Books by Gregory T . Doolan
Metaphysics, the science of being as being, is the subject of this volume composed in honor of Jo... more Metaphysics, the science of being as being, is the subject of this volume composed in honor of John F. Wippel, the Theodore Basselin Professor of Philosophy at the Catholic University of America, and an internationally prominent metaphysician and expert in medieval philosophy. Scholars present studies on key philosophical and historical issues in the field. Though varied, the investigations address three major metaphysical themes: the subject matter of metaphysics, metaphysical aporiae, and philosophical theology.
Robert Sokolowski considers the historical recapitulation of the phrase "the science of being as being"; Dominic O'Meara focuses on the development of this science in late antiquity; Jan A. Aertsen asks why the medievals called it "First Philosophy"; and Andreas Speer returns to the origins of metaphysical discourse for a better understanding of contemporary metaphysical issues.
Gregory T. Doolan examines difficulties concerning Aquinas's metaphysics of substance; Jorge Gracia looks to the tradition of scholastic philosophy to examine the individuality and individuation of race; and James Ross argues against the modal ontologies of the twentieth century, showing that metaphysical possibility depends on the existence of a free, divine creator.
Stephen F. Brown considers Godfrey of Fontaines on the role of metaphysics in revealed theology; John F. Wippel examines Aquinas on the "preambles of faith," those doctrines presupposed by faith that can also be proven philosophically; Brian J. Shanley addresses Aquinas's philosophical views on providence; Eleonore Stump, looking to Aquinas as well, shows how God can be personally present to human beings; and Marilyn McCord Adams offers a metaphysical consideration of the Christian doctrine of resurrection.
Gregory T. Doolan provides here the first detailed consideration of the divine ideas as causal p... more Gregory T. Doolan provides here the first detailed consideration of the divine ideas as causal principles. He examines Thomas Aquinas's philosophical doctrine of the divine ideas and convincingly argues that it is an essential element of his metaphysics.
According to Thomas, the ideas in the mind of God are not only principles of his knowledge, but they are productive principles as well. In this role, God's ideas act as exemplars for things that he creates. As Doolan shows, this theory of exemplarism is an integral part of Thomas's account of the existence and order of the created universe. It also accounts in part for the freedom of God's creative act.
The volume begins with an introduction to Thomas's doctrine of exemplarism and then addresses his arguments for the existence of exemplar ideas within the mind of God. Having established the existence of divine ideas, Doolan considers how Thomas reconciles their multiplicity with God's simplicity. The work identifies the various things for which Thomas posits divine ideas.
As Doolan is careful to show, Thomas does not consider all of these ideas to be exemplars because not all of them act as causal principles. After identifying the ideas that do act in this way, Doolan considers how such exemplars can be causes of natural things without compromising the causality of natural agents. The volume culminates with a consideration of the role that the divine ideas play within the structure of Thomas's theory of participation.
Articles by Gregory T . Doolan
Analogia, 2023
On a number of occasions, when considering the names that can properly be said of God, Aquinas no... more On a number of occasions, when considering the names that can properly be said of God, Aquinas notably holds that the most proper name is 'He Who Is'. In this way, Aquinas's account of divine naming could be seen to stand in contrast to the Platonic tradition of favoring the name of 'Good' for the first principle since, in that tradition, the Good is beyond being. With that said, it is important to note that Aquinas himself at times speaks in terms similar to the Platonists, observing both that God is beyond being (supra ens) and that the name of 'Good' should, in a respect, be seen as the 'principal name of God' (principale nomen dei), namely, inasmuch as he is a cause. This paper offers clarification on how Aquinas reconciles this claim about 'Good' as the principal name of God with his position that 'He Who Is' is the most proper name of God. Fundamental to this investigation is a consideration of Aquinas's treatment of as he presents them in his commentary The Divine Names of Ps.-Dionysius.
