Étienne Gilson
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Étienne Gilson
Étienne Henri Gilson (; 13 June 1884 – 19 September 1978) was a French philosopher and historian of philosophy. A scholar of medieval philosophy, he originally specialised in the thought of Descartes; he also philosophized in the tradition of Thomas Aquinas, although he did not consider himself a neo-Thomist philosopher. In 1946, he attained the distinction of being elected an "Immortal" (member) of the Académie française. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. In 2009, the International Étienne Gilson Society was created “to promote the thought of Étienne Gilson and classical philosophy in the academy and culture.” It publishes a journal, ''Studia Gilsoniana''. Biography Born on 13 June 1884, in Paris, to a Roman Catholic family originally from Burgundy, Gilson attended the minor seminary at Notre-Dame-des-Champs, then finished his secondary education at the Lycée Henri IV. After finishing his military service, during which he began to read Re ...
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Western Philosophy
Western philosophy refers to the Philosophy, philosophical thought, traditions and works of the Western world. Historically, the term refers to the philosophical thinking of Western culture, beginning with the ancient Greek philosophy of the Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratics. The word ''philosophy'' itself originated from the Ancient Greek (φιλοσοφία), literally, "the love of wisdom" , "to love" and σοφία ''Sophia (wisdom), sophía'', "wisdom". History Ancient The scope of ancient Western philosophy included the problems of philosophy as they are understood today; but it also included many other disciplines, such as pure mathematics and natural sciences such as physics, astronomy, and biology (Aristotle, for example, wrote on all of these topics). Pre-Socratics The pre-Socratic philosophers were interested in cosmology (the nature and origin of the universe), while rejecting unargued fables in place for argued theory, i.e., dogma superseded reason, ...
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Thomistic
Thomism is the philosophical and theological school which arose as a legacy of the work and thought of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), the Dominican philosopher, theologian, and Doctor of the Church. In philosophy, Thomas's disputed questions and commentaries on Aristotle are perhaps his best-known works. In theology, his ''Summa Theologica'' is amongst the most influential documents in medieval theology and continues to be the central point of reference for the philosophy and theology of the Catholic Church. In the 1914 motu proprio ''Doctoris Angelici'', Pope Pius X cautioned that the teachings of the Church cannot be understood without the basic philosophical underpinnings of Thomas's major theses: Overview Thomas Aquinas held and practiced the principle that truth is to be accepted no matter where it is found. His doctrines drew from Greek, Roman, Islamic and Jewish philosophers. Specifically, he was a realist (i.e. unlike skeptics, he believed that the world can b ...
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Académie Française
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and Skills, skill, north of Ancient Athens, Athens, Greece. The Royal Spanish Academy defines academy as scientific, literary or artistic society established with public authority and as a teaching establishment, public or private, of a professional, artistic, technical or simply practical nature. Etymology The word comes from the ''Academy'' in ancient Greece, which derives from the Athenian hero, ''Akademos''. Outside the city walls of Athens, the Gymnasium (ancient Greece), gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning. The sacred space, dedicated to the goddess of wisdom, Athena, had formerly been an olive Grove (nature), grove, hence the expression "the groves of Academe". In these gardens, the philos ...
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Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the Western tradition. A Doctor of the Church, he was from the county of Aquino, Italy, Aquino in the Kingdom of Sicily. Thomas was a proponent of natural theology and the father of a school of thought (encompassing both theology and philosophy) known as Thomism. Central to his thought was the doctrine of natural law, which he argued was accessible to Reason, human reason and grounded in the very nature of human beings, providing a basis for understanding individual rights and Moral duty, moral duties. He argued that God is the source of the light of natural reason and the light of faith. He embraced several ideas put forward by Aristotle and attempted to synthesize Aristotelianism, Aristotelian philosophy with the principles of Christianity. A ...
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Medieval Philosophy
Medieval philosophy is the philosophy that existed through the Middle Ages, the period roughly extending from the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century until after the Renaissance in the 13th and 14th centuries. Medieval philosophy, understood as a project of independent philosophical inquiry, began in Baghdad, in the middle of the 8th century, and in France and Germany, in the itinerant court of Charlemagne in Aachen, in the last quarter of the 8th century. It is defined partly by the process of rediscovering the ancient culture developed in Greece and Rome during the Classical period, and partly by the need to address theological problems and to integrate sacred doctrine with secular learning. This is one of the defining characteristics in this time period. Understanding God was the focal point of study of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim Philosophers and Theologians. The history of medieval philosophy is traditionally divided into two main periods: the period ...
