Thomist Spotlight | Étienne Henri Gilson

From Gifford Lectures 

Biography

Étienne Henri Gilson was born into a Roman Catholic family in Paris on 13 June 1884. He was educated at a number of Roman Catholic schools in Paris before attending lycée Henri IV in 1902, where he studied philosophy. Two years later he enrolled at the Sorbonne, graduating in 1907 after having studied under many fine scholars, including Lucien Lévy Bruhl, Henri Bergson and Emile Durkheim.

Gilson taught in a number of high schools after his graduation and worked on a doctoral thesis on Descartes, which he successfully completed (Sorbonne) in 1913. On the strength of advice from his teacher, Lévy Bruhl, he began to study medieval philosophy in great depth, coming to see Descartes as having strong connections with medieval philosophy, although often finding more merit in the medieval works he saw as connected than in Descartes himself. He was later to be highly esteemed for his work in medieval philosophy and has been described as something of a saviour to the field

From 1913 to 1914 Gilson taught at the University of Lille. His academic career was postponed during the First World War while he took up military service. During his time in the army he served as second lieutenant in a machine-gun regiment and was awarded the Croix de Guerre for bravery upon relief from his duties. After the war, he returned to academic life at Lille and (also) Strasbourg, and in 1921 he took up an appointment at the Sorbonne teaching the history of medieval philosophy. He remained at the Sorbonne for eleven years prior to becoming Professor of Medieval Philosophy at the College de France in 1932. During his Sorbonne years and throughout his continuing career Gilson had the opportunity to travel extensively to North America, where he became highly influential as a historian and medievalist, demonstrating a number of previously undetermined important differences among the period’s greatest figures

Gilson’s Gifford Lectures, delivered at Aberdeen in 1931 and 1932, titled ‘The Spirit of Medieval Philosophy’, were published in his native language (L’espirit de la philosophie medieval, 1932) before being translated into English in 1936. Gilson believed that a defining feature of medieval philosophy was that it operated within a framework endorsing a conviction to the existence of God, with a complete acceptance that Christian revelation enabled the refinement of meticulous reason. In this regard he described medieval philosophy as particularly ‘Christian’ philosophy.
Gilson married in 1908 and the union produced three children, two daughters and one son. Sadly, his wife died of leukaemia in late 1949. In 1951 he relinquished his chair at the College de France in order to attend to responsibilities he had at the Institute of Medieval Studies in Toronto, Canada, an institute he had been invited to establish in 1929. Gilson died 19 September 1978 at the age of ninety-four

His works include: La liberté chez Descartes et la théologie (1913); Le Thomisme (1919, trans. 1924); Etudes de philosophie médiévale (1921); Saint Thomas d'Aquin (1925); Introduction a l'etude de S. Augustin (1929; trans. 1960); L’espirit de la philosophie medieval (2 vol., 1932; trans. 1936); La théologie mystique de Saint Bernard (1934; trans. 1940) Christianisme et philosophie (1936); The Unity of Philosophical Experience (1937); Réalisme thomiste et critique de la connaissance (1939); God and Philosophy (1941); L’Etre et l’essence (1948; trans. 1949); La philosophie de saint Bonaventure (1953; trans. 1965); Christian Philosophy in the Middle Ages (1955); Painting and Reality (1957); Elements of Christian Philosophy (1960); Le philosophe et la théologie (1960; trans. 1962).

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Thomist Spotlight | Domingo Bañez (1528-1604)

