DOMINICANSAND THE CHALLENGE

OF THOMISM

BIBLIOTEKA INSTYTUTU TOMISTYCZNEGOTEKSTY I STUDIA

DyrektorP K, O.P.

DOMINICANSAND THE CHALLENGE

OF THOMISM

E

MICHAŁ PALUCH PIOTR LICHACZ

INSTYTUT TOMISTYCZNYWARSZAWA

Typeseing: Zbigniew Pajda, O.P.

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Instytut Tomistycznyul. Dominikańska – Warszawa

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

M P and P LIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

P A R T O N E

A. PHILOSOPHY

. ST BFaut-il une « philosophie thomiste » ? . . . . . . . . . . . .

. L DSaint omas and philosophia perennis . . . . . . . . . . .

. J BGroping Towards Aristotle: Some Hopeful Trendsin Analytic Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

B. SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY

. G Eeologia and dispensatio: e Centrality of the DivineMissions in St. omas’s Trinitarian eology . . . . . . .

. M J. DUnlocking Divine Action: omas Aquinas andContemporary Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. T J We Enduring Significance of the Dominican Doctrineof Grace: e Case of Obediential Potency . . . . . . . . .

C. MORAL REFLECTION

. W GGratia etsi sit efficacior quam natura, tamen naturaessentialior est homini, et ideo magis permanens: Natureand Grace within Moral eology . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. M Se Return to Virtue: Challenges and Opportunities . . . .

. G BUne question disputée : Le statut épistémologiquede la « théologie spirituelle ». Les contributions de JacquesMaritain, Antonin Lemonnyer, omas Deman etPie-Raymond Régamey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

P A R T T WO

. PA HWhy omists Should Present emselvesas Anti-realists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. L DDesign, Darwinism, and Metaphysics . . . . . . . . . . . .

. J TAquinas, Personhood, and Postmodernism: In Searchof an Elusive Common Ground . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. T Bi primo per verba intenditur—Notes on omas’sUnderstanding of Authorial Intention andthe Literal Sense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. D Le Son’s Proper Work: Aquinas on the TrinitarianStructure of Christ Manifesting the Father . . . . . . . . .

. R Me Relation of Nature and Grace in omas Aquinasand His Interpreters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. R PSaint omas Aquinas on the Beginning of Human Life . .

. W Ge State of Aquinas Studies in China . . . . . . . . . . . .

I N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

e publication of these proceedings is made possible by a gener-ous grant from e Pontifical Faculty of eology of the ImmaculateConception, Washington, D.C., and e omist.

Gratitude is also due to the General Curia of theOrder of Preachers,and especially to the former Socius for the Intellectual Life, fr. MárcioCouto, for his fraternal support.

e editors of this volume want to note that three texts presentedduring the conference Dominicans and the Challenge of omism inWarsaw, July , were published elsewhere before these proceed-ings were ready for printing. e article by Serge-omas Boninoappeared in Nova et Vetera (French ed.) (): –. e arti-cle “Design, Darwinism, and Metaphysics” by Lawrence Dewan waspublished as “St. omas and Metaphysical Hierarchy: Some Obser-vations” in Nova et Vetera (English ed.) (): –. An earlierversion of the article by Gilles Emery appeared in e omist (): –. Permission from the editors of these journals to re-publish these articles is thankfully acknowledged.

CONTRIBUTORS

T B, O.P., teaches systematic and historical theologyat the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., serves aseditor of the speculative theological review e omist, and is a col-laborator of the Commissio Leonina, Paris.

G B, O.P., is professor of theology at eologicum ofthe Institut Catholique in Paris and a member of the CommissioLeonina in Paris. From to he was the editor of the Re-vue des Sciences philosophiques et théologiques. His publications in-clude: “L’étonnante Alliance: Evangile et miracles selon saintomasd’Aquin,” Revue thomiste (): –; “L’autorité des Pères selonomas d’Aquin,” Revue des Sciences philosophiques et théologiques (): –; “La théologie médiévale. Entre logique et mystique: lathéologie universitaire,” in J.-Y. Lacoste (dir.), Histoire de la théologie(Paris: Seuil, ), –.

