St. Thomas and Form as Something Divine in Things (Aquinas Lecture) by O.P. Dewan Lawrence

The Aquinas Lecture in Philosophy

by Lawrence Dewan

Book by Dewan, Lawrence

Genres: Philosophy

Hardcover

First published February 1, 2007

Reviews

[Kyle McManamy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 2007 Aquinas Lecture looking at the Thomistic category of "form"as a formal cause (though Dewan doesn't use the term) for the act of being. This is a technical presentation which would be more accessible to those already introduced to Thomism, but for the patient it can serve as a good primer on how Aristotle's concepts of form and substance are incorporated into Thomas' thought and enhanced by his (Thomas') understanding of being.

A good refresher of key categories in Thomism and a short read.

[Jonathan Platter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dewan's lecture was a delight to read. He provides a helpful analysis of the form-matter distinction in Aquinas, especially showing how form as the principle of act in relation to matter's potentiality is dependent on the prior pure actuality of the divine nature. Form is not identical to the act of existing, but is, with the latter, prior to matter as "something divine in things."

The study helps show how Aquinas's "materialism" did not divorce meaning, value, and divinity from material reality, for, on the contrary, matter is intelligible and as such is disclosive of the divine creativity.