Bañez, Domingo

(Originally and more properly VANEZ and sometimes, but erroneously, IBAÑEZ), DOMINGO, a Spanish Dominican theologian, b. 29 February, 1528, at Medina del Campo, Old Castile; d. there 22 October, 1604. The qualifying Mondragonensis, attached to his name, seems to be a patronymic after his father John Bañez of Mondragon, Guipuscoa. At fifteen he began to study philosophy at the University of Salamanca. Three years later he took the Dominican habit at St. Stephen's Convent, and made his profession 3 May, 1547. During a year's review of the liberal arts and later, he had th afterwards distinguished Bartolomé Medina as a fellow student. Under such professors as Melchior Cano (1548-51), Diego de Chaves (1551), and Pedro Sotomayor (1550-51) he studied theology, laying the foundations of the erudition and acquiring the acumen which later made him eminent as a theologian and an exponent and defender of Thomistic doctrine. He next began teaching, and under Domingo Soto, as prior and regent, he field various professorships for ten years. He was made master of students, explaining the "Summa" to the younger brethren for five years, and incidentally taking the place, with marked success, of professors who were sick, or who for other reasons were absent from their chairs at the university. In the customary, sometimes competitive, examinations before advancement he is said easily to have carried off all honours. He taught at the Dominican University of Avila from 1561 to 1566. About 1567 he was assigned to a chair of theology at Alcalá, the ancient Complutum. It appears that he was at Salamanca again in 1572 and 1573, but during the four scholastic years 1573-71 he was regent of St. Gregory's Dominican College al Valladolid, a house of higher studies where the best students of the Castilian province were prepared for a scholastic career. Elected Prior of Toro, he went instead to Salamanca to compete for the chair of Durandus, left vacant by Medina's promotion to the chief professorship. He occupied this position from 1577 to 1580. After Medina's death (30 December 1580) he appeared again as competitor for the first chair of the university. The outcome was an academic triumph for Bañez and he was duly installed in his new position amid the acclamations of professors and students. There he laboured for nearly twenty years. His name acquired extraordinary authority, and the leading schools of orthodox Spain referred to him as the prclarissimum jubar — "the brightest light" — of their country.

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Thomist Spotlight | Ralph McInerny (1929- )

Thomist Spotlight | Ralph McInerny (1929- )

By David M on Thomist Spotlight

From belief.net

Ralph McInerny

Ralph McInerny is Michael P. Grace professor of medieval studies at Notre Dame University, where he heads the Jacques Maritain Center. He helped found Crisis and Catholic Dossier magazines, and he continues to write frequently for both. A specialist in the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, he has written and edited 22 books about Thomistic and other medieval philosophies, including, most recently, “Thomas Aquinas” (Penguin Classics, 1998). In addition, he has written more than 60 novels, including the well-known Father Dowling mystery series. His latest Father Dowling book is “Grave Undertakings” (Minataur, 2000). He has also published several books on Catholic spiritual topics, including “What Went Wrong With Vatican II” (Sophia Institute Press, 1998).
From ISI

Dr. McInerny is the Michael P. Grace Professor of Medieval Studies and Director of the Jacques Maritain Center at the University of Notre Dame. He earned his Ph.D. at Laval University, and is the author of The Logic of Analogy (Martinus Nijhoff, 1961), Thomism in an Age of Renewal (Doubleday, 1966), St. Thomas Aquinas (Twayne Publishers, 1977), Ethica Thomistica (Catholic University of America Press, 1982), A First Glance at St. Thomas Aquinas: A Handbook for Peeping Thomists (University of Notre Dame Press, 1990), Boethius and Aquinas (Catholic University of America Press, 1990), Aquinas on Human Action (Catholic University of America Press, 1992), The Question of Christian Ethics (Catholic University of America Press, 1993), and Aquinas Against the Averroists (Purdue University Press, 1993). Professor McInerny is a fellow of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas and past president of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, the American Metaphysical Society and the American Catholic Philosophical Association. In 1999-2000 Professor McInerny delivered the Gifford Lectures at the University of Glasgow.

