Thomas and the Mendicant Controversies: a new printing of English translations

A somewhat self-serving post. Over on my personal web site I have a post about a forthcoming book that contains hard-to-find English translations of Thomas’s three works devoted to the mendicant controversies at the University of Paris (from 1256-1271). I did not do the translations, but did write a general overview of the controversies and short introductions to each work (i.e., Contra impugnantes dei cultum et religionem [1256], De perfectione spiritualis vitae [1269-1270], and Contra doctrinam retrahentium a religione, [1271-1272]).

Abbey Library of St. Gall, Switzerland online

Just a reminder for any medievalist-types that the magnificent Abbey Library of St. Gall, in Switzerland, is a fabulous place for on-line study. Their website leads almost all others that I've seen in terms of the quality of the images and the wealth of information available. Here is (from the Library) a list of features:

• Free access: www.cesg.unifr.ch
• High resolution digital images: over 52,000 facsimile pages
• Regularly updated: now 131 complete manuscripts
• Manuscript descriptions and many search options
• Accessible in German, French, English and Italian

Keep up your paleography!

Biblical Thomistic links

There is a whole batch of neat links about Aquinas, favoring his connection with biblical material, to be found on the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology web site. See it here. You can also see some translations of sermons that are otherwise hard to find (such as the ones on the Pater and the Ave).

Fr Farrell’s Companion to the Summa on-line

I must be the last person on the planet to know this, but Fr Walter Farrell, OP’s, famous Companion to the Summa, is on-line for all to consult. You can use the thing as a handy on-line book, or simply download it for use on your own computer. It covers all the matter from the Summa theologiae in a conversational yet authoritative way.

Obiter dictum: Fr Farrell (1902-1951) is buried in All Saints Cemetery in Des Plaines, Illinois, next to the graves of Humbert Kane, OP, Raymond “Jude” Nogar, OP, and my beloved James A. Weisheipl, OP.

Intellect et imagination dans la philosophie médiéval: a new book from Brepols

The people at Brepols Publishing have produced the acta of the SIEPM conference held in Porto in 2002 (which reminds me; I've got to get my application into the SIEPM!). Here is the blurb from that Brepols sent out as an e-mail:

Le XI^ème Congrès International de Philosophie Médiévale de la Société Internationale pour l'Étude de la Philosophie Médiévale (S.I.E.P.M..) s'est déroulé à Porto (Portugal), du 26 au 30 août 2002, sous le thème général: Intellect et Imagination dans la Philosophie Médiévale. A partir des héritages platonicien, aristotélicien, stoïcien, ou néo-platonicien (dans leurs variantes grecques, latines, arabes, juives), la conceptualisation et la problématisation de l'imagination et de l'intellect, ou même des facultés de l'âme en général, apparaissaient comme une ouverture possible pour aborder les principaux points de la pensée médiévale. Les Actes du congrès montrent que « imagination » et « intellect » sont porteurs d'une richesse philosophique extraordinaire dans l'économie de la philosophie médiévale et de la constitution de ses spécificités historiques. Dans sa signification la plus large, la théorisation de ces deux facultés de l'âme permet de dédoubler le débat en au moins six grands domaines: — la relation avec le sensible, où la fantaisie/l'imagination joue le rôle de médiation dans la perception du monde et dans la constitution de la connaissance ; — la réflexion sur l'acte de connaître et la découverte de soi en tant que sujet de pensée ; — la position dans la nature, dans le cosmos, et dans le temps de celui qui pense et qui connaît par les sens externes, internes et par l'intellect ; — la recherche d'un fondement pour la connaissance et l'action, par la possibilité du dépassement de la distante proximité du transcendant, de l'absolu, de la vérité et du bien ; — la réalisation de la félicité en tant qu'objectif ultime, de même que la découverte d'une tendance au dépassement actif ou mystique de toutes les limites naturelles et des facultés de l'âme ; — la constitution de théories de l'image, sensible ou intellectuelle, et de ses fonctions. Les 3 volumes d'Actes incluent les 16 leçons plénières et 112 communications, ainsi que les index correspondants (manuscrits ; noms anciens et médiévaux ; noms modernes ; auteurs).

The full, multi-lingual title , and other information for the book, is as follows: Intellect et imagination dans la philosophie médiévale - Intellect and Imagination in Medieval Philosophy - Intelecto e imaginaçao na filosofia medieval, edité par Cândida Pacheco et José Francisco Meirinhos (Turnhout: Brepols, 2006), 3 vols., xliv + 2009 p., 160 x 240 mm, 2006, RPM 11, ISBN 978-2-503-51818-3, EUR 130.

