
Readings
 Read the syllabus and acquire the texts to be read. All of the texts are freely available
on the internet (see section 5 REQUIRED READINGS and RESOURCES, below).
Assignments
 Watch the Video lecture (see link above) and digest the material by taking notes for
yourself.
 Post on the Discussion Board introducing yourself (Due no later than May 6).
 Extra-credit Assignment: Post on the discussion board a YouTube video link to a short
video that discusses something related to this course and explain why you chose this
video. NOTE: If you need any help in learning how to do this extra-credit assignment,
please email Raul Lozada, OCDS: [email protected]
Week 2: Aristotelian background
Watch Video Lecture #2
 In this video, I will discuss substance, accident, and the rest of the ten categories,
substantial and accidental change, actuality, potentiality, hylomorphism, the four
causes, etc. I will also cover some important differences between Aristotle and
Aquinas, giving some tips for the study of Aquinas.
Readings
 Aristotle, Categories, chapters 1-5 (click on hyperlink to your left),
 On Generation and Corruption, Book I, chap. 4,
 On the Soul/De Anima, Book II, chapter 1;
 Physics, Book II, chapter 3.
 NOTE: chapters are called parts on the above websites
Assignments
 Watch the Video lecture (see link above) and take notes for yourself.
 Read the readings (see links above) and take notes for yourself.
 Post on the Discussion Board the most difficult item you encountered; explain why you
found it difficult (Due no later than May 13).
 Writing Assignment #1: Write 1000 words on the four causes and how Aristotle would
apply them to a contemporary problem. Email to me on the Monday of week 3 (May
16).
Week 3: Structure of being, Part 1
Watch Video Lecture #3
 In this video, first I will discuss what Aristotle said about nature and form in the Physics
and the Metaphysics. Then I will discuss what Aquinas says in De Ente et Essentia
about essence, nature, quiddity, form, being, genus, species, difference, real vs.
cognitional being, affirmations, negations, privations, beings of reason, etc.
Readings
 Aristotle, Physics, Book II, chapter 1,
 Metaphysics, Book VII, chap. 4 and 7;
 Aquinas, De Ente et Essentia, Prologue and chapters 1-2, paragraphs 1-49.
Assignments
 Watch the Video lecture (see link above) and take notes for yourself.
 Read the readings (see links above) and take notes for yourself.
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
Post on the Discussion Board the most difficult item you encountered; explain why you
found it difficult (Due no later than May 20).
Writing Assignment #2: Write 1000 words on the difference between form and nature
in Aristotle and Aquinas. Email to me on the Monday of week 4 (May 23).
Week 4: Structure of being, Part 2
Watch Video Lecture #4
 In this video, I will discuss the relation of essence to genus, species, and difference;
abstraction with and without precision, essence in separate substances and accidents,
etc.
Readings
 Aquinas, De Ente et Essentia, chaps 3-6, paragraphs 50-113.
Assignments
 Watch the Video lecture (see link above) and take notes for yourself.
 Read the readings (see links above) and take notes for yourself.
 Post on the Discussion Board the most difficult item you encountered; explain why you
found it difficult (Due no later than May 27).
 Writing Assignment #3: Write 1000 words on difference between abstraction with and
without precision. Email to me on the Monday of week 5 (May 30).
Week 5: Metaphysics as a science of being qua being
Watch Video Lecture #5
 In this video, I shall discuss what Aquinas means by being qua being in the context of
metaphysics. I will discuss the subject, object, aim, and method of metaphysics.
Readings
 Aristotle, Metaphysics, Book I, chapters 1-2,
 Book IV, chapters 1-3,
 Book VII, chapters 1-2;
 Aquinas’s Commentary on the De Trinitate of Boethius, Question 5, articles 1, 3, and
4.
Assignments
 Watch the Video lecture (see link above) and take notes for yourself.
 Read the readings (see links above) and take notes for yourself.
 Post on the Discussion Board the most difficult item you encountered; explain why you
found it difficult (Due no later than June 3).
 Writing Assignment #4: Write a 1000 word paper on why God cannot be what is
primarily studied in metaphysics. Email to me on the Monday of week 6 (June 6).
Week 6: Ways of Proving God, Part 1
Watch Video Lecture #6
 In this video, I will discuss the background to the five ways and then dive into the first
way and some common objections to it.
Readings
 Aquinas, Summa theologiae, I, q. 2, articles 1-3.
