Aquinas’ "De unione verbi incarnati": An Interview with Dr. Klaus Obenauer, part 1.

On Wednesday, July 27^th we posted an announcement about a new volume on Aquinas’ disputed question, De unione verbi incarnati.  Below is the first installment of an interview with the author, translator, and editor of the volume, German scholar Prof. Dr. Klaus Obenauer.

Thomistica.net: tell us a little bit about yourself, your education, research interests, and your teaching.

Dr. Obenauer: I am a so called Research Assistant at the Faculty for Catholic Theology of the University of Bonn. This position is sustained by the “German Research Society” (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [DFG]).  

I teach Dogmatic Theology in Bonn and (temporarily) in Cologne.

My primary field of research is what we call the “Constitutional-Christology” of St. Thomas and his School. My specific projects in this area include: St. Thomas’ De unione (now completed and published in the volume that we discuss below).  Currently I am researching the contributions of a few select great Thomists: Bernhard of Auvergne, Capreolus, Cajetan, Bánez, and The Salmanticenses.

As a systematic theologian I am drawn to a thomistically “orientated” metaphysics: the possibility of a critical foundation of such a metaphysics (with some free adaptation and personal development of the Continental Transcendental Thomism) was the subject of my second thesis, what we call here the “habilitation thesis.”

Thomistica.net: How did you become interested in the De unione project?

Dr. Obenauer: Potius casu et fortuna. - And: After having worked on Aquinas’ metaphysics in my habilitation thesis, my interests became focused on the crucial problems of Constitutional Christology.

Thomistica.net: Tell us a little bit about the preparation of the critical edition of the Latin text.

Dr. Obenauer: Apart from the concrete (and final) redaction which always entails that difficult judgments be made, the preparation of the Latin text was in no way based solely on my merits. I am in deep gratitude to Fr. Adriano Oliva, Ph.D., who is currently head of the Leonine Commission. Fr. Oliva gave me access to copies of the manuscripts that the members and cooperators of the Commission deemed most important.

The critical Latin text included in my volume on the De unione is the result of a process of collaboration, in which Fr. Walter Senner, Ph.D., who teaches at the Angelicum in Rome and who is a former member of Leonine Commission, along with his assistant, had the principal role in evaluating the manuscripts.  We met for a series of sessions in which the manuscripts were collated for critical evaluation.

Thomistica.net: Do you know anything about the current status of the Leonine Commission’s work on the De Unione? And, will there be any relationship between your text and the work of the Commission on the De Unione?

Dr. Obenauer: As I noted in the previous question, Frs. Oliva and Senner were extremely helpful in my work on the De unione, but there is no formal relationship between my text and the Commission.  Furthermore, as you probably understand, it would be indiscreet for me to say more than that I am aware of existing preparatory works on the text by the Commission. And, I think that a Leonine Edition of De unione is not to be expected, at least in the next several years.

Thomistica.net: Can you mention one or two aspects of the Latin text in your volume that you think scholars and students of Aquinas will find particularly interesting?

Dr. Obenauer: Apart from the supplementary passages in DU 1 ad15 - presented already by Deloffre in her volume on the De unione (Paris: Vrin, 2000), which I discuss more in part 2, - the most surprising fact is that the 13^th and 14^th-century manuscripts, which we consulted, with respect to article 4 use “sustentificare” instead of “substantificare.” This is a significant change, say, from the common text published in the Marietti edition.  It appears three times in the third paragraph of the body of article 4.  In this group of manuscripts there is but one exception to this usage.

The only parallel, known up to now with regard to the critical editions, is the Qu. quodl. 3,2,2(/4) arg/ad1 (also christological context!).  In addition: It´s also not completely impossible that the respective preliminary passage in the corpus of article 3 has to be improved in favour of “vel secundum formam accidentalem vel secundum substantiam,” instead of  “substantia-lem”.

The second part of this interview is forthcoming.