Journée saint Thomas d’Aquin (2 décembre 2006)

Just in from Adriano Oliva and Ruedi Imbach, the (delayed) announcement of the “Journée thomiste” in Paris, on December 2, 2006. Here’s what will take place:

• Accueil
• Dr. Valérie CORDONIER (Fribourg CH), « Piscis stupefactor ». La physique de Simplicius et d’Averroès chez Thomas d’Aquin
• Prof. Walter SENNER, OP (Rome), Verité chez s. Thomas d’Aquin: pas seulement un concept logique
• Prof. Ruedi IMBACH (Paris), Thomas d’Aquin citant Averroès: quelques observations
• Présentation de quelques livres, par Ruedi IMBACH et Adriano OLIVA, OP

More information about the day’s events and costs can be found in the PDF Fr Oliva sent along.

A new "Documenti e studi," with emphasis on ethics

One of the best journals in medieval philosophy is Documenti e studi, published by SISMEL, and described by it as “…an International Journal on the Philosophical Tradition from Late Antiquity to the Late Middle Ages of the «Società Internazionale per lo Studio del Medioevo Latino» and of the «Società per l’Edizione dei Testi Antichi e Medievali». The latest issue of this journal—an annual—is now appearing, and is chock full of useful studies on medieval ethical theory, by highly-regarded specialists in the area:

• J. Celano, The Understanding of Beatitude, the Perfection of the Soul in the Early Latin Commentaries on Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
• M. J. Tracey, An Early 13th-Century Commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics I, 4-10: The Lectio cum Questionibus of an Arts-Master at Paris in MS Napoli, Biblioteca Nazionale VIII G 8, ff.4ra-9vb
• T. Hoffmann, Voluntariness, Choice, and Will in the Ethics Commentaries of Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas
• S. Vecchio, Il discorso sulle passioni nei commenti all’Etica Nicomachea: da Alberto Magno a Tommaso d’Aquino
• M. W. F. Stone, Equity and Moderation: The Reception and Uses of Aristotle’s Doctrine of in the epieikeia in the Thirteenth-Century Ethics
• I. Costa, Il problema dell’omonimia del bene in alcuni commenti scolastici all’Etica Nicomachea
• L. Bianchi, Boèce de Dacie et l’Ethique à Nicomaque
• S. Gentili, L’Etica volgarizzata da Taddeo Alderotti (m. 1295). Saggio di commento
• V. Mäkinen, The Influence of the Commentaries on Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics and Politics on the Discussion on Property Rights
• P. Falzone, Ignoranza, desiderio, giudizio. L’Etica Nicomachea nella struttura argomentativa di Monarchia III 3
• G. Fioravanti, Etica e biologia in un anonimo trattato di eugenetica. Edizione del Libellus de ingenio bone nativitatis (ca. 1314)
• L. Cova, Felicità e beatitudine nella Sententia libri Ethicorum di Guido Vernani da Rimini
• T. Holopainen, The Will and Akratic Action in William Ockham and John Duns Scotus
• D. A. Lines, Pagan and Christian Ethics: Girolamo Savonarola and Ludovico Valenza on Moral Philosophy
• S. Müller, Wiener Ethikkommentare des 15. Jahrhunderts
• G. Alliney, Per un confronto fra le redazioni del Commento alle Sentenze di Francesco della Marchia: la versione ‘maggiore’ di In Sent., I, d. 1, q. 6
• L. O. Nielsen - C. Trifogli, Questions on the Beatific Vision by Thomas Wylton and Sibert de Beka

Can’t wait for this one to show up in the Library!

Christendom College seeks generalist in Classics

From Steve Synder (a bud from Toronto; Steve did his work with James A. Weisheipl, OP):

Christendom College, Front Royal, VA, has an opening for a full-time position teaching in our Department of Classical and Early Christian Studies, to begin August, 2007. We are looking for a generalist in Classics willing to teach Greek and Latin on all undergraduate levels. A commitment to Latin and Greek composition, as well as an interest in the teaching of spoken Latin is desired. Christendom College is a wonderful place for a dedicated teacher, with bright and eager students participating in a demanding program in Greek and Latin.  

Here is a PDF version and an MS Word version of the posting.

CUA Press publishes collection of Lawrence Dewan, OP's articles

The Catholic University of America Press has published a collection of Lawrence Dewan, OP’s articles, all of them dealing with metaphysics. Form and Being: Studies in Thomistic Metaphysics is volum 45 in the CUA Press series “Studies in Philosophy and the History of Philosophy.”

Once again they have provided me with a PDF announcement of the publication, along with contact information. Here is a description of the book, from the PDF announcement:

Written over a period of twenty-five years, they range from an overall conception of the primary philosophical wisdom, to such particular subjects as the conception of substance in an evolutionary context; the natural seed of intellectual knowledge within the human being; the principle of causality; the immortality of the soul; and the real distinction between particular form and the act of being, crucial for our understanding of reality as created.

The method combines close readings of and reflections on the texts of Thomas Aquinas and other relevant thinkers. Because the essays were written largely in response to the work of several prominent twentieth-century metaphysicians, they regularly offer alternative views on fundamental issues.