Assignments
 Watch the Video lecture (see link above) and take notes for yourself.
 Read the readings (see links above) and take notes for yourself.

Post on the Discussion Board the most difficult item you encountered; explain why you
found it difficult (Due no later than June 10).
Week 7: Ways of Proving God, Part 2
Watch Video Lecture #7
 In this video, I will discuss the second and third ways of proving God’s existence,
respond to some common objections, and discuss the third way in light of
contemporary scientific theories such as the big bang and quantum vacuum
fluctuation.
Readings
 Aquinas, Summa theologiae, I, q. 2, articles 1-3.
Assignments
 Watch the Video lecture (see link above) and take notes for yourself.
 Read the readings (see links above) and take notes for yourself.
 Post on the Discussion Board the most difficult item you encountered; explain why you
found it difficult (Due no later than June 17).
 Extra-credit Assignment: Post on the discussion board a YouTube video link to a short
video that discusses something related to the first three ways of Aquinas. Explain why
you chose this video—for example, is it because it embodies a common
misunderstanding of Aquinas? NOTE: If you need any help in learning how to do this
extra-credit assignment, please email Raul Lozada, OCDS: [email protected]
Week 8: Ways of Proving God, Part 3
Watch Video Lecture #8: Link to the video to be announced in previous class
 In this video, I will discuss the fourth and fifth ways of proving God’s existence,
respond to some common objections, and discuss the fifth way in light of scientific
discoveries about the fine-tuning of the laws and constants of the physical universe.
Readings
 Aquinas, Summa theologiae, I, q. 2, articles 1-3.
Assignments
 Watch the Video lecture (see link above) and take notes for yourself.
 Read the readings (see links above) and take notes for yourself.
 Post on the Discussion Board the most difficult item you encountered; explain why you
found it difficult (Due no later than June 24).
 Writing Assignment #5: Write a 1000 word paper on which proof you think is the
strongest and which is the weakest, and explain your reasons for your choices. Email
to me on the Monday of week 9 (June 27).
Week 9: God as Being Itself
Watch Video Lecture #9: Link to the video to be announced in previous class
 In this video, I will discuss God as Ipsum Esse Subsistens; that is, how God’s
existence does not differ from his essence, and how there can be only one entity that
is being itself.
Readings
 Aquinas, Summa theologiae, I, q. 3, articles 1-8;
 I, q. 11, articles 3-4.
Assignments
 Watch the Video lecture (see link above) and take notes for yourself.
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Read the readings (see links above) and take notes for yourself.
Post on the Discussion Board the most difficult item you encountered; explain why you
found it difficult (Due no later than July 1).
Writing Assignment #6: Write 1000 words on why God is not merely another primary
substance in the universe. Email to me on the Monday of week 10 (July 4).
Week 10: The Real Distinction between Being and Essence in Creatures
Watch Video Lecture #10: Link to the video to be announced in previous class
 In this video, I will discuss conceptual vs. real distinctions and explain why Thomas
Aquinas argued for a real distinction between being and essence in creatures but not
in God. I shall discuss a finite being as a participatory being (ens per participationem)
and examine the relationship between ens, essentia, and esse in finite beings.
Readings
 Aquinas, De Ente et Essentia, paragraphs 77-81,
 Summa theologiae, I, q. 3, article 4;
 Summa Contra Gentiles, chapter 42.
Assignments
 Watch the Video lecture (see link above) and take notes for yourself.
 Read the readings (see links above) and take notes for yourself.
 Post on the Discussion Board the most difficult item you encountered; explain why you
found it difficult (Due no later than July 8).
Week 11: Analogical Predication of Being
Watch Video Lecture #11: Link to the video to be announced in previous class
 In this video, I shall discuss how God is universally perfect, possessing all perfections,
such as Goodness, Beauty, and Truth. I will discuss the differences between univocal,
equivocal, and analogical predication. I shall also discuss how nothing can be
predicated univocally of God and creatures, but how some things can be predicated
analogically of God and creatures.
Readings
 Aquinas, Summa theologiae, I, q. 4, articles 1-3,
 I, q. 7, article 1,
 I, q. 12, article 12;
 I, q. 13, articles 1-6.
Assignments
 Watch the Video lecture (see link above) and take notes for yourself.
 Read the readings (see links above) and take notes for yourself.
 Post on the Discussion Board the most difficult item you encountered; explain why you
found it difficult (Due no later than July 15).
