Thomistic Philosophical Terms (part 2)

Michael’s answer to a reader’s question about where to find a handy accounting of Thomistic philosophical terms mentioned Fr William Wallace’s The Elements of Philosophy, which contains pithy renderings of these polyvalent terms. I read Michael’s mention of the book, mentally checked-off on the issue, and went about my day.

But then I remembered that, given the reader’s original concern as a teacher, Fr Wallace’s The Elements of Philosophy is carefully indexed to the corresponding articles on philosophical and theological terms to be found in the New Catholic Encyclopedia! Indeed, if I remember correctly, Fr Wallace wrote the thing as a distillation of the corresponding NCE content. So, to the original question and for our other readers, don’t forget that the New Catholic Encyclopedia (together with its 2003 update) has articles on these essential philosophical terms (many of which were authored by Wallace, Weisheipl, and thomistic lights).

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.

Historical Theology Job at Providence College

The good people at Providence College’s Theology Department are announcing a job opening for August of 2011. Applications will be due on October 15, 2010. Here is part of the announcement:

PROVIDENCE COLLEGE announces an opening for an Assistant Professor (tenure track) in the Department of Theology commencing August 2011. A doctoral degree in Theology is required. The successful candidate must be competent in Historical Theology, and conversant in Reformation Theology.  Candidates should demonstrate excellence in undergraduate teaching, the ability to establish a scholarly research program, and a willingness to be in service to the college and community.

See the full description here in MS Word format.

New (and Newly Republished) English Translations of Aquinas’s Works

In addition to the English translation of Aquinas’s sermons, noted in Jörgen Vijgen’s May post, there are several new arrivals for 2010:

• A new translation of question 3 of De potentia, On Creation, by Susan Selner-Wright from the CUA Press series “Aquinas in Translation”
• A reprinting in three volumes of the Commentary on the Gospel of John, translated by Fabian Larcher, O.P. and James A. Weisheipl, O.P., with a new introduction and notes by Daniel Keating and Matthew Levering, also from CUA Press
• A new translation of the Disputed Questions on Virtue by Jeffrey Hause and Claudia Eisen Murphy in the “The Hackett Aquinas” series

It appears that that 2010 is turning into the Year of the Translation for Aquinas studies, at least in English.

Call for papers on Aquinas at Kalamazoo

As they do every year, John Boyle and Ed Houser issue a call for papers for their sessions on Thomas Aquinas at Kalamazoo (see here for Michael Dougherty’s recent post on Kalamazoo, generally). Ed has provided all the details for your submission, chief among which are:

• Papers are 20 minutes in length.
• Deadline for 300 word abstract for presentation at Kalamazoo: 13 Sep 2010

He’s also provided a PDF with more information (here).

Call for Papers: International Congress on Medieval Studies

The general call for papers is out for the annual International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo, MI. This year’s conference will be held May 12-15, 2011. Planned sessions on Aquinas include:

• Know Thyself: Memory and Self-Knowledge in Augustine and Aquinas
• The Theological Methodologies of Thomas Aquinas and Other Scholastic Theologians
• Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas
• Thomas Aquinas

Also of note are:

• The Philosophy and Theology of Nicolas of Cusa
• Robert Grosseteste and Natural Philosophy
• Robert Grosseteste and the Cura Pastoralis
• Nature and Word in Medieval Philosophy
• Natural Law and Moral Philosophy
• Natural Law and Political Philosophy

Another installment of the annual session How to Get Published: Advice from Editors and Insiders sponsored by La corónica is also planned. Past sessions have been wonderful and the advice offered is quite good.

Call for papers: Fordham conference on the Metaphysics of Aquinas (March 26-27, 2011)

From the Center for Medieval Studies, Fordham University, a call for papers for their 31st Annual Conference of the Center for Medieval Studies (Lincoln Center Campus, March 26-27, 2011), entitled “The Metaphysics of Aquinas and Its Modern Interpreters: Theological and Philosophical Perspectives.” Their description:

Fordham University’s Center for Medieval Studies invites scholars from different disciplines and scholarly methodologies to explore Aquinas’s metaphysics and how it relates to various aspects of his philosophy and theology and/or to modern retrievals of his thought.

The Conference seeks to capitalize on the pluralism of Thomistic studies by inviting papers from a wide range of areas within the disciplines of philosophy and theology. Conference organizers welcome papers that may approach the topic from various branches of philosophy (such as the philosophy of religion, ontology, or natural theology), or various fields of theology, such as historical, fundamental, or systematic theology (including such areas as Trinitarian theology, Christology, or theological anthropology). Conference organizers also seek a representative variety of approaches to Aquinas and to Thomism, including those of the Dominican commentators, Transcendental Thomism, Existential Thomism, analytic philosophy, and postmodernism. 