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Scholar
A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a terminal degree, such as a master's degree or a doctorate (PhD). Independent scholars and public intellectuals work outside the academy yet may publish in academic journals and participate in scholarly public discussion. Definitions In contemporary English usage, the term ''scholar'' sometimes is equivalent to the term ''academic'', and describes a university-educated individual who has achieved intellectual mastery of an academic discipline, as instructor and as researcher. Moreover, before the establishment of universities, the term ''scholar'' identified and described an intellectual person whose primary occupation was professional research. In 1847, minister Emanuel Vogel Gerhart spoke of the role of the scholar in society: Gerhart argued ...
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Historian Of Philosophy
The history of philosophy is the systematic study of the development of Philosophy, philosophical thought. It focuses on philosophy as rational inquiry based on argumentation, but some theorists also include myth, Religion, religious traditions, and proverbial lore. Western philosophy originated with an Metaphysics, inquiry into the fundamental nature of the cosmos in Ancient Greece. Subsequent philosophical developments covered a wide range of topics including the nature of reality and the mind, Ethics, how people should act, and Epistemology, how to arrive at knowledge. The medieval period was focused more on theology. The Renaissance period saw a renewed interest in Ancient Greek philosophy and the emergence of Renaissance humanism, humanism. The modern period was characterized by an increased focus on how philosophical and scientific knowledge is created. Its new ideas were used during the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment period to challenge traditional authorities. Influ ...
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Philosopher
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational and critical inquiry that reflects on its methods and assumptions. Historically, many of the individual sciences, such as physics and psychology, formed part of philosophy. However, they are considered separate academic disciplines in the modern sense of the term. Influential traditions in the history of philosophy include Western philosophy, Western, Islamic philosophy, Arabic–Persian, Indian philosophy, Indian, and Chinese philosophy. Western philosophy originated in Ancient Greece and covers a wide area of philosophical subfields. A central topic in Arabic–Persian philosophy is the relation between reason and revelation. Indian philosophy combines the Spirituality, spiritual problem of how to reach Enlightenment in Buddhism, enlighten ...
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Anton Charles Pegis
Anton Charles Pegis (August 24, 1905 – May 13, 1978) was an American philosopher and historian of philosophy in the tradition of Thomas Aquinas. Pegis was the earliest of what would become a prominent group of historians of medieval philosophy, including Joseph Owens and Armand Maurer, who studied under Étienne Gilson and spent the majority of their careers teaching at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies. Pegis served as president of the Institute from 1946 to 1952. Education Pegis was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to parents of Greek descent. His parents gave him instruction in Greek language, which would later prove valuable in his academic career. Pegis received a B.A. from Marquette University in 1928. In the fall of 1928, while a scholarship student at University of Chicago, Pegis took inspiration from the lectures of Carl Darling Buck and Paul Shorey. In 1929, he completed his M.A. at Marquette University. In the fall of 1929, Pegis entered the recently fo ...
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The Unity Of Philosophical Experience
''The Unity of Philosophical Experience'' is a 1937 book by Étienne Gilson in which the author provides a critique of Western philosophy, focused in turn on medieval philosophy, Cartesianism, and modern Kantianism and Comtean positivism. Reception Philosopher and theologian Benedict M. Ashley compared Copleston's '' A History of Philosophy'' to some of the most famous histories of philosophy including Gilson's as follows: "Some histories of philosophy, like the admirable one of Frederick Copleston, only attempt to give an accurate account of various philosophies in their general historical setting. Others, like Bertrand Russell in his absurd ''History of Western Philosophy Western philosophy refers to the Philosophy, philosophical thought, traditions and works of the Western world. Historically, the term refers to the philosophical thinking of Western culture, beginning with the ancient Greek philosophy of the Pre ...'' or Etienne Gilson in his brilliant ''The Unity of Phi ...
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