ST B, O.P., teaches history of medieval philosophyat the Institut Catholique in Toulouse and dogmatic theology at theDominican House of Studies in Toulouse. He is the editor of the Revuethomiste. In December he was named as the General Secretaryof the International eological Commission. He published manyworks on Saint omas Aquinas. ese include: omas d’Aquin, Dela vérité. estion (La science en Dieu). Introduction, traduction etcommentaire, «Vestigia, », (Paris–Fribourg: Cerf–Éditions Univer-sitaires de Fribourg, ); Les anges et les démons: atorze leçons dethéologie catholique, (Paris: Parole et Silence, ).

J B, O.P., is an assistant professor of philosophy at theCatholic University of America. His doctoral dissertation is entitled“e Epistemic Status of Christian Beliefs inomasAquinas.” His ar-ticle “Natural eology” can be found in the Internet Encyclopedia of

Philosophy and his article “God’s Knowledge and Will” can be foundin the Oxford Handbook of omas Aquinas.

L D, O.P., is a member of Pontifical Academy ofSt.omas Aquinas and teaches philosophy at Dominican UniversityCollege, Oawa, Canada. His teaching career has included periods atthe University of Toronto and PIMS, and at the Catholic Universityof America. His recent publications include: Form and Being: Studiesin omistic Metaphysics (Washington, D.C.: e Catholic Universityof America Press, ); Wisdom, Law, and Virtue: Essays in omisticEthics (New York: Fordham University Press, ); “St. omas,Natural Law, and Universal Ethics” Nova et Vetera, English ed., (): –.

M J. D, O.P., is professor of philosophy and theologyat the Dominican School of Philosophy and eology at the Grad-uate eological Union, Berkeley, California. In addition to teach-ing, he has served as Student Master and Regent of Studies for theProvince of the Most Holy Name of Jesus and as Academic Deanfor the Dominican School. His publications include e UnangingGod of Love: omas Aquinas and Contemporary eology on DivineImmutability (Washington, D.C.: e Catholic University of Amer-ica Press, ), and Unloing Divine Action: Contemporary Scienceand omas Aquinas (Washington, D.C.: e Catholic University ofAmerica Press, [forthcoming]).

G E, O.P., is professor of dogmatic theology at the Univer-sity of Fribourg, Switzerland. He is a member of the Internationaleological Commission, and a member of the editorial board of theRevue omiste and of the Nova et Vetera (French edition). His re-cent publications include e Trinity: An Introduction to Catholic Doc-trine on the Triune God (Washington, D.C.: e Catholic Universityof America Press, ); he co-edited, with M. Levering, e OxfordHandbook of the Trinity (Oxford: Oxford University Press, ).

W G, O.P., is eologian of the Papal Household,Consultor of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, formerSocius of the Master of the Order for Central and Eastern Europe,

and for the Intellectual Life, and professor of moral theology at thePontifical University of Saint omas Aquinas in Rome (Angelicum).His recent publications include: Raunek sumienia teologii moral-nej [e Examination of Conscience of Moral eology], (Kraków:Wydawnictwo M, ); Jak żyć łaską. Płodność Boża w czyna ludz-ki [How to Live by Grace. e Fecundity of God in Moral Ac-tion] (Kraków: Wydawnictwo M, ); Bóg źródłem prawa. Ewan-gelia, Izrael, Natura, Islam [God as the Source of Law. Gospel, Israel,Nature, Islam], (Kraków: Wydawnictwo M, ).

W G, O.P., is preparing his doctoral dissertationon omistic philosophy at the University Santa Croce in Rome.

PA H, O.P., is professor of philosophy and servesas the academic dean of the Faculty of Philosophy of the PontificalUniversity of Saint omas Aquinas in Rome (Angelicum).

