Art and Intellect in the Philosophy of Etienne Gilson (Eric Voegelin Institute Series in Political Philosophy)

376 Pages·2004·1.58 MB·English

by  Francesca Aran Murphy

Art and Intellect in the
Philosophy of Étienne Gilson
ERIC VOEGELIN INSTITUTE SERIES IN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
Other Books in the Series
Augustine and Politics as Longing in the World, by John von Heyking
Eros, Wisdom, and Silence: Plato’s Erotic Dialogues, by James M. Rhodes
A Government of Laws: Political Theory, Religion, and the American
Founding, by Ellis Sandoz
Hans Jonas: The Integrity of Thinking, by David J. Levy
Lonergan and the Philosophy of Historical Existence,
by Thomas J. McPartland
The Narrow Path of Freedom and Other Essays, by Eugene Davidson
New Political Religions, or an Analysis of Modern Terrorism,
by Barry Cooper
Robert B. Heilman and Eric Voegelin: A Friendship in Letters, 1944–1984,
edited by Charles R. Embry
Transcendence and History: The Search for Ultimacy from Ancient Societies
to Postmodernity, by Glenn Hughes
Voegelin, Schelling, and the Philosophy of Historical Existence, by Jerry Day
Art and Intellect in the
Philosophy of Étienne Gilson
(cid:2)
Francesca Aran Murphy
University of Missouri Press
Columbia and London
Copyright © 2004 by
The Curators of the University of Missouri
University of Missouri Press, Columbia, Missouri 65201
Printed and bound in the United States of America
All rights reserved
5 4 3 2 1 08 07 06 05 04
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Murphy, Francesca Aran.
Art and intellect in the philosophy of Étienne Gilson /
Francesca Aran.
p. cm. — (Eric Voegelin Institute series in political
philosophy)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN0-8262-1536-X (alk. paper)
1. Gilson, Étienne, 1884–1978. 2. Philosophers—
France—Biography. I. Title. II. Series.
B2430.G474M87 2004
194—dc22
[B] 2004047942
™ This paper meets the requirements of the American
National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed
Library Materials, Z39.48, 1984.
Designer: Stephanie Foley
Typesetter: Phoenix Type, Inc.
Printer and binder: The Maple-Vail Book Manufacturing Group
Typefaces: ITCGalliard and Snell Roundhand
Publication of this book has been assisted by a generous
contribution from the Eric Voegelin Institute.
In memoriam
David Levy
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction
Time and Eternity 1
1. Draper’s Son, Catholic and Republican 11
2. Beginning with Descartes 33
3. Ad Fontes: Gilson’s Erasmian Method 48
4. “Under the Ensign of Saint Francis and Saint Dominic” 63
5. Reason and the Supernatural 92
6. Christian Philosophy 102
7. Newspapers and Utopias 130
8. Humanist Realism 142
9. World War II History and Eternity 173
10. Gilson’s Theological Existentialism:
The Metaphysics of the Exodus 203
11. Ecclesial Cold War 227
12. Between the Temporal and the Eternal Cities 243
13. “Facts Are for Cretins” 257
14. A “Pictorial Approach to Philosophy” 275
vii
viii Contents
15. Gilson’s Grumpy Years 290
Afterword
The Miracle of Being:
Gilson’s Presence in Contemporary Theology 331
Bibliography 343
Index of Persons 359
Acknowledgments
Tony Schmitz proofread this book, remedying errors on nearly every page:
what can I say? I would particularly like to thank Fr. Joe Komanchak for
stimulating conversations that helped me to deepen my knowledge of
twentieth-century French theology, and of much else. I have been given
much-needed encouragement by Dan Scuiry. Paul Molnar and Philip Rose-
mann exemplified the virtue of intellectual charity in their creative criti-
cisms. When I fell ill in the middle of writing, Leila and Leslie McFarland,
Pauline Jacobson, Fr. Richard Cropsey, and Lotte Gaberle behaved like
angels. My mother never fails in her support of anything that I write; none
of my literary endeavors would be possible without her. I could never have
written a book about a man who devoted his vast intellectual energies to the
defense of Christian philosophy without having known a great Christian
philosopher, Dallas Willard. I am most grateful to all of these kind friends.
ix