Peripatetic-Scholastic Philosophy, Expressed from the Sources of Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas and Adapted to the Education of Adolescents - Volume II - Michele De Maria

This second volume continues De Maria’s introductory philosophical course, extending beyond logic into the study of nature and the human person within the Aristotelian-Thomistic tradition of Thomas Aquinas. It maintains a pedagogical approach aimed at adolescent education while preserving the structure of classical scholastic philosophy.

The work begins with natural philosophy (physics), explaining the basic principles of the material world, including matter, form, motion, change, and causality. De Maria presents nature as an ordered system governed by intelligible principles accessible to reason.

It then turns to philosophical psychology, treating the human soul as the principle of life in living beings. The text outlines the faculties of the soul—sensation, intellect, and will—and explains how human knowledge arises from sensory experience and intellectual abstraction.

A final section introduces basic metaphysical themes, offering an elementary overview of being, substance, and causality as preparation for more advanced study. These topics are presented in a simplified form, consistent with the educational aims of the work.

Throughout the volume, De Maria maintains a clear and structured instructional style, adapting scholastic content for younger students while preserving its essential philosophical rigor and coherence.