D L, O.P., is working at the University of Fribourg ona doctoral thesis on Trinitarian theology inAquinas’s Christology. Hehas previously taught theology at Providence College in Providence,Rhode Island.

P L, O.P., was a member of theomistic Institute inWar-saw, a teacher of dogmatic theology at the Dominican House of Stud-ies in Kraków, and a teacher of moral theology at the University ofFribourg, Switzerland. His publications include: Did Aquinas Justifythe Transition from ‘Is’ to ‘Ought’? (Warszawa: Instytut Tomistyczny,).

R M, O.P., is professor of dogmatic theology at the Inter-national eological Institute (Trumau, Vienna). His publications in-clude De veritate: id est? Vom Wesen der Wahrheit. Ein Gesprä mitomas von Aquin (Fribourg: Universitätsverlag Freiburg, Schweiz,); “Meister Eckharts erste aestio Parisiensis. Oder: Wie kannGoes Vernehmen das fundamentum seines Seins sein?” FreiburgerZeitsri ür Philosophie und eologie (): –; “Abstrac-tion: Apriori or Aporia? A Remark Concerning the estion of the

Beginning ofought in Aquinas, Aristotle, and Kant” (Angelicum (): –.

M P, O.P., is professor of dogmatic theology (since )and rector of the Dominican House of Studies in Kraków (since ).From to he was the director of the omistic Institute inWarsaw. His publications include: La profondeur de l’amour divin:Evolution de la doctrine de saint omas d’Aquin sur la predestina-tion (Paris: Vrin, ) and Traktat o zbawieniu, in: Dogmatyka, vol. (Warszawa: Biblioteka “Więzi”, ), –.

R P, O.P., is professor of moral theology and bioethics atthe Dominican House of Studies in Kraków, Poland. His publicationsinclude: “Koncepcja miłosierdzia według świętego Tomasza z Akwi-nu. Geneza, interpretacja i rozwinięcie” [Aquinas’s Notion of Mercy:Genesis, Interpretation and Development] Przegląd Tomistyczny XIV(): –; “Zarys zagadnienia kłamstwa jako czynu wewnętrz-nie złego” [An Outline of the estion of Lying as an IntrinsicallyEvil Act] in: Tomasz Gałuszka, O.P. (ed.),Dominikanie o prawdzie (Po-znań: W drodze, ), –; “Proporcjonalizm: pokusa utylitary-zmu w teologii moralnej” [Proportionalism: the Utilitarian Tempta-tion in Moral eology] Forum Teologiczne XII (): –.

M S. S, O.P., is associate professor of fundamentalmoral theology at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. He hasalso taught at the Graduate eological Union in Berkeley, Califor-nia. He is director of the “Saint omas Aquinas Institute for eol-ogy and Culture” and of the “Pinckaers Archives”. His publicationsinclude articles on the psychology of love, virtue ethics andmoral de-velopment; his monograph, By Knowledge and By Love: Charity andKnowledge in the Moral eology of St. omas Aquinas (Washing-ton, D.C.: e Catholic University of America Press, ) has newlybeen reissued in paperback.

J T, O.P., is professor of philosophy at Providence Col-lege in Providence, Rhode Island, and serves as Regent of Studiesand associate editor of e omist. His publications include: Ploti-nus, Tolma, and the Descent of Being: An Exposition and Analysis (New

York–Bern–Berlin: Peter Lang, ); Creatio ex nihilo and the eol-ogy of St. Augustine: e Anti-Maniaean Polemic and Beyond (NewYork–Bern–Berlin: Peter Lang, ); Exploring Personhood: An Intro-duction to the Philosophy of Human Nature (Lanham–Boulder–NewYork: Rowman and Lilefield, ).