Philosophical Books

• 1961 The Logic of Analogy: An Interpretation of St. Thomas, The Hague, Nijhoff. 184 pp.
• 1963 From the Beginnings of Philosophy to Plotinus. Western Philosophy, Vol 1, Chicago, Regnery. 382 pp.
• 1966 Thomism in an Age of Renewal, Garden City, Doubleday. 207 pp.
• 1968 Studies in Analogy, The Hague, Nijhoff. 137 pp.
• 1970 Philosophy from Augustine to Ockham. A History of Western Philosophy, Vol 2, Notre Dame, Univ of Notre Dame Press. 386pp
• 1981 Rhyme and Reason: St Thomas and Modes of Discourse, Milwaukee, Marquette University Press. 70 pp.
• 1982 St. Thomas Aquinas, Notre Dame, University of Notre Dame Press. 197 pp.
• 1982 Ethica Thomistica, Washington, DC, The Catholic University of America Press. 130 pp.
• 1983 History of the Ambrosiana, Notre Dame, University of Notre Dame Press. 136 pp.
• 1986 Being and Predication, Washington, DC, The Catholic University of America Press. 323 pp.
• 1988 Art and Prudence, Notre Dame, University of Notre Dame Press. 205 pp.
• 1989 First Glance at Thomas Aquinas : Handbook for Peeping Thomists
• 1990 Boethius and Aquinas, Washington, DC, The Catholic University of America. 266 pp.
• 1992 Aquinas on Human Action, Washington, DC, Catholic Uiversity of America Press.
• 1993 The Question of Christian Ethics, Catholic University of America Press, 75 pp.
• 1993 Aquinas Against the Averroists, Purdue University Press, Lafayette, IN, 222 pp.
• 1993 Editor: Thomas’s Commentary on the Ethics, Dumb Ox Books, Notre Dame, IN, 500 pp.
• 1994 Editor: Thomas’s Commentary on De Anima, Dumb Ox Books, Notre Dame, IN, 275 pp.
• 1994 The God of Philosophers, Westminster-McMurrin Lectures, Salt Lake City, 25 pp.
• 1995 Editor:The Degrees of Knowledge, Vol VII, in The Collected Works of Jacques Maritain, University of Notre Dame Press, 500 pp.
• 1996 Aquinas and Analogy, The Catholic University of America Press
• 1997 Ethica Thomistica (revised edition) The Catholic University of America Press , 112pp
• 1998 Thomas Aquinas, Penguin Classics, 1998
• 2000 Vernunftgemässes Leben: Die Moralphilosophie des Thomas von Aquin;übersetzt von Michael Hellenthal/Ralph McInerny. - Münster: LIT, 2000 (Schriftenreihe der Josef Pieper Stiftung;3.)
• 2001 Characters in Search of Their Author: the Gifford Lectures delivered at Glasgow Scotland, 1999-2000, Notre Dame Press
• 2003 Very Rich Hours of Jacques Maritain, University of Notre Dame Press
• 2003 Aquinas, Polity Press, Cambridge, 160pp.
• 2004 Zagadnienie etyki chrzescijan, translation by Ryszard Mordarski, Wydawnictwo Antyk, Poland
• 2004 Introduction to the Summa Theologiae of Thomas Aquinas by John of St. Thomas, Translation and introduction by Ralph McInerny, St. Augustine’s Press, 182pp.

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Thomist Spotlight | Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. (1877-1964)

Who is Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P? 

Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P.

Nacido en 1877 en Auch, Francia. Su tío, el padre La Grange, era un famoso biblista.
Estudió medicina por dos años en la Universidad de Bordeaux. Siendo estudiante de medicina, ingresó a la Orden de los Predicadores (dominicos). Estudió filosofía en la Sorbonne. En esos años era bastante inusual para los dominicos seguir estudios de filosofía en una Universidad secular. Pero esta posibilidad, le permitió participar en las clases de notables filósofos franceses de ese tiempo, como es el caso de Henri Bergson. 

Posteriormente, se avocó a la teología en su orden en la escuela de Le Saulchoir, bajo la dirección de Ambroise Gardeil quien se encontraba explorando la psicología del misticismo.  También estudió con Emmanuel-Louis (Antonin) Lemmonyer (fallecido en 1932) fundador, con A.M. Jacquin, de la Revue des sciences philosophiques et théologiques (1907) y, con M. Barge, de la Revue de la Jeunesse para los jóvenes (1909). El padre Lemmonyer, que fue sucesor de Gardeil como regente de Le Saulchoir y que sirvió como asistente del maestro Gillet, trabajó especialmente contra la separación de la teología moral de la teología mística y ascética. Conoció personalmente a Bergson, a Levy-Bruhl y a Maritain.
Fue profesor en la escuela de los dominicos en La Saulchoir, Bélgica (1905-1909), y después en el Ateneo Angelicum (posteriormente, Pontificia Universidad Romana de Santo Tomás) de 1909 a 1960. Fue profesor de muchos notables intelectuales católicos de este siglo, entre otros de M.-D. Chenu, O.P., y de Karol Wojtyla, futuro Juan Pablo II, de quienes fue consultor y supervisor de tesis. Sólo abandonó el Angelicum un año y durante sus vacaciones, que aprovechaba para predicar en Italia, Francia, Inglaterra, Holanda, Canadá y América del Sur.

Miembro de la Academia Pontificia Romana de Santo Tomás de Aquino, cuarta generación.

Fue un escritor prolífico en temas filosóficos, teológicos y espirituales. Su bibliografía completa lista más de 770 libros, artículos y correcciones. 

