[article] Étienne Gilson’s Christian Philosophy of Creation
ABSTRACT: When the name “Étienne Gilson” is mentioned, a multitude of appropriate phrases and notions easily come to mind due to Gilson’s significant contributions in multiple areas of philosophical scholarship. Two of those areas concern 1) the notion of Christian philosophy, as well as 2) the metaphysics of Aquinas. In fact, Gilson would consider the exercise of the latter—that is, the explication and application of Thomistic metaphysics to reality—to be a significant portion of the exercise of the former. In the following paper, I aim to show Gilson’s doctrine of creation, while significantly inspired by his reading of the metaphysics of Aquinas, is first and foremost, an exercise in Christian philosophical inquiry. To this end, in Part One, I will first give a brief explanation of what Christian philosophy is for Gilson and, secondly, will show how Gilson regards the philosophical treatment of creation to be an act of Christian philosophy. Part Three will consist in a brief textual treatment of Gilson’s Christian philosophy of creation from the emphasis on the doctrine qua philosophical understanding to the doctrine as influenced by Christianity.… Read More [article] Étienne Gilson’s Christian Philosophy of Creation