T J W, O.P., is an assistant professor of dogmatictheology and the director of the omistic Institute in the PontificalFaculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House ofStudies, Washington, D.C. He has published articles in e omist,Nova et Vetera, and Pro Ecclessia, and is the author of Wisdom in theFace of Modernity. A Study in omistic Natural eology (Naples, FL:Sapientia Press, ).

INTRODUCTION

“St omas is our brother, but St Dominic is our father”—the say-ing by Ian Hislop describes quite properly the relationship the Do-minicans have to the doctor angelicus and his work.¹ e Dominicanway of thinking is not identifiable with omism but omism hasnot been and could not have been without importance for us. erelevance of Aquinas’s thought for the Dominicans is similar to therelevance of a proposal of an elder brother.

Brotherhood is a very challenging relationship. e Bible informsus about that from the beginning: Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, andthe most developed story about Joseph and his brothers are the bestknown descriptions of this challenge. It is so difficult to be broth-ers because brotherhood does not allow hiding in some hierarchicaldependence and stability. Brotherhood demands a partnership. Anda true partnership needs on the one hand some magnanimity, to rec-ognize the gis of the other, and on the other hand it needs some re-alism, to acknowledge limits of the other person. e biblical storiesso oen turned out badly because it seems that the brothers lackedthe necessary magnanimity and realism.

One can safely say that too many Dominican friars in their rela-tionship to omas have lacked both. For several centuries Aquinaswas the chosen and beloved theologian of the Catholic tradition. Itwas exquisite soil in which a lack of realism could thrive. e dy-namism of changes caused by the Second Vatican Council raisedsome serious questions about his legacy. at, in turn, has providedan excellent occasion for the lack of magnanimity. Should anyoneexpect omas’s brothers from his Order to be more perfect thanbrothers described in the Bible?

It would be interesting to discuss among Dominicans the reasonsfor the lack of magnanimity or realism toward Saint omas’s work.

. S T, e Way of the Preaer (London: Darton, Longman & Todd,), .

Yet such a topic as the Dominican reception of Aquinas’s heritageseemed to us at this time too narcissistic and too self-enclosed. eworld in which we live needs some healthy nourishment, just like inthe time of famine when Joseph was placed in charge of the wholeland of Egypt. e work of omas has been providing or at leastindicating this nourishment to the Church for centuries. Many of usare still inspired by his work, and we thought that it would be foolishif Dominicans in need of spiritual food were to disregard such a richsource that is so close to us. In this spirit we organized in Warsaw, inJuly , a conference for Dominican friars from all over the worldto identify together this nourishment for us today.

is book is the outcome of this conference. It is not a projectfor a school of theology.² Our purpose was much more limited. Wewanted to pass through the main domains of Aquinas’s thought torecognize the relevant topics that might fruitfully enter into the con-temporary debate. Obviously, such a project could not have treatedthe subject exhaustively. omas’s cathedral is far too big to be em-braced and current discussions are far too nuanced to squeeze theminto one volume. Hence, this book is rather a modest document ofone step, that more than sixty Dominican scholars made during thisconference to discuss Aquinas’s legacy on the international level. Wehope that the next steps will follow soon.

e structure of this book reflects—with several exceptions—theprogram of our conference. We began with general questions andthen proceeded to more detailed topics. In the first part there are ar-ticles that paint with wide brushes a general view of three main areasof Aquinas’s thought: philosophy, systematic theology, and moral re-flection. e second part contains a selection of texts that concernmore specific issues. Unfortunately, it was impossible to publish allthe presentations delivered during the conference. Nonetheless, thevariety of topics visible in the second part witnesses sufficiently tothe manifold Dominican interest in Aquinas’s philosophy and theol-ogy today.