Se hizo notorio con sus primeras obras en las que atacó una por una las tesis del Modernismo. Fue consultor del Santo Oficio y de otras congregaciones romanas. Estas tareas le ganaron fama de "inquisidor" e inflexible, muchos le adjudican la paternidad de la Encíclica Humani Generis en la que Pío XII condenó la Nouvelle Theologie y la extravagancias del padre jesuita Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. 

Filosóficamente, se afilió al tomismo más tradicional defendiendo las famosas 24 tesis y la distinción real entre esencia y existencia. Estudió especialmente a los representantes de la tradición tomista: el cardenal Cayetano, Domingo Bañez y Juan de Santo Tomás, cuyos trabajos comentó. Por esta visión doctrinal, no se encontraba a gusto entre los estudiosos que se limitaban a un análisis puramente histórico y exegético de Santo Tomás, sino que buscaba la aplicación del tomismo a los problemas del siglo XX.

Durante un tiempo, fue director espiritual de Jacques y Raissa Maritain. Se opuso a algunas tesis sostenidas por su antiguo dirigido y sus seguidores, especialmente en temas de filosofía práctica. Notable fue el intercambio de correspondencia entre ambos durante la Guerra Civil española: de acuerdo con el dominico, la causa de los nacionalistas era la de la Iglesia; algo más prudente, Maritain sostenía un cierto recelo ante quien era apoyado por los regímenes totalitarios de Alemania e Italia.

En teología, se distinguió por sus estudios de espiritualidad, entre ellos: Las Tres Edades de la Vida Interior. Intentó armonizar las enseñanzas espirituales de San Juan de la Cruz con los principios de Santo Tomás.

Doctrinariamente fue algo estricto, pero siempre fue un religioso profundo, protector de los pobres y director espiritual de muchos. Por su piedad y erudicción, durante toda su vida fue renombrado.

Después del Concilio Vaticano II, sufrió fuertes críticas e, incluso, el desprecio de muchos por sus argumentos en contra de las innovaciones teológicas de mediados del siglo XX y su firme apoyo de Franco durante la guerra interna española. Sin embargo, en muchos aspectos fue realmente un innovador. Por otro lado, hoy en día, aquietados los ánimos del período postconciliar, muchas de sus críticas han resultado acertadas. 

Autor de muchos libros y artículos, como ya se dijo, entre ellos se destacan: Le Sens Commun (1909), Dieu: Son Existence et sa Nature (París, 1923, 2 vols.), La Synthèse Thomiste (1946), Dieu (1950), Le Réalisme du principe de finalité, Vida Eterna, La Madre del Salvador y Nuestra Vida Interior, Nuestro Salvador y Su Amor por Nosotros, Predestination, Providence, Las Virtudes Teologales I: Sobre la Fe, Tres Vías de la Vida Espiritual, Perfección Cristiana y Contemplación. A esto hay que agregar su comentario a la Summa consistente de siete volúmenes excelentes. Fue colaborador en la Revue de Science Philosophie et Théologie y en la Revue Thomiste.

En 1964 debido a su decadente salud se retiró al convento de Santa Sabina en Roma donde falleció ese mismo año.

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Thomist Spotlight | Josef Pieper (1904-1997)

Philosopher of Virtue | Josef Pieper (1904-1997): " Click above for the original article. Once in a while I'll highlight mentionable thomists.

Josef Pieper was born on May 4th, 1904, in the small Westphalian village of Elte, Germany. At that time not even a local train connected the isolated spot in the middle of the heath with other towns of Westphalia; whoever wanted to reach the next station had to cross a river in a small ferry-boat. Pieper's father was the only teacher at the only school of this village. Josef Pieper went to the Gymnasium Paulinum in Münster, one of the oldest German schools, which has existed for more than eleven hundred years. His son took up that tradition as a pupil of that old institution, the buildings of which, however, were completely destroyed during World War II. A teacher at the Gymnasium Paulinum, a priest, convinced Pieper to read the works of Thomas Aquinas. 'At that time,' Pieper wrote, 'I was foolishly fond of Kierkegaard, whom we used to devour, my friends and I, naturally without quite understanding him; and it was this paternal friend and teacher, who directed me – with a sort of violent, ironical, and humorous intensity – to St. Thomas' Commentary to the Prologue of St. John's Gospel. Being a youngster of eighteen, I set about reading this work and, in fact, finished it, of course, again without understanding"

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