Structure of the Summa

From A Summa of the Summa by Peter Kreeft:

The structural outline of the Summa Theologica is a mirror of the structural outline of reality. It begins in God, Who is "in the beginning". It then proceeds to the act of creation and a consideration of creatures, centering on man, who alone is created in the image of God. Then it moves to man's return to God through his life of moral and religious choice, and culminates in the way or means to that end: Christ and His Church. Thus the overall scheme of the Summa, like that of the universe, is an exitus-redditus, an exit from and a return to God, Who is both Alpha and Omega. ... The structure of the Summa, and of the universe, is dynamic. It is not like information in a library, but like blood in a body.




From Holy Teaching: Introducing the Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas Aquinas by Frederick Christian Bauerschmidt:

The format of the Summa theologiae can appear confusing at first, but once you grasp how Thomas proceeds it is in fact a model of clarity.

The Summa is structured in three "parts." The prima pars (first part) concerns God and the creation of the universe. The secunda pars (second part) concerns human action and is subdivided into a theoretical treatment of human action (the prima secunda, or first half of the second part) and a detailed treatment of human virtues and human vices (the secunda secunda, or second half of the second part). The tertia pars (third part) concerns Christ: his person and work; the continuation of his work in the church through the sacraments; and his second coming and the consummation of creation (this last section was never written). ...

Each part contains numerous "questions," which are further subdivided into "articles." ... The articles of the Summa grow out of a medieval teaching practice known as "disputation."... In the Summa, Thomas refines this form, boiling it down to its essentials:

• He states the thesis in the form of a question.
• He raises objections against the thesis - usually two or three, but occasionally more.
• He offers a counterposition, introduced by sed contra (on the contrary), which is almost always reduced to a single counterpoint and usually cites a biblical passage or other authority, instead of making an argument.
• He gives his own response, introduced by respondeo (I answer) - usually inclined towards the sed contra, but not always.
• He marshals replies to the objections.

We might note a few key points about reading an article. First, it is never enough to read the responsio alone, since Thomas sometimes makes his most important point in the replies to the objections. Second, the objections are not "straw men." Of all the possible objections, Thomas chose those he thought most convincing. Often an objection is at least half way, and some times three-quarters of the way, to the truth. Third, you should not presume that the sed contra is Thomas's position. Sometimes it misses the truth as much as the objections, albeit in a different direction. Finally, we should note how this structure, based as it is on the disputation, is dynamic. There is always an argument that is moving forward through objection and counter-objection. Indeed, we should think of the Summa as a vast, extended discussion of the truth of the Christian faith, a discussion we are invited to join.