The Science of Being as Being, 2012
Classical Theism: New Essays on the Metaphysics of God, 2023
Among the fundamental teachings of classical theism is the position that God is an intellectual b... more Among the fundamental teachings of classical theism is the position that God is an intellectual being with perfect knowledge. Scholastic philosophers and theologians typically present this account of God’s knowledge together with a Doctrine of Divine Ideas (DDI), according to which there is a multiplicity of distinct ideas in the mind of God for everything that he has created, will create, or even could create. DDI thus poses a challenge for another fundamental teaching of classical theism, namely, the Doctrine of Divine Simplicity (DDS), which holds that God is absolutely simple, admitting of no composition or multiplicity. This paper examines how DDI can be reconciled with DDS, focusing on the approach offered by Thomas Aquinas, who presents a solution in light of his distinctive metaphysics of esse: the act of existing.
New Blackfriars, 2023
In a number of texts throughout his career, Thomas Aquinas identifies different senses of the ter... more In a number of texts throughout his career, Thomas Aquinas identifies different senses of the term 'esse'. Most notably, he notes that according to one sense, the term signifies the act of existence (actus essendi), which he famously holds is really distinct from essence in all beings other than God. Perhaps surprisingly, he also notes on a number of occasions that according to another sense, the term 'esse' can signify that very principle that he says is distinct from the act of existence, namely, essence. In light of Aquinas's semantic theory, this paper investigates how he coherently holds within his metaphysical system that this term 'esse' can signify in different ways both essence and the act of existence. More broadly, what it shows is how, for Aquinas, the metaphysician can look to the modes of signification (modi significandi) of terms and as well as their modes of predication (modi praedicandi) to draw careful conclusions about the modes of existence (modi essendi) of real beings. These considerations reveal that in Aquinas's view, although the grammarian and logician in their way are also concerned with these semantic modes, it is not their job to employ them to discern the various senses of the term 'being' or the fundamental modes of being. In the end, this is a task for the metaphysician.
This article considers whether Thomas Aquinas’s doctrine of divine Ideas follows in the Platonic ... more This article considers whether Thomas Aquinas’s doctrine of divine Ideas follows in the Platonic tradition of identifying the Ideas as the “really real”. To answer this question, a consideration of Plato’s “degrees of reality” doctrine is first offered to discern possible meanings of the phrase “really real”. With these meanings in place, the article proceeds to address Thomas’s own doctrine of reality, examining whether, in any sense of the phrase, he considers the divine Ideas to be the “really real”. The conclusion is that there is for Thomas no simple “yes” or “no” answer but, instead, a sic et non response—or more precisely a set of such responses. Identifying these various responses, along with the important distinctions they entail, clarifies not only the degree of reality that Thomas attributes to the divine Ideas but, more importantly, sheds further light on the fundamental role his doctrine of esse plays in his metaphysical account of reality.
Documenti e studi sulla tradizione filosofica medievale, 2019
This paper examines the methodology employed by Thomas Aquinas in his two derivations of the cate... more This paper examines the methodology employed by Thomas Aquinas in his two derivations of the categories, or sufficientiae. In these accounts, he shows the distinctiveness of the ten Aristotelian categories as modes of being (modi essendi) through an analysis of modes of predication (modi praedicandi). The paper considers why Aquinas sees this logical method of predication (via praedicationis) to be an appropriate tool for the metaphysician. Similarities between Aquinas’s and Albert’s sufficientiae are shown to clarify Aquinas’s methodology. In particular, the paper examines how both thinkers employ modes of denominative predication and modes of opposition to derive the categories. The paper not only reveals Aquinas’s full methodology in his sufficientiae, but it also provides further insight into how he uses logical methods in general in his metaphysical investigations.
The Thomist: A Speculative Quarterly Review, 2018
Quaestiones Disputatae, 2014
Following Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas identifies supreme genera which he considers to be the fundam... more Following Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas identifies supreme genera which he considers to be the fundamental categories both of predication and of being. Thus, like Aristotle before him, Thomas holds that these categories are studied both by the logician and by the metaphysician. In contrast to Aristotle, however, Thomas is clear that the metaphysician studies the same ten categories identified by the logician, although from the perspective of his distinct science. This article examine Aquinas's views on some of the similarities and differences in these two treatments of the categories, the logical and the metaphysical.
