The Discovery of Being and Thomas Aquinas: Philosophical and Theological Perspectives

by Franklin T. Harkins; Christopher M. Cullen

Publisher:

Catholic University of America

, 2019

Overview

While there has been agreement among followers of Aquinas that being insofar as it is being (being qua being) is the subject of metaphysics, there is not agreement on how this being qua being is to be understood, nor on how we come to know the being that is the object of metaphysical investigation. The topic of what being is, as the object of the science of metaphysics, and how to account for the "discovery" of the being of metaphysics have emerged as central problems for the contemporary retrieval of Aquinas and for the larger project of post-Leonine Thomism in general. This lack of agreement has hampered the retrieval of Aquinas’s metaphysics.

The collection of essays within The Discovery of Being and Thomas Aquinas is divided into three major parts: the first set of essays concerns the foundation of metaphysics within Thomism; the second set exemplifies the use of metaphysics in fundamental philosophical issues within Thomism; and the third set employs metaphysics in central theological issues.
The Discovery of Being and Thomas Aquinas allows major scholars of the different types of Thomism to engage in a full-scale defense of their position, as well as expanding Thomistic metaphysics to the discipline of theology in important ways.

Key Features

• Contributes to the clarification of the issues concerning the foundation of a Thomistic metaphysics
• Examines how, from a Thomistic perspective, metaphysics is used in various branches or areas of philosophy and theology
• Presents essays first presented at the 31st Annual Conference of the Center for Medieval Studies at Fordham University in 2011

Contents

Part 1. The Foundation of Metaphysics

• Aquinas on separatio and Our Discovery of Being as Being - John F. Wippel
• The Knowledge of Being: Thomiscic Metaphysics in the Contemporary Debate - Rudi te Velde
• The Role of Sense Realism in the Initiation of Thomistic Metaphysics - John F. X. Knasas
• Contraries in One: Contingency, Analogy, and God in Transcendental Thomism - Stephen M. Fields, SJ
• Knowledge of ens as primum cognitum and the Discovery of ens qua ens according to Cornelio Fabro and Jan A. Aertsen - Jason A. Mitchell

Part 2. Philosophical Perspectives

• Aquinas and the Categories as Parts of Being - Gregory T. Doolan
• The Ontological Status of Artifacts - James M. Jacobs
• The Transcendentals, the Human Person, and the Perfection of the Universe - Alice M. Ramos DM
• Thomas Aquinas, the Analogy of Being, and the Analogy of Transferred Proportion - Steven A. Long

Part 3. Theological Perspectives

• A Metaphysics of Human Nature in the Chriscology of Aquinas - Paul Gondreau
• Angelic Corporeality: A Case of Metaphysical Manuduccion in Albercus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas - Franklin T. Harkins
• Aquinas and the Grace of auxilium - Shawn M. Colberg
• Aquinas and Scotus on God as Object of Beatific Enjoyment - Aaron Canty

Praise for The Discovery of Being and Thomas Aquinas

Gathers some of our best Thomistic scholars (and some promising younger scholars) in one volume on a relatively well-defined set of issues.

Patrick Toner, Wake Forest University

An excellent contribution to the current revival of interest in Aristotelian-Thomistic metaphysics and one that treats issues to which that revival has so far given insufficient attention.

Edward Feser, Pasadena City College

"If it ever was true, as some commentators have said, that interest in Thomism has declined in recent years, this magnificent collection displays the mature scholarship that exists currently in North American universities: lucidly written, thoroughly documented, the product of years of sustained research and deep personal engagement with themes of central and permanent significance in the thought of Thomas Aquinas, these essays each demand and deserve frequent re-reading.

Fergus Kerr, OP, FRSE, University of Oxford

Product Details

• Title: The Discovery of Being & Thomas Aquinas: Philosophical and Theological Perspectives
• Authors: Franklin T. Harkins, Christopher M. Cullen
• Publisher: Catholic University of America
• Print Publication Date: 2019
• Logos Release Date: 2023
• Pages: 310
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Subjects: Thomas, Aquinas, Saint, 1225?-1274; Thomism; Metaphysics; Philosophy, Medieval; Religious thought › Middle Ages, 600-1500
• Resource ID: LLS:DSCVRYBPRSPCTVS
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T19:37:27Z