The distinctive contribution of this volume is its focus on the role of form among the various items in the ontological analysis. The most prominent Thomistic metaphysicians in the twentieth century laid great stress on the role of the act of being. Dewan’s essays present what is essentially the same picture, but in a way that emphasizes the continuity between Christian philosophers and their predecessors in ancient Greece.

The volume contains thirteen of Dewan’s most significant pieces on metaphyics. Here is the table of contents:

CONTENTS:

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Abbreviations

1. What is Metaphysics?
2. What Does It Mean to Study Being “as Being”?
3. St. Thomas and the Seed of Metaphysics
4. St. Thomas, Physics, and the Principle of Metaphysics
5. St. Thomas and the Principle of Causality
6. St. Thomas and Analogy: The Logician and the Metaphysician
7. The Importance of Substance
8. St. Thomas, Metaphysics, and Formal Causality
9. St. Thomas, Metaphysical Procedure, and the Formal Cause
10. St. Thomas, Form, and Incorruptibility
11. St. Thomas and the Distinction between Form and Esse in Caused Things
12. Nature as a Metaphysical Object
13. The Individual as a Mode of Being according to Thomas Aquinas

Bibliography
Index of Names
Index of Topics

What else has Fr Dewan published during his career? How about 110 items? Here is a downloadable version of his Curriculum vitae, which one can consult to find other articles of interest. A collection of his articles on ethical matters is in the works.

Online edition of Schütz's "Thomas-Lexikon"

Enrique Alarcón—known to us mortals as “Superman”—has done it again. This time he’s put up an on-line version of Ludwig Schütz’s immortal Thomas-Lexikon: Sammlung, Übersetzung und Erklärung der in sämtlichen Werken des hl. Thomas von Aquin vorkommenden Kunstausdrücke und wissenschaftlichen Aussprüche. Starting with the second edition of the work, Alarcón has tidied things up, resulting in a third edition of the work. The Lexicon contains Schütz’s “Foreword,” dating from 1895, and a list of abbreviations and editions-used. A useful tool, indeed.

Here is the link: http://www.corpusthomisticum.org/tl.html

¡Gracias, Enrique!

Ralph McInerny's new book

Ralph McInerny has a new book coming out from CUA Press: Praeambula fidei: Thomism and the God of the Philosophers. The folks at CUA Press were kind enough to provide me with a PDF file press release of the thing. Here is some material from the release:

The praeambula fidei (“preambles of faith”) are regarded by Thomas Aquinas as the culmination of philosophy: natural theology, the highest knowledge of God that is possible on philosophical grounds alone. The natural home for such considerations is the Metaphysics of Aristotle and Thomas’s commentary on that work. Yet Thomas’s view has been cast into doubt, with philosophers and theologians alike attempting to drive a wedge between Aquinas and Aristotle. In this book, renowned philosopher Ralph McInerny sets out to review what Thomas meant by the phrase and to defend a robust understanding of Thomas’s teaching on the subject.

After setting forth different attitudes toward proofs of God’s existence and outlining the difference between belief and knowledge, McInerny examines the texts in which Thomas uses and explains the phrase “preambles of faith.” He then turns his attention to the work of eminent twentieth-century Thomists and chronicles their abandonment of the preambles. He draws a contrast between this form of Thomism and that of the classical Dominican commentators, notably Cajetan, arguing that part of the abandonment of the notion of the preambles as philosophical involves a misreading and misrepresentation of Cajetan.

McInerny concludes with a positive rereading of Aristotle’s Metaphysics and Aquinas’s use thereof. In the end, the book argues for a return to the notion of Aristotelico-Thomism—Thomistic philosophy as the organic development of the thought of Aristotle.

Table of Contents:

Preface

PART I: The Preambles of Faith

1. Introduction

PART II: The Erosion of the Doctrine

Prologue
2. Gilson’s Attack on Cajetan
3. De Lubac and Cajetan
4. Christian Philosophy
5. The Chenu Case
6. The Alleged Forgetfulness of Esse

PART III: Thomism and Philosophical Theology

Prologue
7. The Presuppostions of Metaphysics
8. The Science We Are Seeking
9. The Metaphysics as a Literary Whole
10. Methodological Interlude
11. The Book of Wisdom
12. Sed Contra
13. Aristotelian Existentialism and Thomistic Essentialism

Selected Bibliography

Index

For more information, contact Beth Benevides, Marketing Manager, (202) 319-5052 or e-mail benevides@cua.edu.

American Maritain Association meeting in Nashville (November 2-5, 2006)

The American Maritain Association will hold its 2006 Annual Conference at Aquinas College/Loews Vanderbilt Hotel, 2100 W End Ave, Nashville, TN, from November 2-5, 2006, on the topic “Nature, Science and Wisdom: The Role of the Philosophy of Nature”. The PDF for the conference schedule can be found here.