 Writing Assignment #7: Write 1000 words on why we cannot predicate knowledge of
God and humans univocally, but why we can do so analogously. Email to me on the
Monday of week 12 (July 18).
Week 12: Transcendental Attributes of Being
Watch Video Lecture #12: Link to the video to be announced in previous class
 In this video, I will discuss Res, Unum, Aliquid, Verum, Bonum, as transcendental
attributes of being.
Readings
 Aquinas, Summa theologiae, I, q. 5, articles 1-6,
 I, q. 6, articles 1-4,
 I, q. 11, articles 1-4,
 I, q. 16, article 3;
 I, q. 93, article 9.
Assignments
 Watch the Video lecture (see link above) and take notes for yourself.
 Read the readings (see links above) and take notes for yourself.
 Post on the Discussion Board the most difficult item you encountered; explain why you
found it difficult (Due no later than July 22).
Week 13: Being and the Problem of Universals
Watch Video Lecture #13: Link to the video to be announced in previous class
 In this video, I will discuss the problem of universals and Aquinas’s solution to it.
Readings
 Aquinas, De Ente et Essentia, paragraphs 50-65,
 Summa theologiae, I, q. 11, article 3,
 I, q. 15, article 3;
 I, q. 44, article 3.
Assignments
 Watch the Video lecture (see link above) and take notes for yourself.
 Read the readings (see links above) and take notes for yourself.
 Post on the Discussion Board the most difficult item you encountered; explain why you
found it difficult (Due no later than July 29).
 Writing Assignment #8: Write 1000 words on how the natures of things are anchored
in God. Email to me on the Monday of week 14 (August 1). Also, in preparation for
your final paper, please email me the topic on which you will write on the Monday of
week 14 (August 1).
Week 14: Being and the Problem of Individuation
Watch Video Lecture #14: Link to the video to be announced in previous class
 In this video, I will discuss individuality and the principle of individuation in Aquinas. I
shall also discuss how some contemporary philosophers have tried to develop
Aquinas’s thought on individuation.
Readings
 Aquinas, De Ente et Essentia, paragraphs 23-27 and 92-93,
 Commentary on the De Trinitate of Boethius, Question 4, article 2;
 Summa theologiae, I, 76, article 6.
Assignments
 Watch the Video lecture (see link above) and take notes for yourself.
 Read the readings (see links above) and take notes for yourself.
 Post on the Discussion Board the most difficult item you encountered; explain why you
found it difficult (Due no later than August 5).
 Final Paper: Write 2000 words concerning how the metaphysics of Aquinas is relevant
to some problem facing the contemporary world today. Email to me by week 15
(August 12).
Week 15: Summary and Relevance to Contemporary Metaphysics
Watch Video Lecture #15: Link to the video to be announced in previous class
 In this video, I will discuss the relevance of Aquinas’s metaphysics to issues in
contemporary metaphysics, especially to questions that arise concerning evolution in
biology and its relation to Divine causality. I shall also discuss how God is both
transcendent and yet immanent in things and how this allows for nature to have some
level of autonomy with respect to secondary causality.
Assignment
 Watch the Video lecture (see link above) and take notes for yourself.
 Post on the Discussion Board the most difficult item you encountered; explain why you
found it difficult (Due no later than August 12).
 Fill out the Course Assessment form.
 Make sure I get your final 2000 word paper by August 12.
4. COURSE REQUIREMENTS
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Eight 1000 word writing assignments—70% (lowest score is dropped)
One 2000 word final paper—20%
Each week you must post on the discussion board—10%. In your post, discuss what
you felt was the most difficult thing you encountered during that week. Explain why you
found it so difficult.
The papers should be doubled-spaced, with 1 inch margins, and using a 12 point font. Please
include a separate title page for all your papers with the following information: Your Last
Name, Week Number, and due date of the paper, e.g. Smith, Week 3, May 16, 2016. Email
all your papers to the following email address: [email protected]
5. REQUIRED READINGS and RESOURCES:
Links to the required readings can be found on these webpages:
 Aquinas
 Aristotle (Note: chapters are called parts on this website)
6. SUGGESTED READINGS and RESOURCES:
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Edward Feser, Aquinas: A Beginner’s Guide (Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2009).
John F. Wippel, The Metaphysical Thought of Thomas Aquinas: From Finite Being to
Uncreated Being (Washington, D.C.: CUA Press, 2000).