. An interesting presentation of such a project has been published several yearsago. See: ST B et alii, omistes ou de l’actualité de saint omasd’Aquin, Paris: Parole et Silence, .

e first part opens with the section on philosophy. STB pleads for the autonomy of philosophy within Christiansearch for wisdom. According to him, contemporaryomists shouldprotect the independence of philosophical reflection, that is, theyshould protect it against diverse exaggerations of the subtle relation-ship between nature and grace. Aer Gilson and de Lubac, and giventhe fideistic and vigorous spirit of the radical orthodoxy movement,this seems to be one of the most important tasks for omists today.In the second article, L D presents his understand-ing of philosophia perennis and discusses the core issue of omisticmetaphysics of the last few decades: the question of the relation-ship between form and existence (esse). At the end of the section,J B offers some insightful remarks on possibilities for anencounter between omism and analytical philosophy. Althoughthese possibilities are considerable, he advises an aitude dialogicalrather than irenic, to avoid losing one’s identity.

Trinitarian reflection opens the section on systematic theology.G E presents Aquinas’s trinitology from the aspect of thedivine missions. Such a perspective reveals that omistic theologycontains a useful distinction (eternal processions—“economic” mis-sions) that helps to express the relationship between theologia andeconomia and to avoid cuing off trinitology from Christology andhistory of salvation. Aquinas’s description of the Trinitarian mysteryseems to be more convincing and satisfying than Rahner’s “imma-nent” and “economic” Trinity. In the second article, M Ddeals with the problem of causality, which is crucial for both theologyand philosophy. In modern science, causality shrank to somethingunivocally conceived and quantitatively described. e rich analogi-cal Aristotelian conception was thus reduced only to efficient causal-ity. Discoveries in modern physics seem to offer ways out. Yet theseways out have to finish with a kind of a “god of the gaps” unlessa metaphysical level of explanation is accepted. is section endswith an article by T J W on obediental potency,a crucial doctrine for the right understanding of the relationship be-tween nature and grace. Neither the gratuitous extrinsicism of grace(Luther, Barth), nor the non-gratuitous intrinsicism (de Lubac) is theright interpretation of Aquinas and the right path to follow today.

It is the gratuitous intrinsicism of grace that is the adequate solution(Cajetan, Feingold).

e last section of the first part concerns Aquinas’s moral reflec-tion. W G revisits the topic of the relationship be-tween nature and grace. Although moral philosophy enjoys its au-tonomy in regard to Christian moral thinking, only a theological per-spective provides the fullness of insight. e structure of the Summatheologiae may be considered as an intensification of the mode of di-vine presence in the created world (that is, Prima Pars—the divinepresence per potentiam, praesentiam et essentiam; Secunda Pars—pergratiam; Tertia Pars—per unionem in Christo). If this is the case, it be-comes clear that God is the main focus of the moral reflection in theSecunda Pars. M S presents a brief history and critiqueof the recent return to virtue ethics inmoral philosophy and theology.In his opinion, this situation offers many benefits for omist moral-ists. He warns, however, against some aspects of this renewal thatare irreconcilable with omist or even Catholic thought. In the lastarticle of this section, G B writes about the aitudeof some twentieth-century omists toward theology of spirituality.Oen disregarded as unnecessary or immanent to moral reflection,theology of spirituality is here presented as an important and indis-pensable part of any omistic project. As “theology of sanctifica-tion” or “theology of spiritual progress” it may focus on these aspectsof moral life, which oen are not taken into account by omisticscholars.

e second part of this volume contains eight studies. PA H, in his somewhat provocative article explains howomists should deal with modal realism. A omistic, down-to-earth aitude, oen applauded as moderate realism, in the contextof contemporary metaphysics leads to the rejection of the multi-plicity of possible worlds, that is, to … anti-realism. L D comes back to the problem of evolutionism and points out thatthe omistic perspective, with its insistence on God as the firstcause and the giver of forms for all living beings, allows us to seethe compatibility of the following two statements: the variety ofkinds of living things is an effect of random mutations (secondarycauses); the same phenomenon is a work of mind (the first cause).