The Thomist, 2018
According to Thomas Aquinas, God's essence is unparticipated and unparticipable. Yet at times, he... more According to Thomas Aquinas, God's essence is unparticipated and unparticipable. Yet at times, he presents 'esse subsistens', which is the divine essence, as somehow participated. This paper considers Aquinas's account of what such participation entails. It examines this question in light of a distinction he draws between three modes of participation, and it concludes that he sees God as participated according to the third of these: the manner in which an effect participates in its cause. In the course of its investigation of this mode of participation, the paper also sheds further light on Aquinas's account of participation in 'esse' taken as the intrinsic 'actus essendi' of an individual created being as well 'esse' taken as 'esse commune': the common notion of created 'actus essendi'.
The Discovery of Being & Thomas Aquinas, 2019
Cornelio Fabro Essential Thinker: Philosopher of Being and of Freedom, 2017
For students of Thomas Aquinas, Cornelio Fabro is well known for his thorough examinations of Tho... more For students of Thomas Aquinas, Cornelio Fabro is well known for his thorough examinations of Thomas’s doctrine of participation. Less well known, however, is Fabro’s occasional reference to a doppia, or double, participation of the creature in the divine: one for its essence, the other for its act of existing (esse). In this paper, I examine these references to “double participation” by looking at another, related, doubling explicitly affirmed by Thomas Aquinas: double exemplarism. From his earliest writings, Thomas draws a distinction between two kinds of divine exemplarism, one of the divine ideas and the other of the divine nature. As I show, despite affirming this double exemplarism—or, more precisely, because of the way he affirms it—Thomas presents only a single line of what Fabro would term “transcendental participation.” Moreover, as I argue Fabro himself in fact follows Thomas on this point, a reading that can be strengthened through a careful consideration of what Thomas’s doctrine of double exemplarism entails.
According to Thomas Aquinas, it belongs to metaphysics to study separate substances—not as its su... more According to Thomas Aquinas, it belongs to metaphysics to study separate substances—not as its subject matter, but rather as the principles or causes of its subject, which is ens commune, or Being-in-general. In considering Thomas’s metaphysical account of separate substances, scholars have understandably focused much of their attention on God, in particular examining Thomas’s arguments for the existence of God. Significantly less attention has been paid to his arguments for the existence of those other separate substances, which he calls “angels.” Not surprisingly, what little attention that has been paid to these arguments has focused on their philosophical strength. The general consensus among scholars is that these arguments are not in fact demonstrative, a view with which I am sympathetic. A more basic question concerns what Thomas himself considers the strength of his own arguments to be. It is this interpretive question that I consider in this paper, concluding that he does consider at least some of his arguments to be demonstrative. As I show, the answer to this question is of interest not only from an historical standpoint, but also from a philosophical one. For it reveals some fundamental aspects of Thomas’s metaphysical views regarding the structure of the universe.
Following Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas identifies supreme genera which he considers to be the fundam... more Following Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas identifies supreme genera which he considers to be the fundamental categories both of predication and of being. Thus, like Aristotle before him, Thomas holds that these categories are studied both by the logician and by the metaphysician. In contrast to Aristotle, however, Thomas is clear that the metaphysician studies the same ten categories identified by the logician, although from the perspective of his distinct science. This article examine Aquinas's views on some of the similarities and differences in these two treatments of the categories, the logical and the metaphysical.
Papers by Gregory T . Doolan
International Philosophical Quarterly, 2009
Page 1. AQUINAS on the D1vine Ideas as Exemplar Causes rs GREGORY T. DOOLAN Page 2. Page 3. Page ... more Page 1. AQUINAS on the D1vine Ideas as Exemplar Causes rs GREGORY T. DOOLAN Page 2. Page 3. Page 4. regory T. Doolan provides here the first I detailed consideration of the divine ideas as causal principles. He examines ...
International Philosophical Quarterly, 2003
Philosophy, God and Motion In the post-Newtonian world motion is assumed to be a simple category ... more Philosophy, God and Motion In the post-Newtonian world motion is assumed to be a simple category which relates to the locomotion of bodies in space, and is usually associated only with physics. Philosophy, God and Motion shows that this is a relatively recent understanding ...