Reflections on Ralph McInerny

St. Augustine’s Press has published a volume that gathers memorial notices and reflections on the life of Ralph McInerny. Edited by Christopher Kaczor, O Rare Ralph McInerny contains 33 contributions by friends, students, and colleagues. Contributors include Jude Dougherty, John Haldane, Lawrence Dewan OP, John Hittinger, Tony Lisska, Janet Smith, Alasdair MacIntyre, among others.  (I did notice that over a third of the essays in this collection were previously published and are freely available on various online outlets: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and one behind a paywall here). The volume also includes some short pieces by McInerny, including his 2009 ACPQ article “Why I am a Thomist.” The publisher’s blurb notes that proceeds from the volume go to the Women’s Care Center of St. Joseph County, Indiana. A wonderful tribute!

Thomistic Philosophical Terms (part 4)

While looking through the Notre Dame Press catalogue this morning I came across a forthcoming book by John W. (Jack) Carlson titled Words of Wisdom: A Philosophical Dictionary for the Perennial Tradition. Here is part of the publisher’s blurb:

It offers precise, yet clear and understandable accounts of well over a thousand key philosophical terms, richly cross-referenced. It also explains significant terms from other philosophical movements with which Thomism (and the Catholic intellectual tradition more generally) has engaged—either through debate or through judicious and creative incorporation. Moreover, it identifies a number of theological and doctrinal expressions to which perennial philosophy has contributed. Finally, it provides a comprehensive bibliography of works by Aquinas in English, expositions and discussions of perennial themes, and representative examples from the writings of all philosophers and theologians mentioned in dictionary entries.

While the book is not available until December, I thought it could be added to the growing list of resources on Thomistic philosophical terms (see parts 1, 2, 3).

New book on Christian Philosophy debates

Gregory Sadler has published a book with CUA Press presenting English translations of French articles on the contested issue of Christian philosophy. Reason Fulfilled by Revelation: The 1930s Christian Philosophy Debates in France begins with a substantive 96-page introduction and is followed by translations of articles by Etienne Gilson, Maurice Blondel, Gabriel Marcel, Antonin Sertillanges OP, Fernand van Steenberghen, and others, that originally appeared from 1931-1936. The book also contains a generous chronological bibliography of works on the French debates from 1927-2010. On his website, Sadler has posted some introductory videos that present his book.

Discounts on CUA Press books on Aquinas

The people over at Catholic University of America Press have a week-long celebration in honor of St. Thomas’s memorial (January 28 - the day of the translation of his bones). Brand-new and classic studies are discounted. See the list and learn more here.

New Book on Aquinas by Carl Still and Peter Eardley

The newest volume in Continuum’s “Guides for the Perplexed” series is a contribution by Carl Still and Peter Eardley on Thomas Aquinas. Here’s a blurb:

Aquinas: A Guide for the Perplexed is a clear and thorough account of Aquinas’s thought, his major works and ideas, providing an ideal guide to the important and complex writings of this key thinker. The book introduces all the key concepts and themes in Aquinas’s thought and examines the ways in which they have influenced philosophical and theological thought. Geared towards the specific requirements of students who need to reach a sound understanding of Aquinas’s ideas, the book serves as a clear and concise introduction to his philosophy and natural theology.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
2. Metaphysics
3. Psychology
4. Epistemology
5. Ethics
6. Politics
/ Notes / Bibliography / Index.

According to the publisher, the series aims at “upper-level undergraduates with some prior knowledge of philosophy.” A preview can be found on amazon.com. 

New book on Aquinas and the Passions: The Logic of Desire by Nicholas Lombardo, O.P.

CUA Press is pleased to announce publication of The Logic of Desire: Aquinas on Emotionby Nicholas Lombardo, O.P.  The book is a critical study of Aquinas’s account of emotion and its enduring relevance. It is also a winner of the 2011 John Templeton Award for Theological Promise. Here’s a scrape:

When Thomas Aquinas completed his Treatise on the Passions, it was likely the longest sustained discussion of the emotions ever written. His influence on medieval and early modern philosophy was enormous, overshadowing every other medieval author on the topic of emotion. Although Aquinas’s account of emotion merits attention for its historical significance and enduring value, it remains neglected by philosophers and theologians.

