Books by "John F. Wippel"
4 books found
Thomistic Existentialism and Cosmological Reasoning
by John F. X. Knasas
2019 · Catholic University of America Press
Cosmological reasoning is an important facet of classical arguments for the existence of God, but these arguments have been subject to many criticisms. The thesis of this book is that Thomas Aquinas can dodge many of the classic objections brought against cosmological reasoning. These objections criticize cosmological reasoning for its use of the Principle of Sufficient Reason; its notion of existence as a predicate; its use of ontological reasoning; its reliance on sense realism; its ignoring of the problem of evil; and its susceptibility to the critique of "ontotheology" as famously put forward by Heidegger. Secondly, the book proposes that the kind of reasoning found in Aquinas's De Ente can be formulated in a more robust version. Prompted by Aquinas’s admissions that philosophical knowledge of God is the prerogative of metaphysics, the second main portion of the book extensively illustrates how the more robust version of the De Ente is the interpretive key for Aquinas’s many arguments for God. Hence, the book should be of interest both to philosophers engaged in cosmological reasoning discussion and to Thomists interested in understanding Aquinas’s viae to God. Finally, the deep purpose of the book is to reawaken interest in Thomistic Existentialism, an interpretation of Aquinas that flourished in the 1950's in the works of Etienne Gilson, Jacques Maritain, and Joseph Owens. In this interpretation, a particular thing’s existence is the actuality of the thing in the sense of a distinctive actus not translatable into something else, for example, the fact of the thing or the thing having form. This book clearly explains how this interpretation looks at Thomas's metaphysics, and why it helps illuminate metaphysical realities.
Far too often, the God of the philosophers, those who for the most part had no appointment at a university, are the primary sources relied upon by many authors nowadays in their approach to the problem of evil. These fifty-two Lord's day or Sabbath day readings draw the reader into a dialogue with university professors of the late medieval era and sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. The theme of these literary renditions of yesteryear's debates and disputations is the perennial quest by theologians to exonerate God from the charge that he is the author of evil. The sophistication and complexity of their scholastic method and solutions to the problem of evil may surprise, but hopefully will persuade, modern day readers to rethink their own conclusion about the problem, and to take up and read university theologians who were formerly unknown, all in the spirit of Anselm's faith seeking understanding.
Choosing the Right College is the most in-depth, independently researched college guide on the market, and the only source for students and parents who want the unvarnished truth about America’s top colleges and universities. Updated and expanded, Choosing the Right College 2012-13 features incisive essays, telling statistics, and revealing sidebars on 140 schools—Ivy League institutions, state universities, liberal arts colleges, religious schools, military academies, and lesser-known schools worth a careful look. Here you’ll discover information you can’t get anywhere else about the intellectual, political, and social conditions at each institution, including: •Insider tips on the best—and worst—departments, courses, and professors •The statistics that colleges don’t want you to know •A unique “traffic light” feature—red, yellow, or green—that reveals the state of intellectual freedom and the extent of political correctness on campus •The truth about day-to-day student life: the social scene, living arrangements, campus safety, clubs, sports, traditions, and much more •A roadmap for getting a real education at any school, whether a huge state university or a tiny liberal arts college •Essential financial information, including the extent of need-based financial aid and the average student-debt load of graduates •The most overpriced colleges—and the good values you don’t know about "Practically every aspect of university life that a potential student would want to investigate can be found within these pages.”—THOMAS E. WOODS JR., Ph.D., bestselling author of Meltdown
"In this stunning philosophical accomplishment, McCumber sheds important new light on the history of substance metaphysics and Heidegger's challenge to metaphysical thinking.... Well-documented, brilliant, definitely a major contribution to philosophy!" --Choice In this compelling work, John McCumber unfolds a history of Western metaphysics that is also a history of the legitimation of oppression. That is, until Heidegger. But Heidegger himself did not see how his conception of metaphysics opened doors to challenge the domination encoded in structures and institutions--such as slavery, colonialism, and marriage--that in the past have given order to the Western world.