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The Aquinas Lecture in Philosophy #4
HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY AND PHILOSOPHICAL EDUCATION
Excerpt from History of Philosophy and Philosophical EducationGod and Philosophy (the Powell lectures of 1940) New Haven, Yale University Press, and Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1941, 144 pages.
- GenresPhilosophyEducation
70 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1948
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46 people want to read
About the author
Étienne Gilson
232 books168 followersÉtienne Henri Gilson was born into a Roman Catholic family in Paris on 13 June 1884. He was educated at a number of Roman Catholic schools in Paris before attending lycée Henri IV in 1902, where he studied philosophy. Two years later he enrolled at the Sorbonne, graduating in 1907 after having studied under many fine scholars, including Lucien Lévy Bruhl, Henri Bergson and Emile Durkheim.
Gilson taught in a number of high schools after his graduation and worked on a doctoral thesis on Descartes, which he successfully completed (Sorbonne) in 1913. On the strength of advice from his teacher, Lévy Bruhl, he began to study medieval philosophy in great depth, coming to see Descartes as having strong connections with medieval philosophy, although often finding more merit in the medieval works he saw as connected than in Descartes himself. He was later to be highly esteemed for his work in medieval philosophy and has been described as something of a saviour to the field.
From 1913 to 1914 Gilson taught at the University of Lille. His academic career was postponed during the First World War while he took up military service. During his time in the army he served as second lieutenant in a machine-gun regiment and was awarded the Croix de Guerre for bravery upon relief from his duties. After the war, he returned to academic life at Lille and (also) Strasbourg, and in 1921 he took up an appointment at the Sorbonne teaching the history of medieval philosophy. He remained at the Sorbonne for eleven years prior to becoming Professor of Medieval Philosophy at the College de France in 1932. During his Sorbonne years and throughout his continuing career Gilson had the opportunity to travel extensively to North America, where he became highly influential as a historian and medievalist, demonstrating a number of previously undetermined important differences among the period’s greatest figures.
Gilson’s Gifford Lectures, delivered at Aberdeen in 1931 and 1932, titled ‘The Spirit of Medieval Philosophy’, were published in his native language (L’espirit de la philosophie medieval, 1932) before being translated into English in 1936. Gilson believed that a defining feature of medieval philosophy was that it operated within a framework endorsing a conviction to the existence of God, with a complete acceptance that Christian revelation enabled the refinement of meticulous reason. In this regard he described medieval philosophy as particularly ‘Christian’ philosophy.
Gilson married in 1908 and the union produced three children, two daughters and one son. Sadly, his wife died of leukaemia in late 1949. In 1951 he relinquished his chair at the College de France in order to attend to responsibilities he had at the Institute of Medieval Studies in Toronto, Canada, an institute he had been invited to establish in 1929. Gilson died 19 September 1978 at the age of ninety-four.
Gilson taught in a number of high schools after his graduation and worked on a doctoral thesis on Descartes, which he successfully completed (Sorbonne) in 1913. On the strength of advice from his teacher, Lévy Bruhl, he began to study medieval philosophy in great depth, coming to see Descartes as having strong connections with medieval philosophy, although often finding more merit in the medieval works he saw as connected than in Descartes himself. He was later to be highly esteemed for his work in medieval philosophy and has been described as something of a saviour to the field.
From 1913 to 1914 Gilson taught at the University of Lille. His academic career was postponed during the First World War while he took up military service. During his time in the army he served as second lieutenant in a machine-gun regiment and was awarded the Croix de Guerre for bravery upon relief from his duties. After the war, he returned to academic life at Lille and (also) Strasbourg, and in 1921 he took up an appointment at the Sorbonne teaching the history of medieval philosophy. He remained at the Sorbonne for eleven years prior to becoming Professor of Medieval Philosophy at the College de France in 1932. During his Sorbonne years and throughout his continuing career Gilson had the opportunity to travel extensively to North America, where he became highly influential as a historian and medievalist, demonstrating a number of previously undetermined important differences among the period’s greatest figures.