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Books by Gregory T . Doolan
Robert Sokolowski considers the historical recapitulation of the phrase "the science of being as being"; Dominic O'Meara focuses on the development of this science in late antiquity; Jan A. Aertsen asks why the medievals called it "First Philosophy"; and Andreas Speer returns to the origins of metaphysical discourse for a better understanding of contemporary metaphysical issues.
Gregory T. Doolan examines difficulties concerning Aquinas's metaphysics of substance; Jorge Gracia looks to the tradition of scholastic philosophy to examine the individuality and individuation of race; and James Ross argues against the modal ontologies of the twentieth century, showing that metaphysical possibility depends on the existence of a free, divine creator.
Stephen F. Brown considers Godfrey of Fontaines on the role of metaphysics in revealed theology; John F. Wippel examines Aquinas on the "preambles of faith," those doctrines presupposed by faith that can also be proven philosophically; Brian J. Shanley addresses Aquinas's philosophical views on providence; Eleonore Stump, looking to Aquinas as well, shows how God can be personally present to human beings; and Marilyn McCord Adams offers a metaphysical consideration of the Christian doctrine of resurrection.
According to Thomas, the ideas in the mind of God are not only principles of his knowledge, but they are productive principles as well. In this role, God's ideas act as exemplars for things that he creates. As Doolan shows, this theory of exemplarism is an integral part of Thomas's account of the existence and order of the created universe. It also accounts in part for the freedom of God's creative act.
The volume begins with an introduction to Thomas's doctrine of exemplarism and then addresses his arguments for the existence of exemplar ideas within the mind of God. Having established the existence of divine ideas, Doolan considers how Thomas reconciles their multiplicity with God's simplicity. The work identifies the various things for which Thomas posits divine ideas.
As Doolan is careful to show, Thomas does not consider all of these ideas to be exemplars because not all of them act as causal principles. After identifying the ideas that do act in this way, Doolan considers how such exemplars can be causes of natural things without compromising the causality of natural agents. The volume culminates with a consideration of the role that the divine ideas play within the structure of Thomas's theory of participation.
Articles by Gregory T . Doolan
Papers by Gregory T . Doolan
Robert Sokolowski considers the historical recapitulation of the phrase "the science of being as being"; Dominic O'Meara focuses on the development of this science in late antiquity; Jan A. Aertsen asks why the medievals called it "First Philosophy"; and Andreas Speer returns to the origins of metaphysical discourse for a better understanding of contemporary metaphysical issues.
Gregory T. Doolan examines difficulties concerning Aquinas's metaphysics of substance; Jorge Gracia looks to the tradition of scholastic philosophy to examine the individuality and individuation of race; and James Ross argues against the modal ontologies of the twentieth century, showing that metaphysical possibility depends on the existence of a free, divine creator.
Stephen F. Brown considers Godfrey of Fontaines on the role of metaphysics in revealed theology; John F. Wippel examines Aquinas on the "preambles of faith," those doctrines presupposed by faith that can also be proven philosophically; Brian J. Shanley addresses Aquinas's philosophical views on providence; Eleonore Stump, looking to Aquinas as well, shows how God can be personally present to human beings; and Marilyn McCord Adams offers a metaphysical consideration of the Christian doctrine of resurrection.
According to Thomas, the ideas in the mind of God are not only principles of his knowledge, but they are productive principles as well. In this role, God's ideas act as exemplars for things that he creates. As Doolan shows, this theory of exemplarism is an integral part of Thomas's account of the existence and order of the created universe. It also accounts in part for the freedom of God's creative act.
The volume begins with an introduction to Thomas's doctrine of exemplarism and then addresses his arguments for the existence of exemplar ideas within the mind of God. Having established the existence of divine ideas, Doolan considers how Thomas reconciles their multiplicity with God's simplicity. The work identifies the various things for which Thomas posits divine ideas.
As Doolan is careful to show, Thomas does not consider all of these ideas to be exemplars because not all of them act as causal principles. After identifying the ideas that do act in this way, Doolan considers how such exemplars can be causes of natural things without compromising the causality of natural agents. The volume culminates with a consideration of the role that the divine ideas play within the structure of Thomas's theory of participation.