J T deals with the postmodern crisis of personhood.Even though the importance of the topic extends beyond the realmof moral reflection, moral analysis suffers from that crisis in a specialway. Materialistically oriented modern science tries to deconstructthe human “sel” and at the same time questions Cartesian dualism.e laer critique presents a possibility of dialogue with omismand invites us to search for a new synthesis. e work on such a syn-thesis could be undertaken in the light of omistic anthropology.T B revisits problems pertaining to Aquinas’s exe-gesis. It has been stated (Boyle) that the “author’s intentio” should beunderstood not as “the meaning conceived by the human author” butonly as “the author’s purpose (finis)” and thatomas was interestedonly in the literal sense of the divine author of the Scripture (its firstcause). Both of these assertions seem to be inadequate in the light ofa careful analysis. D L focuses on a challenge of trinitar-ian theology: he replies to the critique that the omistic approachdoes not express the distinctiveness of the divine persons in theirwork in the economy of salvation (Rahner). Taking for granted that inevery divine action ad extra, the action is from the Father, through theSon, and with the Holy Spirit, one should recognize the proper workof the Divine Son (to manifest the name of the Father) and the properwork of the Spirit (to convey the faith in Christ to a believer). RM reflects on the distinction between nature and grace, situatingit in a broad context of different interpretations (de Lubac, Cajetan,Feingold). A careful analysis of human desire leads him to search fora position that is a “third way” between the solutions given by deLubac and Cajetan: nature is ordered to the beatific vision, thoughnot as determined to the beatific vision by God’s special call. RP offers a short study on the beginning of human life. is topicmerits the highest aention: up to now, Aquinas’s teaching on “de-layed hominization” has been used as an argument in favor of earlyabortion. Yet a careful examination of this doctrine in light of severalimportantomistic principles does not permit such a use.WG, in the last paper, invites us to discover the situation ofomistic studies in China. Development of the so-called “CulturalChristianity” during last decades; publication of a complete Chinesetranslation of the Summa theologiae (; Fu Jen Catholic University,

Taiwan); and the appearance of a center interested in the Aquinas’sthought (Wuhan University of Hubei Province) are important signsof some openness to omism in China nowadays.

Papers collected in this volume vary considerably. Nevertheless,there are some common concerns: the need for a beer under-standing of the relationship between nature and grace and betweenphilosophy and theology (B, W, G, M); thedesire to meet the challenges of contemporary science (D,T, D II, P), philosophy (B, H, S)or theology (E, L); the search for more precise exegesis ofAquinas’s thought (D I, B) and of omistic tradition(B).

is volume is one of the good fruits of the Dominican friars’ com-mon interest in the legacy of Saint omas Aquinas. We sincerelyhope that this common interest will in the future bear many moregood fruits!

Michał Paluch, O.P.Piotr Lichacz, O.P.

I N S T Y T U T T O M I S T Y C Z N YWA R S Z AWA

SERIES OF PUBLICATIONS

m

Ancient series asS “P T”

. Władysław Seńko, PiotrWysz z Radolina i jego dzie-ło, “Speculum aureum”, .

. Daniel Olszewski, Polska kultura religijna, na prze-łomie XIX i XX wieku, .

. Peregrini de Opole OP, Sermones de tempore et desanctis, ed. R. Tatarzyński, .

. Henrici Bierfeld de Brega OP, Tractatus de vitacontemplativa et activa, edd. B. Mazur, W. Seńko,R. Tatarzyński, praef. K. Marciniak, O.P., .

m

New series asB I T – T

. Piotr Lichacz, O.P., Did Aquinas justify the transi-tion from ‘is’ to ‘ought’?, .

. Ricardus Knapwell, aestiones disputatae De ver-bo, ed. Zbigniew Pajda, O.P., .

. Juliusz Domański, Solastyka i początki humani-zmu w myśli polskiej XV w., .

. Dominicans and the Challenge of omism, editedby Michał Paluch and Piotr Lichacz, .

. Michał Paluch, O.P., Dlaczego Tomasz?, in prepara-tion.