Saint Bonaventure Et l'Entree de Dieu En Theologie (Etudes de Philosophie Medievale)

by Dean of the Department of Philosophy Emmanuel Falque

"Sans presupposer aucune connaissance ni en phenomenologie ni en philosophie medievale, Emmanuel Falque va suivre le prologue et la premiere partie du Breviloquium de Bonaventure pour y etudier la question de l'entree de Dieu en philosophie comme en theologie, autrement dit son mode de manifestation a l'homme. Emmanuel Falque a deja apporte des preuves convaincantes de la validite de sa methode dans plusieurs articles cites dans une note de l'Avant-propos et dans son Passeur de Gethsemani. Il est clairement justifie qu'apres et avec les resultats des experiences, recits et descriptions des mystiques, apres et avec les speculations des theologiens, on introduise de nouvelles methodes pour tenter de saisir ces vecus et meme ces notions a la source de leur surgissement, pour elaborer une quete de l'originaire selon la specificite de la reponse a une revelation." (Extrait de la preface de Jean Jolivet)

224 pages, Perfect Paperback

First published January 15, 2001

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most difficult, rewarding books I've struggled through. Despite the scholar's assurance that one needs neither medieval philosophy nor phenomenology to follow his arguments, I beg to differ. Endnotes are essential to show English-language audiences how the original French, as well as the Latin sources and at times Heidegger in German, offer nuances evading all but the most skilled of translators, who need to be philosophers themselves to introduce and interpret the dense thought and deep intellectual effort that taking this theology seriously expects, in Falque's dogged engagement. As a revised dissertation, this merits a broader reception, and this takes in much more than the reductive title. As this mid-career revision of Falque's knotty, and ambitious effort necessarily draws on his intervening, subsequent endeavours, it may have been easier to navigate if one reads the "trilogy" 1998-2011 first? Still, a great sign for its ideas put into action and not only contemplation that I'm not dissuaded from learning more from Falque, whose books the past decade have started appearing in meticulously edited and translated form for those like me lacking the advanced fluency in the original. Makes me curious about this professor's own trajectory, as hinted at towards the end, typically buried in the endnotes. Translators labored hard here for us.

N.B. There's tough going for all but professional philosophers for long stretches. That's due to my intellectual limitations as a layman. This does not detract from the gist.of this work, but its demands do get slightly diffused over the arduous quest, as a preface taking up how Bonaventure was viewed in 1924 vs. 1974 (imagine that range of a career spent "thinking") by Etienne Gilson and a coda looking at the perspective of Bonaventure's exact contemporary Thomas Aquinas bear down on the already heavy, dense project. But that means good value for one's mind and spirit, and for French phenomenology I suppose it's astonishing I could tackle this and grope my way forward. Dr Falque has much to add to this core, the original doctoral publication, in this edition 20 years later. May his tenure be as long and fruitful as his Parisian predecessor.