Gilson’s Gifford Lectures, delivered at Aberdeen in 1931 and 1932, titled ‘The Spirit of Medieval Philosophy’, were published in his native language (L’espirit de la philosophie medieval, 1932) before being translated into English in 1936. Gilson believed that a defining feature of medieval philosophy was that it operated within a framework endorsing a conviction to the existence of God, with a complete acceptance that Christian revelation enabled the refinement of meticulous reason. In this regard he described medieval philosophy as particularly ‘Christian’ philosophy.
Gilson married in 1908 and the union produced three children, two daughters and one son. Sadly, his wife died of leukaemia in late 1949. In 1951 he relinquished his chair at the College de France in order to attend to responsibilities he had at the Institute of Medieval Studies in Toronto, Canada, an institute he had been invited to establish in 1929. Gilson died 19 September 1978 at the age of ninety-four.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 24, 2020
Demonstrates that history of philosophy is an integral part of philosophy, and that learning philosophy doesn't necessarily equal or even lead to philosophizing. Denigration of history of philosophy cripples the attempt to philosophize. This cashes out as 'philosophy in a tradition must take in to account the history of that tradition, and all philosophy is philosophy in a tradition'. A tradition is basically a school of philosophy informed by and influencing in turn a Weltanschauung.
This provides a prologue to MacIntyre's account (After Virtue, Three Rival Versions of Moral Enquiry) of philosophy as being necessarily traditioned. The fact that it is not traditioned (as Gilson points out when he notes the denigration of history of philosophy) is a contributing factor to the fracturing of philosophy and the complete blow-up of unified ethical theories in the modern world.
A nice distinction between professors of philosophy and philosophers is drawn that gives words to some half-formed thoughts I've had.
The very short nature of the Aquinas Lectures is a downside, and means this work isn't as argued as it could be; there are a few assertions asserted, and once Gilson goes on a sizable tangent about whether there's a distinction between esse and ens in re according to Thomism (handbooks of Thomism - introductions to philosophy 'ad mentis Thomae Aquinatis' - are split on the issue), and then just kind of drops it and doesn't make a point other than 'traditions can have intramural debates', which is jejune.
This provides a prologue to MacIntyre's account (After Virtue, Three Rival Versions of Moral Enquiry) of philosophy as being necessarily traditioned. The fact that it is not traditioned (as Gilson points out when he notes the denigration of history of philosophy) is a contributing factor to the fracturing of philosophy and the complete blow-up of unified ethical theories in the modern world.
A nice distinction between professors of philosophy and philosophers is drawn that gives words to some half-formed thoughts I've had.
The very short nature of the Aquinas Lectures is a downside, and means this work isn't as argued as it could be; there are a few assertions asserted, and once Gilson goes on a sizable tangent about whether there's a distinction between esse and ens in re according to Thomism (handbooks of Thomism - introductions to philosophy 'ad mentis Thomae Aquinatis' - are split on the issue), and then just kind of drops it and doesn't make a point other than 'traditions can have intramural debates', which is jejune.
March 26, 2018
This short book (circa 80 pages) is an entertaining read where Gilson reminds me about philosophy - something people might fear from, or people get too attached with or something that can be misunderstood. Gilson is known as Thomist, yet his argument on the organic unity and anonymity of philosophy without the philosopher are rational for anyone from any school of philosophy to be accepted.
Philosophy, as he reminds here, is not just a subject like science and maths subjects (where people can weigh its utility e.g. the benefit from learning them), but Gilson maintains that philosophy is upon our quest to find wisdom (though I personally wonder how many people still hold this view now).
As philosophy is a quest for wisdom, hence, we might wonder on how one can teach philosophy then? What is the importance of history of philosophy in learning philosophy? This short lecture of Gilson is recommended to be read, by anyone who have interest in philosophy.
Philosophy, as he reminds here, is not just a subject like science and maths subjects (where people can weigh its utility e.g. the benefit from learning them), but Gilson maintains that philosophy is upon our quest to find wisdom (though I personally wonder how many people still hold this view now).
As philosophy is a quest for wisdom, hence, we might wonder on how one can teach philosophy then? What is the importance of history of philosophy in learning philosophy? This short lecture of Gilson is recommended to be read, by anyone who have interest in philosophy.