Joseph Owens, An Elementary Christian Metaphysics, (University of Notre Dame
Press, 1985).
Joseph Owens, St. Thomas Aquinas on the Existence of God: The Collected Papers
of Joseph Owens, ed. John. R. Catan (Albany: SUNY, 1980).
7. EVALUATION
(Basis of evaluation with explanation regarding the nature of the assignment and the
percentage of the grade assigned to each item below). Students who have difficulty with
research and composition are encouraged to seek help via the Online Writing Lab (available
at http://www.holyapostles.edu/owl).
GRADING SCALE:
A 94-100; A- 90-93; B+ 87-89; B 84-86; B- 80-83; C+ 77-79; C 74-76; C- 70-73 D 60-69; F
59-0
Grading Rubric for the Writing Assignments
0 pts
55 pts
65 pts
75 pts
85 pts
100 pts
CONTENT
Absence of
Understanding
Lack of
Understanding
Inadequate
understanding
Adequate
understanding
Solid
Understanding
Insightful
understanding
Analysis shows no
awareness of the
discipline or its
methodologies as
they relate to the
topic.
Analysis seems
to
misunderstand
some basic
concepts of the
discipline or
lacks ability to
articulate them.
Analysis is
sometimes
unclear in
understanding or
articulating
concepts of the
discipline.
Analysis
demonstrates an
understanding of
basic concepts of
the discipline but
could express
them with greater
clarity.
Analysis
demonstrates a
clear
understanding and
articulation of
concepts with
some sense of
their wider
implications.
Analysis clearly
demonstrates an
understanding and
articulation of
concepts of the
discipline as they
relate to the topic;
highlights
connections to
other concepts;
integrates concepts
into wider contexts.
Solid research
and
documentation
Excellent critical
research and
documentation
A number of
relevant scholarly
sources revealing
solid research;
sources
appropriately
referenced in
paper; only a few
minor citation
errors.
Critically selected
and relevant
scholarly sources
demonstrating
extensive, in-depth
research; sources
skillfully
incorporated into
paper at all
necessary points;
all citations follow
standard
bibliographic
format.
RESEARCH
Missing
Research
Paper shows no
evidence of
research: citation
of sources
missing.
Inadequate
research
and/or
documentation
Over-reliance
on few sources;
spotty
documentation
of facts in text;
pattern of
citation errors.
Weak research
and/or
documentation
Inadequate
number or quality
of sources; many
facts not
referenced;
several errors in
citation format.
Adequate
research and
documentation
but needs
improvement
Good choice of
sources but could
be improved with
some additions or
better selection;
did not always cite
sources; too many
citation errors.
WRITING & EXPRESSION
Incomplete
writing
Analysis is only
partially written or
completely
misses the topic.
Writing difficult
to understand,
serious
improvement
needed
Analysis fails to
address the
topic; confusing
organization or
development;
little elaboration
of position;
insufficient
control of
sentence
structure and
vocabulary;
unacceptable
number of
errors in
grammar,
mechanics, and
usage.
Episodic
writing, a mix of
strengths and
weaknesses.
Acceptable writing,
but could use
some sharpening
of skill
Solid writing,
with something
interesting to
say.
Command-level
writing, making
a clear
impression
Analysis
noticeably
neglects or
misinterprets the
topic; simplistic
or repetitive
treatment, only
partiallyinternalized;
weak
organization and
development,
some
meandering;
simple
sentences,
below-level
diction;
distracting errors
in grammar,
mechanics, and
usage.
Analysis is an
uneven response to
parts of the topic;
somewhat
conventional
treatment;
satisfactory
organization, but
more development
needed; adequate
syntax and diction,
but could use more
vigor; overall control
of grammar,
mechanics, and
usage, but some
errors.
Analysis is an
adequate
response to the
topic; some depth
and complexity in
treatment;
persuasive
organization and
development, with
suitable reasons
and examples;
level-appropriate
syntax and diction;
mastery of
grammar,
mechanics, and
usage, with hardly
any error.
Analysis is a
thorough
response to the
topic; thoughtful
and insightful
examination of
issues;
compelling
organization and
development;
superior syntax
and diction; errorfree grammar,
mechanics, and
usage.
