Aquinas, ethics, and philosophy of religion : metaphysics and practice /

Hibbs (Baylor Univ.) brings the writings of the medieval theologian-philosopher Thomas Aquinas "into conversation with contemporary philosophy on the question of the relationship of metaphysics and practice." In a series of penetrating essays, he demonstrates how Thomas conceived of the philosophic life of "contemplation" as an activity or "practice involving a set of virtues." Moreover, he suggests that proponents of contemporary virtue-ethics and virtue-epistemology can learn much from the rich account of the intellectual and moral virtues sketched in the Thomistic position. The middle chapters contain a careful reading of the Summa contra Gentiles. Taking issue with recent analytical (Kretzmann) and Continental (Marion) interpretations, Hibbs argues persuasively that Thomas's masterpiece is a "complex theological pedagogy" that measures both the achievements and the limitations of "pagan" philosophy in the light of Christian revelation. He concludes with an exploration of the Thomistic themes found within James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Ulysses. Many commentators read Joyce as a prophet of modernism; Hibbs maintains that the Irish writer is "anti-modern, if not pre-modern" in his attitude to art. This is a heady mixture of philosophy, theology, and aesthetics. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students and above. W. P. Haggerty Gannon University