Étienne Gilson (original) (raw)

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French historian and philosopher (1884–1978)

Étienne Gilson
Étienne Gilson
Born Étienne Henri Gilson(1884-06-13)13 June 1884Paris, France
Died 19 September 1978(1978-09-19) (aged 94)Auxerre, France
Alma mater University of ParisCollège de France
Era 20th-century philosophy
Region Western philosophy
School ThomismNeo-Scholasticism
Doctoral advisor Victor Delbos[1]
Other academic advisors Lucien Lévy-Bruhl, Henri Bergson, Victor Delbos
Doctoral students Anton Charles Pegis[2]
Main interests Theology, metaphysics, politics, literature, history of philosophy
Notable ideas The Thomistic distinction between being and essenceCoining the term "mathematicism"[3][_better source needed_]

Étienne Henri Gilson (French: [ʒilsɔ̃]; 13 June 1884 – 19 September 1978) was a French philosopher and historian of philosophy. A scholar of medieval philosophy, he originally specialised in the thought of Descartes; he also philosophized in the tradition of Thomas Aquinas, although he did not consider himself a neo-Thomist philosopher. In 1946 he attained the distinction of being elected an "Immortal" (member) of the Académie française. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.[4]

In 2009, the International Étienne Gilson Society was created “to promote the thought of Étienne Gilson and classical philosophy in the academy and culture.” It publishes a journal, Studia Gilsoniana.[5]

Born in Paris into a Roman Catholic family originally from Burgundy, Gilson attended the minor seminary at Notre-Dame-des-Champs, then finished his secondary education at the Lycée Henri IV. After finishing his military service, during which he began to read René Descartes, he studied for his licence (bachelor's degree), focusing on the influence of scholasticism on Cartesian thought. After studying at the Sorbonne under Victor Delbos (1862–1916), and Lucien Lévy-Bruhl and at the Collège de France under Henri Bergson, he finished his degree in philosophy in 1906. In 1908, he married Thérèse Ravisé of Melun, and he taught in the high schools of Bourg-en-Bresse, Rochefort, Tours, Saint-Quentin and Angers.

In 1913, while employed in teaching at the University of Lille, he defended his doctoral dissertation at the University of Paris on "Liberty in Descartes and Theology" ("La Liberté chez Descartes et la Théologie"). His career was interrupted by the outbreak of World War I, as he was drafted into the French Army as a sergeant. He served on the front and took part in the Battle of Verdun as second lieutenant. He was captured in February 1916 and spent two years in captivity. During this time he devoted himself to new areas of study, including the Russian language and St. Bonaventure. He was later awarded the Croix de Guerre for bravery in action.[6]

In 1919, he became professor of the history of philosophy at the University of Strasbourg. From 1921 to 1932, he taught the history of medieval philosophy at the University of Paris. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1929.[7] As an internationally renowned thinker, Gilson was first, along with Jacques Maritain, to receive an honorary doctorate in philosophy from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in 1930.[8][9]

He also taught for three years at Harvard. At the invitation of the Congregation of St. Basil, he set up the Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies in Toronto in conjunction with St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto, which hosts an annual Étienne Gilson Lecture. He was elected to the Académie française in 1946. In 1948, he was elected an International Member of the American Philosophical Society.[10]

With the death of his wife, Thérèse Ravisé, on 12 November 1949, Gilson endured a considerable emotional shock.[11]

In 1951, he relinquished his chair to Martial Gueroult at the Collège de France to devote himself completely to the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies until 1968. He knew the Jesuit theologian and cardinal Henri de Lubac. Their correspondence has been published. Although Gilson was primarily a historian of philosophy, he was also at the forefront of the 20th century revival of Thomism, along with Jacques Maritain. His work has received critical praise from Richard McKeon.

Gilson undertook to analyze Thomism from a historical perspective. To Gilson, Thomism is certainly not identical with scholasticism in the pejorative sense, but indeed rather a revolt against it.[12] Gilson considered the philosophy of his own era to be deteriorating into a science which would signal humanity's abdication of the right to judge and rule nature, humanity made a mere part of nature, which in turn would give the green light for the most reckless of social adventures to play havoc with human lives and institutions. Against "systems" of philosophy, Gilson was convinced that it was the revival of the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas that opened the way out of that danger zone.[_citation needed_]

In his time, Gilson was the leading scholar of the history of medieval philosophy as well as a highly regarded philosopher in his own right.[_citation needed_] His works continue to be reprinted and studied today – perhaps alone among "Thomist" philosophers, his work and reputation have not suffered from the general decline of interest in and regard for medieval philosophy since the 1960s.[_citation needed_]

  1. ^ Séances et Travaux de l'Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques: Compte Rendu. A. Picard et Fils. 1913. p. 117. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  2. ^ Maurer, Armand (January 1979). "Anton Charles Pegis (1905-1978)". Mediaeval Studies. 41: xvii–xix. doi:10.1484/J.MS.2.306239.
  3. ^ Gilson, Étienne. The Unity of Philosophical Experience. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 1999, p. 133.
  4. ^ "Nomination Database". www.nobelprize.org. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  5. ^ "I.E.G.S. - I.É.G.S." gilsonsociety.com.
  6. ^ Michel, Florian (translated by James G. Colbert) Etienne Gilson: An Intellectual and Political Biography. Washington, DC. Catholic University of America Press, 2023.
  7. ^ "Etienne-Henry Gilson". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. 9 February 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  8. ^ Viotto, P. (2008). Grandi amicizie: i Maritain e i loro contemporanei. I Prismi. Saggi (in Italian). Città nuova. p. 38. ISBN 978-88-311-7340-7. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  9. ^ Leclercq, J. (1993). Di grazia in grazia: memorie. Biblioteca di cultura medievale (in Italian). Jaca Book. p. 60. ISBN 978-88-16-40330-7. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  10. ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  11. ^ "Biography of Étienne Gilson's Intellectual Life". Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  12. ^ The Christian Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, University of Notre Dame Press, Indiana, 1956, pp. 366–367