- In full:
- Étienne-Henry Gilson
- Born:
- June 13, 1884, Paris, France
- Died:
- September 19, 1978, Cravant (aged 94)
- Subjects Of Study:
- Middle Ages
Étienne Gilson
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Who was Étienne Gilson?
Étienne Gilson (1884–1978) was a French Christian philosopher and a prominent 20th-century scholar of medieval thought. Gilson, born into a Roman Catholic family, studied philosophy at the Sorbonne before teaching in various lycées. His investigation of René Descartes and Scholasticism led him to medieval thought, and he later became a disciple of St. Thomas Aquinas.
Gilson taught at the University of Strasbourg and the University of Paris. He established the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies at the University of Toronto in 1929, dividing his time between Paris and Toronto.
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What was Étienne Gilson known for in philosophy?
Étienne Gilson (1884–1978) was a French Christian philosopher and a prominent 20th-century scholar of medieval thought. Gilson, born into a Roman Catholic family, studied philosophy at the Sorbonne and later taught at the University of Paris and the Collège de France.
Gilson became a disciple of St. Thomas Aquinas, and his work, The Christian Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, reflects this influence. He explored the relationship between faith and reason, particularly within the context of medieval philosophy, in works such as The Spirit of Mediæval Philosophy and Reason and Revelation in the Middle Ages. Gilson's historical studies of philosophy served as a means of investigating ideas, as exemplified in Being and Some Philosophers and The Unity of Philosophical Experience.
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Which period of philosophy did Étienne Gilson study most?
Étienne Gilson was a French philosopher and historian who focused on medieval thought. His investigation of René Descartes and Scholasticism led him to study medieval philosophy, and he became a scholar of the subject.
Gilson studied the thought of St. Bonaventure and St. Thomas Aquinas, professing himself a disciple of St. Thomas Aquinas. He also made important studies of great medieval thinkers, including St. Bernard de Clairvaux.
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What is medieval philosophy, and why did Étienne Gilson focus on it?
Medieval philosophy refers to philosophical study in Western Europe from the 5th to 15th centuries. Closely tied to Christian thought and theology, it aimed to offer a rational understanding of faith, blending Greek philosophy with Christian doctrine.
Étienne Gilson, a 20th-century French philosopher and historian, focused on medieval thought, particularly the works of St. Thomas Aquinas. Gilson's early studies of Ren\u00e9 Descartes and Scholasticism led him to medieval philosophy. He aimed to show the importance of Christian philosophy, exploring the interplay between faith and reason and studying medieval thinkers.
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How did Étienne Gilson help people understand Thomas Aquinas and other medieval thinkers?
Étienne Gilson was a French philosopher and historian of medieval thought. Gilson, who became a disciple of St. Thomas Aquinas, significantly contributed to understanding Aquinas and other medieval thinkers through his extensive studies and writings.
Gilson's approach involved using the history of philosophy to investigate ideas, as showcased in his works such as The Spirit of Mediæval Philosophy, The Unity of Philosophical Experience, and Being and Some Philosophers. Additionally, he lectured at universities in the United States and Canada and founded the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies in Toronto.
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How did Étienne Gilson’s work influence the study of philosophy today?
Étienne Gilson (1884-1978) was a French Christian philosopher and a prominent scholar of medieval thought. Gilson's work has had a significant influence on the study of philosophy, particularly in the areas of medieval philosophy, Thomism, and the history of philosophy. He emphasized the importance of understanding the historical context of philosophical ideas and promoted the study of medieval thinkers as a valuable source of philosophical insight. Gilson's approach to the history of philosophy as a means of investigating ideas has had a lasting impact on the field.
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Étienne Gilson (born June 13, 1884, Paris, France—died September 19, 1978, Cravant) was a French Christian philosopher and historian of medieval thought, one of the most eminent international scholars of the 20th century.
Gilson was born into a Roman Catholic family and owed his early education to Catholic schools in Paris. He began the study of philosophy in 1902 at the Lycée Henri IV and received his baccalaureate in 1906 from the Sorbonne (the University of Paris). For the next six years he taught philosophy in various lycées. In 1913 he took his doctoral degree, for which he had investigated René Descartes and Scholasticism, the subject that first led him to the study of medieval thought.
In 1916, at the Battle of Verdun, he was wounded and taken prisoner. During the two years of his imprisonment, he devoted himself to, among other things, the study of the Russian language and of the thought of St. Bonaventure. He was later awarded the Croix de Guerre for bravery in action.
From 1919 Gilson was professor of the history of philosophy at the University of Strasbourg; in 1921 he returned to the University of Paris as professor of the history of medieval philosophy, a post he continued to hold until 1932, when he inaugurated the first chair in the history of medieval philosophy at the Collège de France. In 1926 he made the first of what later became his annual visits to the United States and Canada, lecturing at the universities of Montreal, Harvard, and Virginia. Three years later, at the invitation of the Congregation of the Priests of St. Basil, he established the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies in conjunction with St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto. From then on he divided his academic year between Paris and Toronto, a practice that was interrupted only by the war years, during which he remained in Paris. In 1951 he relinquished his chair at the Collège de France to devote all of his time to his post at Toronto, a position he retained until 1968.
Gilson soon came to profess himself a disciple of St. Thomas Aquinas, but, as he freely acknowledged, his own understanding of Aquinas’s thought underwent considerable development. He taught his first course on Thomism in 1914, and his first book on the subject was Le Thomisme: introduction au systéme de saint Thomas d’Aquin (1919; The Christian Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas). Many of his best-known books resulted from lectureships. Among these are L’Esprit de la philosophie médiévale (1932; The Spirit of Mediæval Philosophy), his exposition and defense of the idea of a Christian philosophy; The Unity of Philosophical Experience (1937) and Being and Some Philosophers (1949), perhaps the best examples of his use of the history of philosophy as though it were a laboratory for investigating ideas; and Reason and Revelation in the Middle Ages (1938).
Gilson made important studies of all the great medieval thinkers, including St. Bernard de Clairvaux and St. Bonaventure, the results of which were summed up in History of Christian Philosophy in the Middle Ages (1955). Among his most charming books is L’École des muses (1951; The Choir of Muses), a study of writers whose works were inspired by love for a woman.
Gilson was a lover and collector of painting, on which he wrote Painting and Reality (1957) and The Art of the Beautiful (1965). His last published book was Dante et Béatrice: études dantesques (1974; “Dante and Beatrice: Dantesque Studies”).
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