April 24, 2019
It’s difficult to say what philosophy is, but more difficult to live a philosophical live. This book is a brief think about what is to love wisdom, trying to follow Thomas example is really difficult but Etienne show us how philosophy works as a life, and show us how the philosopher is more than a encyclopedic knowledge, is about think, talk in solitude and share the light of this thinking, but the light is unique you only can see it but you need to hace your own.
December 26, 2025
Etienne Gilson In Milwaukee -- I
Over the years, the Philosophy Department of Marquette University, Milwaukee,has hosted many distinguished philosophers for its annual Aquinas Lecture. Among the most distinguished of Aquinas lecturers was the French philosopher Etienne Gilson (1884-- 1978). a scholar and historian of Medieval philosophy and Aquinas and a philosopher in his own right. Gilson gave the Aquinas Lecture twice. The first lecture was in October, 1947 and was titled "History of Philosophy and Philosophical Education" which is reviewed here. Gilson delivered his second Aquinas Lecture in 1951, titled "Wisdom and Love in St. Thomas Aquinas." His two Aquinas Lectures were published, as have all the lectures in the series, by Marquette University Press in small uniform volumes.
Gilson's "History of Philosophy and Philosophical Education" explores in its short compass the nature of philosophy and how it is to be studied. In his opening paragraph, Gilson defines philosophy as the love of wisdom. Wisdom must be pursued over a lifetime though reflection and without indulging in ways of life that are "incompatible with philosophical thinking." Gilson describes how phiosophy is less a knowledge of a particular subject than it is a lifelong pursuit of wisdom which is a peculiar occupation and a lifelong one. He writes: "a philosopher's life is completely dedicated to the conquest of wisdom. If he is a philosopher, he can do nothng else that philosophize." Philosophy in this sense is rare.
The remainder of the lecture is devoted to a discussion of how philosophy is to be learned. Gilson distinguishes the practice of philosophy from the career of teaching philosophy. The latter is an activity devoted to presenting the basics of philosophy to students, most often in elementary, introductory courses. It is different from the lonely, sustained reflection required by philosophical thinking. Some teachers of philosophy, in their solitude and privacy, may also be philosophers engaged in their own lonely pursuit of wisdom.
What then, for Gilson is the goal of teaching philosophy? It requires an introduction to the questions and different positions offered in philosophy, but the goal, if the student is to become a philosopher, is to awaken a sense of self-reflection. Becoming a philosopher, as Gilson puts it, is a commitment "like falling in love, like answering the call of a vocation, or undergoing the transforming experience of a conversion." The growth of a philosopher can only be done with a mentor, a philosophical master, and this ordinarily requires intensive study of a great historical figure, as contemporary practitioners of philosophy are few. This requires a study of the history of philosophy and especially the finding of a philosopher whom one trusts and from whom one may learn. In Gilson's case, this philosopher is Aquinas. For Gilson, a philosopher and a teacher of philosophy must approach their subject in part like,for example the study of physics, to teach what is true rather than a confusing series of competing positions. "If a man does not think he knows what is true and what is not true in philosophy, he has no business to teach it", Gilson writes.
For Gilson, philosophy cannot be learned from textbooks or from summaries but requires deep, sustained engagement with philosophical writings, especially the writings of one's mentor. The goal is to understand philosophcal thinking for oneself, to make it one's own. The goal of the teacher of philosophy is to teach the student to engage and to think through philosophy for him or herself, a process that requires a lifetime. Gilson's approach explains the crucial character of understanding the history of philosophy in beoming a philosopher. In the mid-20th century, the value of the study of the history of philosophy was frequently questioned, particularly by philosophers in the analytic school.
Studying the history of philosophy through the great philosophers will, for Gilson, result in the growth of both universality and individuality because "for each and every one of us, the core of what is universal in him is identical with the very core of his own personality." Gilson finds that the perennial philosophy is not an abstraction floating in the clouds but is instead "the permanent possibility for each and every human being to actualize an essence through his own existence. that is again to experience the same truth in the light of his own intellect. And that truth itself is not an anonymous one. Even taken itself in its absolute and self-subsisting form, truth in itself bears a name. It's name is God."
Gilson's account of philosophy is both historical and heavily existential. Gilson also ascribes great importance to the philosophcal search in its difficulty and rarity. Much of Gilson's thought may be separable from the great importance that he places on the thought of Aquinas for its realization. I found it inspiring to read this Aquinas Lecture and to think about my own lifelong interest in philosophy which began when I was young in Milwaukee.