The Conference will include a special strand of sessions on what many regard as one of the central problems in the contemporary retrieval of Aquinas?s thought, namely, how to account for the mind?s knowledge of being qua being, or as this issue is often referred to, the discovery of the being of metaphysics.

If you are interested in speaking at this conference, please send a cover letter with contact information and an abstract of your paper to the Conference Committee at medievals@fordham.edu, or by regular mail to Fordham Center for Medieval Studies, Faculty Memorial Hall 405B, Bronx, New York 10458. The deadline for submissions is September 10, 2010.

Participants include:

Christopher Cullen, S.J
Brian Davies, O.P.
Lawrence Dewan, O.P.
Stephen Fields, S.J.
Paul Gondreau
Franklin T. Harkins
Gyula Klima
John Knasas
R. James Long
Steven Long
Giorgio Pini
Eleonore Stump
Rudi te Velde
Joseph Wawrykow
John Wippel

There is a PDF of the conference announcement here.

The UofT Colloquium in Mediaeval Philosophy 2010 (September 24-25 2010)

Here’s the line-up for this fall’s Colloquium on Mediaeval Philosophy at the University of Toronto:

Friday, September 24

Session I (4:30 - 6:30)
Chair:  Julie Allen (York University)
Speaker:  John Marenbon (Cambridge University): “Abelard’s Semantics”
Commentator:  Andrew Arlig (Brooklyn College) 

Saturday, September 25

Session II (10:00 - 12:00)
Chair:  Michael Barnwell (Niagara University)
Speaker:  Katherin Rogers (University of Delaware): “Anselm on the Ontological Status of Choice”
Commentator:  Scott MacDonald (Cornell University)

Session III (2:00 - 4:00)
Chair: Simona Vucu (University of Toronto)
Eduardo Záchia (University of Ottawa): “Thomistic Dualism and Compatibility Theory”
Ian Drummond (University of Toronto): “Duns Scotus on the Role of the Moral Virtues”
Sydney Penner (Cornell University): “Francisco Suárez on Intending an End”

Session IV (4:15 - 6:15)
Chair:  Jorge J.E. Gracia (University of Buffalo)
Speaker:  Mark Henninger (Georgetown University): “Realism and Anti-Realism on Relations”
Commentator:  Charles Bolyard (James Madison University)

For more information see the website.

Steven Long's book on Pure Nature

My friend from many years back, and Ave Maria University publishing fiend, Steven Long, has published his book on natura pura at Fordham University Press (link). Here is a scrape from the Fordham University Press site:

From speculative theology to the exegesis of Aquinas, to contemporary North American philosophy and Catholic social and ethical thought, to the thought of Benedict XVI, this work argues the crucial importance of the proportionate natural end within the context of grace and supernatural beatitude.

In two initial chapters, the book argues that Henri de Lubac and Hans Urs von Balthasar erred by negating the proportionate natural end for man within the doctrine of grace. Given the loss of natura within theological method, its recovery requires philosophic instrumentalities. In its third chapter, this book argues that the analytic thought so widespread in Anglophone circles cannot replace the role of classical Thomism within theology. The fourth chapter argues against those who construe affirmation of a proportionate natural end as equivalent to social Pelagianism, engaging the work of Jacques Maritain, Jean Porter, and David Schindler, Sr. In an appendix, the author examines the early thought of Cardinal Ratzinger / Pope Benedict XVI, and its development toward the Regensburg Lecture.

The late Ralph McInerny thought highly of it, and it’s been mentioned on an Italian blog! Long has another book coming out through ND Press.

Medieval Jewish Moral and Political Philosophy

I have met Jonathan Jacobs (Colgate University [Faculty Page]) a few times at Liberty Fund symposia, and very much enjoyed his interventions at those gatherings. He recently shared the news that his book on Medieval Jewish moral and political philosophy is now published by Oxford University Press. Jon says:

Please pardon the self-promotion; my Law, Reason, and Morality in Medieval Jewish Philosophy was very recently published by Oxford. It is currently available in the U.K. and will be available in the U.S. in several weeks. Like many books these days, it is quite expensive but you might consider asking your library to purchase a copy. It is mainly a study of the moral psychology and moral epistemology of some medieval Jewish philosophers [Maimonides, Saadia, and Bahya]… thinkers supplying resources and insights of enduring relevance. It also includes discussion of their conceptions of free will, the virtues, the relation between the rational justification of practical requirements and revelation, and also the differences and the overlap between their moral epistemology and that of natural law theorizing and approaches through practical wisdom. I’m trying to help make some of these thinkers ‘more people’s business.’

You can see the OUP page devoted to the book here.

Editor change at The Thomist

Via Greg LaNave, assistant professor at the Dominican House of Studies (faculty page) and managing editor of The Thomist, comes news that the journal has a new Editor: Rev. Timothy Bellamah, O.P. (faculty page), replaces Rev. Joseph Torchia, O.P.