Chapter 8 - The Sequel to St. Thomas Summary and Analysis

This final chapter considers the works of St. Thomas Aquinas from an historical perspective. It begins by once again asserting that Thomism is a fundamentally realistic philosophy in contrast to unrealistic modern philosophy. Chesterton then considers the way in which St. Thomas might be considered a liberal in promoting the use of debate and dialectic as the means for coming to conclusions (the term "liberal" here should not be understood in the modern American political sense, but rather in the broader sense as one who advocates freedom). Economically, Chesterton sees St. Thomas as a beneficial corrective to the early 20th century. St. Thomas was an opponent of an overly materialistic society and Chesterton sees the embrace of that kind of society as the root of many modern evils. Scholasticism...