Robin Friedman
Over the years, the Philosophy Department of Marquette University, Milwaukee,has hosted many distinguished philosophers for its annual Aquinas Lecture. Among the most distinguished of Aquinas lecturers was the French philosopher Etienne Gilson (1884-- 1978). a scholar and historian of Medieval philosophy and Aquinas and a philosopher in his own right. Gilson gave the Aquinas Lecture twice. The first lecture was in October, 1947 and was titled "History of Philosophy and Philosophical Education" which is reviewed here. Gilson delivered his second Aquinas Lecture in 1951, titled "Wisdom and Love in St. Thomas Aquinas." His two Aquinas Lectures were published, as have all the lectures in the series, by Marquette University Press in small uniform volumes.
Gilson's "History of Philosophy and Philosophical Education" explores in its short compass the nature of philosophy and how it is to be studied. In his opening paragraph, Gilson defines philosophy as the love of wisdom. Wisdom must be pursued over a lifetime though reflection and without indulging in ways of life that are "incompatible with philosophical thinking." Gilson describes how phiosophy is less a knowledge of a particular subject than it is a lifelong pursuit of wisdom which is a peculiar occupation and a lifelong one. He writes: "a philosopher's life is completely dedicated to the conquest of wisdom. If he is a philosopher, he can do nothng else that philosophize." Philosophy in this sense is rare.
The remainder of the lecture is devoted to a discussion of how philosophy is to be learned. Gilson distinguishes the practice of philosophy from the career of teaching philosophy. The latter is an activity devoted to presenting the basics of philosophy to students, most often in elementary, introductory courses. It is different from the lonely, sustained reflection required by philosophical thinking. Some teachers of philosophy, in their solitude and privacy, may also be philosophers engaged in their own lonely pursuit of wisdom.
What then, for Gilson is the goal of teaching philosophy? It requires an introduction to the questions and different positions offered in philosophy, but the goal, if the student is to become a philosopher, is to awaken a sense of self-reflection. Becoming a philosopher, as Gilson puts it, is a commitment "like falling in love, like answering the call of a vocation, or undergoing the transforming experience of a conversion." The growth of a philosopher can only be done with a mentor, a philosophical master, and this ordinarily requires intensive study of a great historical figure, as contemporary practitioners of philosophy are few. This requires a study of the history of philosophy and especially the finding of a philosopher whom one trusts and from whom one may learn. In Gilson's case, this philosopher is Aquinas. For Gilson, a philosopher and a teacher of philosophy must approach their subject in part like,for example the study of physics, to teach what is true rather than a confusing series of competing positions. "If a man does not think he knows what is true and what is not true in philosophy, he has no business to teach it", Gilson writes.
For Gilson, philosophy cannot be learned from textbooks or from summaries but requires deep, sustained engagement with philosophical writings, especially the writings of one's mentor. The goal is to understand philosophcal thinking for oneself, to make it one's own. The goal of the teacher of philosophy is to teach the student to engage and to think through philosophy for him or herself, a process that requires a lifetime. Gilson's approach explains the crucial character of understanding the history of philosophy in beoming a philosopher. In the mid-20th century, the value of the study of the history of philosophy was frequently questioned, particularly by philosophers in the analytic school.
Studying the history of philosophy through the great philosophers will, for Gilson, result in the growth of both universality and individuality because "for each and every one of us, the core of what is universal in him is identical with the very core of his own personality." Gilson finds that the perennial philosophy is not an abstraction floating in the clouds but is instead "the permanent possibility for each and every human being to actualize an essence through his own existence. that is again to experience the same truth in the light of his own intellect. And that truth itself is not an anonymous one. Even taken itself in its absolute and self-subsisting form, truth in itself bears a name. It's name is God."
Gilson's account of philosophy is both historical and heavily existential. Gilson also ascribes great importance to the philosophcal search in its difficulty and rarity. Much of Gilson's thought may be separable from the great importance that he places on the thought of Aquinas for its realization. I found it inspiring to read this Aquinas Lecture and to think about my own lifelong interest in philosophy which began when I was young in Milwaukee.
Robin Friedman
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews