Levine Andro Lao

A Dominican missionary in the nineteenth century whom Leo XIII later named a Cardinal, Zeferino González started his philosophical reflections in the Far East at the University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines. The result was his first major work, the "Estudios sobre la filosofia de Sto. Tomas" (1864). Upon his return to Spain, González published an essay titled “La Filosofia de la Historia.” Arguably, this essay signals the importance of history in understanding González ’s attempts to continue the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas. In this article, the aims are to trace the influence of the concept of history in González ’s philosophy, to document Thomistic doctrines in his discussions, and to try to explain the Dominican Cardinal’s inclination to discuss history in his works. The article also offers insights into the significance of González ’s philosophy of history in a contemporary landscape where history is constantly revised or distorted.

The paper presents Cardinal Zeferino González as an inheritor of Salamantine Thomism, having been a product of the Dominican convent in Ocaña, Spain (1844–1848) and the University of Santo Tomas, Manila (1849–1853). It should be noted that Santo Tomas in Manila was founded in 1611 by Spanish Dominican missionaries, specifically by Bishop Miguel de Benavides who succeeded the first bishop of Manila, the Dominican friar Domingo de Salazar. From that time in the 17th century until González’s stints as a student and a professor at Santo Tomas, Thomistic study in both Philosophy and Theology had been at the core of university education in the Far East. History has it that the upheavals in Europe from 1798 to the first half of the 19th century disturbed the Catholic Church and her institutions. In particular, the Dominican Order, which produced the most ardent Thomists, had to close many of its houses of study in Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, France, Holland, Austria, Spain, and Italy. However, Santo Tomas was able to continue teaching the doctrines of St. Thomas Aquinas in Manila, where the young novices were sent to when friars began to be massacred in Madrid and Barcelona, when convents and religious services were closed by the Conde de Toreno, and when the Prime Minister Juan Alvarez Mendizabal ordered the confiscation of church properties. The young González was among those whom the Order of Preachers sent to Manila, where the surviving Salamantine tradition formed him. As the Catholic Encyclopedia notes, in due time, González would “contribute in no small degree to the revival of Thomism under Leo XIII.” This claim can be supported by González’s philosophical and theological contributions, which were acknowledged by University of Fribourg’s Fr. Norberto del Prado, OP; Fr. Joseph-Marie Lagrange, OP, founder of the Ecole Biblique; and the philosophers Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, OP and Etienne Gilson, among many others.

This paper discusses Zeferino González’s commentary on whether Thomistic teachings support insurgence. In particular, the study revisits one chapter of the Estudios sobre la filosofía de Santo Tomás (1864). Here, González critiques a court official of Castille, Francisco Gutiérrez de la Huerta, who, in his Dictamen del Fiscal (1845), attributes the doctrine of regicide and tyrannicide to St. Thomas Aquinas. Suspecting this ascription to Aquinas and the Dominicans as “bad faith,” González goes back to Huerta’s cited passages from Aquinas’s “De regno” in the work De Regimine Principum, the Summa Theologiae, and the Commentary on the Sentences of Peter Lombard. Furthermore, the discussion is given context by citing relevant discourses in the University of Santo Tomas and the Philippines during the time the Estudios was published, such as the discussion in the 1864 article “A la Nacion,” which has since been attributed to González’s student, Fr. Jose Burgos.

This paper explores the intricate process of knowledge acquisition and pedagogy through the philosophical lens of St. Thomas Aquinas, focusing on the interaction between reason and learning. By analyzing Aquinas' epistemological framework, particularly his ideas on ideogenesis and abstraction, the study highlights the complex relationship between the sensory and intellectual processes involved in education. The dual roles of teacher and student are examined, emphasizing the teacher's role in guiding the learner's intellect rather than directly imparting knowledge. Aquinas's concept of education as both an internal and external process is explored, along with the distinction between discovery and instruction as methods of learning. Finally, the paper discusses the contemplative and active ends of education, suggesting that both the pursuit of truth and practical application in society are essential components of an individual's intellectual development. Education, as framed by Aquinas, serves as a bridge between abstract reason and concrete experience, fostering both personal growth and societal engagement.

The choice of this topic is a curious one, perhaps, for art seems to be such a personal creation that even its appreciation may be relative and most of the time considered as subjective or reliant on impressions. Whether this idea is rightfully founded or not is reviewed in this paper: Is art’s meaning simply an impression? Does it come to exist merely because of whims and ecstasies? Is the experience of art such that it cannot but be dominated by personal ideas? In answering these questions, I present a synthesis of some of the works of Jacques Maritain (1882–1973), a Thomist who has important insights concerning aesthetic experience. Since the experience of art starts from its causes to the work’s appreciation by other people, the progression of this discussion is presented as follows: first, the concept of inspiration, to which artists usually attribute their creations, is assessed; then the aesthetic experience is reviewed to understand art’s qualities; and finally, the purpose and meaning of the artwork are examined.

This article reintroduces Fr. Zeferino González, OP (1831-1894) to scholars of Church history, philosophy, and cultural heritage. He was an alumnus of the University of Santo Tomás in Manila, a Cardinal, and a champion of the revival of Catholic Philosophy that led to the promulgation of Leo XIII’s encyclical Aeterni Patris. Specifically, this essay presents, firstly, the Cardinal’s biography in the context of his experience as a missionary in the Far East; secondly, the intellectual tradition in Santo Tomás in Manila, which he carried with him until his death; and lastly, some reasons for his once-radiant memory to slip into an undeserved forgetfulness.