8. DISABILITIES ACCOMMODATIONS POLICY
Holy Apostles College & Seminary is committed to the goal of achieving equal educational
opportunities and full participation in higher education for persons with disabilities who qualify
for admission to the College. Students enrolled in online courses who have documented
disabilities requiring special accommodations should contact Bob Mish, the Director of Online
Student Affairs, at [email protected] or 860-632-3015. In all cases, reasonable
accommodations will be made to ensure that all students with disabilities have access to
course materials in a mode in which they can receive them. Students who have technological
limitations (e.g., slow Internet connection speeds in convents) are asked to notify their
instructors the first week of class for alternative means of delivery.
9. ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY
Students at Holy Apostles College & Seminary are expected to practice academic honesty.
Avoiding Plagiarism
In its broadest sense, plagiarism is using someone else's work or ideas, presented or claimed
as your own. At this stage in your academic career, you should be fully conscious of what it
means to plagiarize. This is an inherently unethical activity because it entails the uncredited
use of someone else's expression of ideas for another's personal advancement; that is, it
entails the use of a person merely as a means to another person’s ends.
Students, where applicable:
 Should identify the title, author, page number/webpage address, and publication date
of works when directly quoting small portions of texts, articles, interviews, or websites.
 Students should not copy more than two paragraphs from any source as a major
component of papers or projects.
 Should appropriately identify the source of information when paraphrasing (restating)
ideas from texts, interviews, articles, or websites.
 Should follow the Holy Apostles College & Seminary Stylesheet (available on the
Online Writing Lab’s website at http://www.holyapostles.edu/owl/resources).
Consequences of Academic Dishonesty:
Because of the nature of this class, academic dishonesty is taken very seriously. Students
participating in academic dishonesty may be removed from the course and from the program.
10. ATTENDANCE POLICY
Even though you are not required to be logged in at any precise time or day, you are
expected to login several times during each week. Because this class is being taught entirely
in a technology-mediated forum, it is important to actively participate each week in the
course. In a traditional classroom setting for a 3-credit course, students would be required to
be in class 3 hours a week and prepare for class discussions 4.5 hours a week. Expect to
devote at least 7 quality hours a week to this course. A failure on the student’s part to actively
participate in the life of the course may result in a reduction of the final grade.
11. INCOMPLETE POLICY
An Incomplete is a temporary grade assigned at the discretion of the faculty member. It is
typically allowed in situations in which the student has satisfactorily completed major
components of the course and has the ability to finish the remaining work without re-enrolling,
but has encountered extenuating circumstances, such as illness, that prevent his or her doing
so prior to the last day of class.
To request an incomplete, distance-learning students must first download a copy of the
Incomplete Request Form. This document is located within the Shared folder of the Files tab
in Populi. Secondly, students must fill in any necessary information directly within the PDF
document. Lastly, students must send their form to their professor via email for approval.
“Approval” should be understood as the professor responding to the student’s email in favor
of granting the “Incomplete” status of the student.
Students receiving an Incomplete must submit the missing course work by the end of the
sixth week following the semester in which they were enrolled. An incomplete grade (I)
automatically turns into the grade of “F” if the course work is not completed.
Students who have completed little or no work are ineligible for an incomplete. Students who
feel they are in danger of failing the course due to an inability to complete course
assignments should withdraw from the course.
A “W” (Withdrawal) will appear on the student’s permanent record for any course dropped
after the end of the first week of a semester to the end of the third week. A “WF”
(Withdrawal/Fail) will appear on the student’s permanent record for any course dropped after
the end of the third week of a semester and on or before the Friday before the last week of
the semester.
12. ABOUT YOUR PROFESSOR
Robert A. Delfino is Associate Professor of Philosophy at St. John’s
University in New York City. He received his Ph.D. from the State
University of New York at Buffalo, where he specialized in metaphysics
and medieval philosophy, studying under Professor Jorge J. E. Gracia.
His current research interests include metaphysics, ethics, and the
relationship between science, philosophy, and religion. He has published
articles on Aristotle, Aquinas, Kant, Husserl, philosophy of science,
personal identity, and human rights, in various countries, including the
United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy, Russia,
Poland, and India. He has presented papers at the Comillas Pontifical
University in Madrid, Spain, the Catholic University of Lublin, in Poland,
and the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. He is a fellow of the Adler-Aquinas
Institute, a member of the Board of Advisors for the International Etienne Gilson Society, and
was the editor of Studies in the History of Western Philosophy (SHWP), a special series
within the Value Inquiry Book Series (VIBS) from 2002-2015.