•  193
    The Confessions recounts Augustine 's successful search for God. But Augustine worries that one cannot search for God if one does not already know God. That version of the paradox of inquiry dominates and structures Confessions 1–10. I draw connections between the dramatic opening lines of book 1 and the climactic discussion in book 10.26–38 and argue that the latter discussion contains Augustine 's resolution of the paradox of inquiry as it applies to the special case of searching for God. I cl…Read more
  •  145
    Petit larceny, the beginning of all sin: Augustine’s theft of the Pears
    Faith and Philosophy 20 (4): 393-414. 2003.
    In his reflections on his adolescent theft of a neighbor’s pears, Augustine first claims that he did it just because it was wicked. But he then worries that there is something unacceptable in that claim. Some readers have found in this account Augustine’s rejection of the principle that all voluntary action is done for the sake of some perceived good. I argue that Augustine intends his case to call the principle into question, but that he does not ultimately reject it. His careful and resourcefu…Read more
  •  139
    The Esse/Essentia Argument in Aquinas's De ente et essentia
    Journal of the History of Philosophy 22 (2): 157-72. 1984.
    The purpose of the article is to offer a detailed exegetical analysis of the argument in chapter four of "de ente et essentia" in which aquinas argues for a distinction between "esse" and essence and to develop an interpretation of it on the basis of the analysis. I argue that the reconstructed argument shows that aquinas argues for a real distinction and that he establishes it earlier in the argument than some commentators have thought. I criticize a rival interpretation of the argument defende…Read more
  •  131
    In this paper I investigate the philosophical developments at the heart of what appears to be the earliest systematic formulation of the doctrine of the transcendentals by comparing the first questions of Philip the Chancellor''sSumma de bono (the so-called first treatise on the transcendentals — ca. 1230) with its immediate ancestor, a small group of questions from William of Auxerre''sSumma aurea (ca. 1220). I argue that Philip''s innovative position on the relation between being and goodness,…Read more
  •  107
    In exploring this tradition of philosophical reflection on the nature of goodness, the twelve essays in this book (all but two published here for the first time) present some of the best recent historical scholarship in...
  •  79
    Aristotle and the Homonymy of the Good
    Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie 71 (2): 150-74. 1989.
  •  77
    Foundations in Aquinas's ethics
    Social Philosophy and Policy 25 (1): 350-367. 2008.
    Aquinas argues that practical reasoning requires foundations: first practical principles (ultimate ends) grasped by us per se from which deliberation proceeds. Contrary to the thesis of an important paper of Terence Irwin's, I deny that Aquinas advances two inconsistent conceptions of the scope of deliberation and, correspondingly, two inconsistent accounts of the content of the first practical principles presupposed by deliberation. On my account, Aquinas consistently takes first practical prin…Read more
  •  77
    Aquinas's Parasitic Cosmological Argument
    Journal of Nietzsche Studies 1 119-155. 1991.
  •  74
    Aquinas's Parasitic Cosmological Argument
    Medieval Philosophy & Theology 1 119-155. 1991.
  •  64
    Theory of Knowledge
    In Norman Kretzman & Eleonore Stump (eds.), Cambridge Companion to Aquinas, Cambridge University Press. pp. 160. 1993.
  •  59
    Augustine’s Christian-Platonist Account of Goodness
    New Scholasticism 63 (4): 485-509. 1989.
  •  46
    This volume explores the ethical dimensions of a wide selection of philosophical and theological topics in Aquinas's texts.
  •  45
    Philosophies of Existence (review)
    Ancient Philosophy 7 (n/a): 259-261. 1987.
  •  43
    Christian Faith
    In Eleonore Stump & Norman Kretzmann (eds.), Reasoned faith: essays in philosophical theology in honor of Norman Kretzmann, Cornell University Press. 1993.
  •  42
    Aquina's Ultimate Ends: A Reply to Grisez
    American Journal of Jurisprudence 46 (1): 37-49. 2001.
    A large part of the ambitious project that Grisez sketches in his paper can reasonably be thought of as developing and extending in interesting ways ideas of Thomas Aquinas. But in Part IV of the paper Grisez dramatically parts company with Aquinas on what might seem a fundamental issue. Aquinas famously holds that human beings find their ultimate fulfillment in beatific vision of God. Grisez tells us that, as he understands that claim, it is false.
  •  36
  •  35
    Augustine
    with Christopher Kirwan
    Philosophical Review 101 (3): 638. 1992.
  •  31
    Boethius’s Claim that all Substances are Good
    Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie 70 (3): 245-79. 1988.
  •  30
    A History of Twelfth-Century Western Philosophy (review)
    Review of Metaphysics 43 (1): 154-155. 1989.
    This volume is an important supplement to the two volumes in the series of Cambridge Histories covering the philosophy of the Middle Ages. Dronke's book, which adopts the format of the latter volume, is intended to fill the gap between them. It contains sixteen contributions by fifteen scholars. The contributions are arranged in four parts. The four essays in part 1, "Background," provide useful summaries of the intellectual inheritance that provides the cultural environment for what has been ca…Read more
  •  29
    Primal Sin
    In Gareth B. Matthews (ed.), The Augustinian Tradition, University of California Press. 1998.
  •  29
    Christian Theology and the Mind-World Relationship
    American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 84 (1): 1-23. 2010.
    In this article, I explore how orthodox Christian theology informs a philosophical understanding of the mind-world relationship. First, I contend that the Christian doctrine of creation entails that the world possesses an intrinsic rationality and intelligibility. I then go on to show how three different views of the mind-world relationship are compatible with this fact about the world: (a) realism, (b) idealism, and (c) fallibilism. I also delineate the strengths of each view, in terms of how w…Read more
  •  28
    Editor’s Introduction
    Journal of Nietzsche Studies 9 (2): 3-5. 2000.
    This issue of MedievalPhilosophyandTheology is atypical in that it contains a single work by a single philosopher and scholar. Norman Kretzmann, the author of the work here presented, was one of the founders of this journal and served as the chair of its editorial board from the journal’s inception until his untimely death in 1998. His intimate association with MedievalPhilosophyandTheology and his dedication to its mission makes the journal an entirely appropriate vehicle for the publication of…Read more
  •  26
    Boethius's De hebdomadibus
    Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie 70 274-79. 1988.
  •  25
    From very early on, Western philosophers have been obsessed with the understanding of a relatively few works of philosophy which have played a disproportionately large and fundamental role in developing the Western philosophical canon, dominating the curriculum in the past and in the present; there is no indication that they will not do so in the future.Uses and Abuses of the Classics examines the various ways in which the different periods of the history of philosophy have approached these text…Read more