Michael Ewbank

This remarkable collection of studies within the area of metaphysics focuses on figures in the period of 1250 to 1350, with retrospective and prospective considerations of ancient sources and repercussions in the Renaissance. Where necessary, these previously published articles are revised in the light of more recent investigations, and references to obsolete editions are supplemented with citations of newer, critical editions. Reflecting over forty years of research, these twenty-three selected essays remain substantially unchanged with the exception of a study on the metaphysical doctrine of Siger of Brabant.

St. Thomas Aquinas’ exposition of the Liber de causis, one of the few extended commentaries on this influential work, has received much greater detailed attention during recent decades. Nonetheless, interpretations have diverged concerning how this Neoplatonic source was assimilated and refined by Aquinas. It is not only important to comprehend the originality of procedures and accomplishment of St. Thomas in relation to his work for the sake of historical precision. Equally important is the intention of both the author and his commentator, which is to contribute to our grasp of reality in terms of fundamental metaphysical principles

Originative apprehension often has been examined in recent decades in light of Aquinas’ reflections. Yet there has not always been agreement in regard to what constitutes such, often due to different emphases given by interpreters to aspects of St. Thomas’ analyses articulated in different contexts. Arguably, it is possible to reconcile certain seemingly divergent important interpretations by reflecting on an important, yet somewhat recessive, theme that Thomas adverted to sparingly throughout his career in utilizing analyses of predecessors to forge his own synthesis to explain cognition in terms of being that is centered on the reciprocal priorities of judging and concomitant incomplex abstracting.

Odd Langholm has previously given us three important book-length studies on price and value, wealth and money in the Aristotelian tradition, and the Aristotelian analysis of usury. The present work is an effort to integrate virtually all the secondary literature on economic speculation by every significant figure who studied or taught at Paris during its golden age. This is no mere compilation of prior research, however. The author has made detailed examinations of unedited manuscripts and rare incunabula in order to present a panorama of diverse speculators, each with his own intellectual genotype. In offering new interpretations and important nuances to previously established conclusions, this work may well serve as an indispensable reference for future investigations into medieval and early modern economic thought.

Particularly interesting among those concerning religion is Fernand Van Steenberghen's criticism of Etienne Gilson's occasional assertion that the existence of God may be the object of supernatural faith, since it is possible to believe and know in distinct ways. Van Steenberghen insists this is contradictory, since to believe God's existence on His testimony implies that one does not "know" this, and if one "knows" God's testimony one knows that God exists. Related to this issue is Georges Van Riet's clarification of the notions of nature, supernature, religion, and culture. The last notion, taken subjectively and speaking loosely, refers commonly to the development of human powers according to virtue and is mediated by culture taken objectively. In turn, religion both as natural and supernatural can equally be termed cultural. As such, they constitute the superior level of subjective culture and permeate enculturation attained through education and traditions.