etienne gilson, reason and revelation in the middle ages

A superb survey - from Aristotle to Tertullian, St. Thomas Aquinas to Martin Luther, this short book gives perhaps the most comprehensive background (and substance) to the boundaries between faith and reason ever articulated. Collected from the Richards Lecture at the University of Virginia, 1937. About the author Étienne Gilson (June 13, 1884 – September 19, 1978) was a French Catholic theologian, philosopher and historian. He is seen as one of the most important proponents of twentieth-century Thomism. In contrast to other modern Thomists (such as Jacques Maritain), Gilson's attempt to use Aquinas' thought for the sake of constructing a viable Catholic philosophical system went to lengths to emphasize the historical aspect of Aquinas' work. Gilson put much of his effort into locating the doctrines relative both to the earlier works from which Aquinas drew (chiefly, those of Aristotle), and to later critics and commentators. By revitalizing Thomism and exhibiting the continuity of thought from Medieval to Modern philosophy, Gilson decisively contributed to a modern appreciation of Medieval philosophy.