GILSON AND PASCAL

• Authors: RICHARD J. FAFARA
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Gilson’s early admiration for Pascal as a literary figure evolved into a deep appreciation of him as a Christian philosopher. Pascal showed Gilson that one could expect much more of philosophy than the idealism of René Descartes and Léon Brunschvicg so rampant in France during Gilson’s days as a student. Gilson’s existential Thomism, which highlighted Augustinian elements in St. Thomas’ thought, shares Pascal’s realism, his critique of rationalism, his situating philosophy within theology, and his view that the God of faith’s existence is largely independent of philosophical demonstrations that one gives of it. Despite many superficial dissimilarities, Gilson found Pascal’s scientific worldview continuous with the world of St. Thomas. Pascal, for Gilson, remained a model for the vocation of the Christian intellectual.

Keywords

EN

Gilson; Pascal; Christian philosophy; Thomism; fideism

• Publisher: International Étienne Gilson Society
• Journal: Studia Gilsoniana
• Year: 2014
• Volume: 3
• Pages: 29-45

Dates

published

2014-12

Contributors

author

RICHARD J. FAFARA

• Adler–Aquinas Institute, Manitou Springs, CO, USA

Identifiers

ISSN

2300-0066