Background
Wippel, John Francis was born on August 21, 1933 in Pomeroy, Ohio, United States. Son of Joseph Edward and Mary Josephine (Andrews) Wippel.
( "Students of the final troubled decades of the thirteen...)
"Students of the final troubled decades of the thirteenth-century (following the censures of the 1270s) will be delighted to have this richly researched presentation of the metaphysics of Godfrey of Fontaines."―Modern Schoolman "Plainly the indispensable key to understanding and evaluating Godfrey's thought."―International Studies in Philosophy "A clearly written and substantial contribution to our understanding of this important period in medieval thought. . . ."―Choice "This excellent study makes accessible the central philosophical ideas of one of the three or four most important Parisian masters of theology between Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus. Already the leading authority on his subject, Professor Wippel here draws together and greatly extends his previous work, providing a superbly documented view of the highest of high scholastic discussion as seen in the contributions of a subtle and spirited participant."―Speculum
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( In this volume, John Wippel has collected a number of h...)
In this volume, John Wippel has collected a number of his essays dealing with Aquinas's metaphysical thought. The volume begins with a presentation and critical evaluation of certain twentieth-century attempts to describe the philosophical thought of Thomas Aquinas as a "Christian philosophy." The book is then divided into two major parts, with Part I devoted to Aquinas's usage of Avicenna in explaining the interrelationship between first philosophy and the other theoretical sciences, Aquinas's different reasons for naming metaphysics "first philosophy," and his appeal to a distinctive kind of intellectual operation―separation―in order to account for our discovery of being as being, or the subject of metaphysics. The chapters in Part II are directed to Thomas's argumentation for real distinction between essence and existence in created beings both as this is presented in the De ente et essentia and in many of his other writings. Thomas's views concerning the ontological status of nonexisting possibles are examined in a following chapter, along with the positions of Henry of Ghent and Godfrey of Fontaines. Chapters are then devoted to Aquinas's positions concerning the possibility of an eternally created universe, and our capacity to arrive at quidditative knowledge of God in the present life. A final chapter concentrates on the issues of divine knowledge, divine power, and human freedom in Aquinas and in Henry of Ghent.
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(This volume contains eleven articles and book chapters wr...)
This volume contains eleven articles and book chapters written by John Wippel since the publication of his Metaphysical Themes in Thomas Aquinas in 1984. Many of them have also been published since the completion of his The Metaphysical Thought of Thomas Aquinas: From Finite Being to Uncreated Being. It is intended to serve as a complement to but not as a substitute for those volumes. The essays considered in this volume range widely over many different topics such as the possibility of a Christian philosophy from a Thomistic perspective, the Latin Avicenna as a source for Aquinas's metaphysics, truth in Thomas Aquinas (including truth in the intellect and truth of being), and Platonism and Aristotelianism in Aquinas's metaphysics. Several of them consider certain important axioms or adages used by Aquinas in developing his metaphysical thought, and still another investigates Aquinas's intention in writing his Commentary on Aristotle's Metaphysics. Others examine Aquinas's views on whether created agents can cause esse, whether divine omnipotence can be demonstrated philosophically, and whether Aquinas has successfully shown on philosophical grounds that God is free to create or whether because of his goodness he had to create.All of them are concerned in one way or another with important aspects of Aquinas's metaphysics. Wippel bases his interpretations on a close reading of Aquinas's texts, taking into account certain difficulties that arise from some of those texts, along with other current and sometimes quite divergent readings. While Wippel argues for a strong Platonic-Neoplatonic influence on Aquinas's metaphysics along with the widely recognized influence of Aristotle, he concludes that Aquinas's metaphysics cannot be reduced to any of these earlier sources but is a truly original production by Thomas himself.
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( Written by a highly respected scholar of Thomas Aquinas...)
Written by a highly respected scholar of Thomas Aquinas's writings, this volume offers a comprehensive presentation of Aquinas's metaphysical thought. It is based on a thorough examination of his texts organized according to the philosophical order as he himself describes it rather than according to the theological order. In the introduction and opening chapter, John F. Wippel examines Aquinas's view on the nature of metaphysics as a philosophical science and the relationship of its subject to divine being. Part One is devoted to his metaphysical analysis of finite being. It considers his views on the problem of the One and the Many in the order of being, and includes his debt to Parmenides in formulating this problem and his application of analogy to finite being. Subsequent chapters are devoted to participation in being, the composition of essence and esse in finite beings, and his appeal to a kind of relative nonbeing in resolving the problem of the One and the Many. Part Two concentrates on Aquinas's views on the essential structure of finite being, and treats substance-accident composition and related issues, including, among others, the relationship between the soul and its powers and unicity of substantial form. It then considers his understanding of matter-form composition of corporeal beings and their individuation. Part Three explores Aquinas's philosophical discussion of divine being, his denial that God's existence is self-evident, and his presentation of arguments for the existence of God, first in earlier writings and then in the "Five Ways" of his Summa theologiae. A separate chapter is devoted to his views on quidditative and analogical knowledge of God. The concluding chapter revisits certain issues concerning finite being under the assumption that God's existence has now been established. John F. Wippel, professor of philosophy at The Catholic University of America, was recently awarded the prestigious Aquinas Medal by the American Catholic Philosophical Association. In addition to numerous articles and papers, Wippel has coauthored or edited several other works, including Metaphysical Themes in Thomas Aquinas and The Metaphysical Thought of Godfrey of Fontaines, both published by CUA Press. PRAISE FOR THE BOOK: "The quality of Wippel's historical research and interpretation and the detail of his argumentation make this a work that will have to be taken account of in any further studies of this topic."- John Boler, International Studies in Philosophy "A carefully and solidly argued presentation of Aquinas's metaphysics by a scholar of medieval philosophy and a superb metaphysician. It should stand on the library shelf of every student of medieval philosophy, sharing the stage with Wippel's other dependable works."―Prof. Stephen F. Brown, Boston College "In Wippel we have a master of medieval metaphysics who is at the height of his powers and who can bring to bear on this work of interpretation years of study, not only of Aquinas but also of the whole context of medieval metaphysics in which Aquinas thought and wrote. The result is a monumental work which will quickly become the definitive work on Aquinas's metaphysics."―Prof. Eleonore Stump, St. Louis University "Wippel proposes to 'set forth Thomas Aquinas's metaphysical thought, based on his own texts, in accord with the philosophical order. . . .' This is a bold, even audacious proposal, but one that Wippel succeeds in realizing, thanks to his expansive and detailed knowledge of a field in which he has worked for more than twenty years. He has total command not only of the works of Thomas, of his sources, and of his earliest commentators, but also of the secondary literature of this century in English, Italian, French, German, and Spanish."―Gregorianum A positively magisterial account of its subject
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Wippel, John Francis was born on August 21, 1933 in Pomeroy, Ohio, United States. Son of Joseph Edward and Mary Josephine (Andrews) Wippel.
Bachelor in Philosophy, Catholic University America, 1955. Master of Arts in Philosophy, Catholic University America, 1956. Licentiate of Sacred Theology in Theology, Catholic University America, 1960.
Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy, Louvain, Belgium, 1965. Maitre agrégé in Philosophy, Louvain, 1981. Doctor of Laws (honorary), Pontifical Institute Mediaeval Studies, Toronto, 2005.
Instructor philosophy, Catholic U., Washington, 1960-1961, 63-65; assistant professor philosophy, Catholic U., Washington, 1965-1967; associate professor philosophy, Catholic U., Washington, 1967-1972; ordinary professor philosophy, Catholic U., Washington, since 1972; academic vice president, Catholic U., Washington, 1989-1996; provost, Catholic U., Washington, 1996-1997. Visiting associate professor University of California, San Diego, 1969.
( "Students of the final troubled decades of the thirteen...)
(This volume contains eleven articles and book chapters wr...)
( Written by a highly respected scholar of Thomas Aquinas...)
( In this volume, John Wippel has collected a number of h...)
Member American Philosophical Association. Medieval Academy American, Metaphys. Society of America (president since 2005), Pontificial Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas, American Catholic Philosophical Association (president 1986-1987, Aquinas Medalist 1999), Society Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy (president 1982-1984), Society international pour l'étude de la philosophie médiévale.