FALL 2011 - Ignatius Press

new FALL books
Methodical Realism E
A Handbook for Beginning Realists
Étienne Gilson
This short book is a work of one of the 20th century’s
greatest philosophers and historians of
philosophy, Étienne Gilson. The book’s title, taken
from the first chapter, may sound esoteric but it
reflects a common-sense outlook on the world,
applied in a “methodical” way. That approach,
known as realism, consists in emphasizing the fact
that what is real precedes our concepts about it. In
contrast to realism stands idealism, which refers to
the philosophical outlook that begins with ideas
and tries to move from them to things.
Gilson shows how the common-sense notion
of realism, though denied by many thinkers, is
indispensible for a correct understanding of thingsof
what is and how we know what is. He shows
the flaws of idealism and he critiques efforts to
introduce elements of idealism into realist philosophy
(“immediate realism”). At the same time, the
author criticizes failures of certain realist philosophers-including
Aristotle-to be consistent in their
own principles and to begin from sound starting
points. To these problems, Gilson traces medieval
philosophy’s failure in the realm of science, which
led early modern scientific thinkers of the 17th
century unnecessarily to reject even the best of
medieval scholastic philosophy.
He concludes with The Realist Beginner’s
Handbook, a summary of key points for thinking
clearly about reality and about the knowledge of it.
Étienne Gilson (1884-1978) was a renowned French
philosopher and historian of philosophy, and a
member of the prestigious French Academy. He was
a prominent leader in the twentieth-century resurgence
of the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas.
Among his books are From Aristotle to Darwin and
Back Again, and The Unity of Philosophical Experience.
See more by Gilson on page 61.
MR-P . . . 150 pp, Sewn Softcover, $16.95
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A indicates availability as an audio download on ignatius.com
8
Man, The Image of God E
The Creation of Man as Good News
Christoph Cardinal Schönborn
God created man in his own image, and the
profound implications of this assertion are the
subject of this book. Drawing on philosophy, theology,
science, Scripture and art, Cardinal Schönborn
reflects on man as the greatest of God’s creatures
and on the Christian understanding of his incomparable
dignity that flows from this truth.
According to the Christian faith, all the works
of God converge toward man, and find their goal in
him. The world was made for man, and man was
made for God. This “anthropocentrism” resounds
like good news at a time when many find it hard to
believe in God’s special and personal providence
for man. It is good news, indeed, that man has
worth and his life has meaning because God bears
an infinite love for him—a love which is the very
origin of creation and is the reason for the work of
redemption.
Among the topics Cardinal Schönborn addresses
are: Christ—the Loveliest of Men, The Exaltation of
Man, The Basis of Man’s Dignity, Faith in Art, God
with a Human Face.
“Man is created by God and for God; he has an
incomparable dignity because God, in creating him,
has for him an infinite love, the very origin of creation
and the reason for the work of redemption.”
— Christoph Cardinal Schönborn
Christoph Cardinal Schönborn is the Archbishop
of Vienna. The renowned theologian was the primary
editor of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
The Dominican priest was a student of Joseph
Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. He has written
numerous books and articles on faith, including
Happiness, God & Man, Jesus, The Divine Physician,
and Chance or Purpose?, a study of the theory of
evolution and the relationship between faith and
science. See more by Cardinal Schönborn on
page 60.
MIG-P . . . Sewn Softcover, 150 pp, $14.95
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