Aquinas (1224-74) lived in a time when the Christian West was beginning to open up to a wealth of Greek and Islamic philosophical thought. Embodying the 13th-century ideal of a unified interpretation of reality (in which philosophy and theology work together in harmony), Aquinas stood out for the way he used and developed this legacy of ancient thought—an achievement that led his contemporaries to regard him as a progressive thinker. Father Copleston's clear and stimulating book examines this remarkable man—whose influence is perhaps greater today than it was in his time—and his thought, linking his ideas where possible to current issues as they are discussed today.