Being and Some Philosophers
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.83 (947 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 088844415X |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 248 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-07-11 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
A little-read masterpiece Gilson's treatise is a wonderful survey of the history of metaphysics, in its endless struggle with the question of being. Every bit as ferocious a critique of the metaphysical tradition as anything Heidegger wrote, and arguably superior in terms of insight and coherence, BEING AND SOME PHILOSOPHERS ultimately resolves philosophy's perennial "forgetfulness regarding existence" by a turn to Thomas Aquinas and the Thomist concept of God as the actus essendi subsistens. Anyone who thinks, after reading this book, that Thomas is not as innocent of metaphysical naivete. Five Stars Seth Ellsworth Great book, fast shipping, thanks!. Incredible A Customer This is perhaps the greatest and most illuminating study of the history of metaphysics and the problems that motivate it that I've ever read. Gilson begins by discussing metaphysics as the inquiry of being qua being and shows why philosophy is led endlessly back to this issue because of a fundamental ambiguity belonging to the concept of being. On the one hand we use being as a noun denoting possibility or the whatness of a thing. For instance, a triangle is a three sided figure regardless of whether triangles actually exist or not. On the other hand we use being
The study of being was one of the main preoccupations of Etienne Gilson's scholarly and intellectual life. The book charts the ways in which being is translated across history, from unity in Plato and substance in Aristotle to essence in Avicenna and the act of existence in Aquinas. Indeed, the appendix to this revised edition contains critiques of the book by two Thomists as well as Gilson's replies to their objections.. And yet Being and Some Philosophers remains not so much an historical investigation (although it could only have been written by a scholar steeped in the history of philosophy) but, in the words of its author, "a philosophical book, and a dogmatically philosophical one at that." Its passionate vigour has proven, over many years, at once fresh and provocative.