CUA Press has provided a PDF for your perusal.

Update on Dewan in Spanish project

Following up on the news from a year or so back, Liliana Irizar provided the following update:

I am writing to you because I would like you to have some news on the Dewan Project in Spanish before 2010 finishes. We are planning to publish Metaphysical Lessons II (Natural Theology). I think that this book will be coming out in mid 2011. We also hope to publish Conversations with Lawrence Dewan. This booklet will content the conversations that we have had (both by e-mail and personally) since January 2008 until now. Besides this, I am attaching the video trailer of the Dewan Seminar which was given in his visit to Colombia (September-October 2008): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViyFZ5ZtQ8o

A Thomist on youtube, in hi-def; does it get any better?

In search of scholarly books

The recent appearance of the Italian branch of amazon.com is a boon to bibliophiles who want to obtain books from Italian publishers. Before now, there was the option of ordering books from individual publishers, but doing so involved difficulties (and in my experience, various tax and shipping issues that were not always consistently applied). I’ve conducted a few sample searches and the inventory at present appears to highlight more recent books, but perhaps the inventory will be expanded in time.

For used books in all European languages, search engines www.addall.com and www.bookfinder.com are quite helpful. One problem with the latter site, however, is that searches are categorized by language and there is no option for Latin books, so Latin books they are often lumped randomly with other languages. For specialized scholarly books in philosophy and theology, one should always keep in mind Loome’s Theological Bookstore, and (as has been noted) Henry Stachyra’s online bookstore. As its name suggests, the International Franciscan Bookshop holds many Franciscan-related items, including Quaracchi volumes.

Perhaps readers could make suggestions in the comments below for other outlets for new and used scholarly books. Unfortunately, amazon.fr has not kept up its stock of Leonine volumes. Where else might one turn?

Ressourcement Thomism: a book from CUA Press

In from Reinhard Hütter, a reminder about a new book from CUA Press, entitled Ressourcement Thomism: Sacred Doctrine, the Sacraments, & the Moral Life. The book is a series of essays dedicated to the modern-day princeps thomistarum, Romanus Cessario, OP. The essays in the volume have been contributed by:

• Archbishop J. Augustine Di Noia
• Ambassador Mary Ann Glendon
• Guy Bedouelle, O.P.
• Bernhard Blankenhorn, O.P.
• Stephen L. Brock
• Lawrence Dewan, O.P.
• Reinhard Hütter
• Joseph W. Koterski, S.J.
• Matthew L. Lamb
• Benoît-Dominique de La Soujeole, O.P.
• Matthew Levering
• Steven A. Long
• Alasdair MacIntyre
• Graham J. McAleer
• Richard Schenk, O.P.
• Craig Steven Titus
• Thomas Weinandy, O.F.M. Cap.
• Thomas Joseph White, O.P.

Dr Hütter provided me a PDF of some of the book’s front matter. Learn more about the book at CUA Press’s webpage for it.

Thomistic Philosophical Terms

A reader writes:

I will be teaching a Thomistic philosophy class (starting in four days!) and was thinking it would be helpful to give my students a short list of terms with definitions to start them off (e.g. potency, act, form, matter, etc.). Do you know of such a list, or would I be best off to just make my own?

Good question. These two books should help:

• Bernard J. Wuellner, A Dictionary of Scholastic Philosophy, 2nd ed. (Milwaukee, WI: Bruce Publishing Company, 1966).
• William A. Wallace, O.P., The Elements of Philosophy: A Compendium for Philosophers and Theologians (New York : Alba House, 1977).

Also, definitions are present throughout Joseph Owens’s An Elementary Christian Metaphysics (Houston, TX: Center for Thomistic Studies, 1985). If you are looking for a primary text for students, there is a brief discussion of key terms in Aquinas’s short On the Principles of Nature, available here.

Henry's books, catalog 7: Philosophy, Theology, and Medieval

My guy, Henry Stachyra, keeps growing his bookselling business, Henry’s Books, and has released catalog 7 of his holdings. Swing on over to his website to forage through the catalog in a bid to be prepared this fall.