The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the philosophical foundations of Catholicism by examining the lives and thought of philosophers and theologians who have contributed significantly to the establishment of that foundation. Emphasis is placed especially on Plato and successive Christian ‘Platonists’ like St. Augustine, and on Aristotle and Christian ‘Aristotelians’ like St. Thomas Aquinas. The relationship between these philosophers and their Christian successors is used as a model for understanding the relationship between (1) Catholicism and secular culture, (2) reason and revelation, and (3) Catholic thought and Catholic life. Contemporary Thomistic Catholics and the Church’s responses to Modern and Post-modern worldviews are also considered.