Bonaventurian Ways to God through Reason

Abstract

BONAVENTURIAN WAYS TO GOD THROUGH REASON INTRODUCTION A. Motives and Objectives of Study I. Comparative neglect of Bonaventurian thought. - As the golden age of Medieval thought, the Thirteenth Century produced an extraordinary wealth of original speculation on the problem of God, the most notable of which were the Five Ways of the Dominican, Thomas Aquinas. Despite the magnitude of the Angelic Doctor's contribution in general by way of an original adaptation of Aristotelian philosophy to his own unique synthesis,1 that by no means rendered superfluous the works of other scholars. For as Thomas himself would have been first to suggest, man's quest of the ultimate through the use of his natural faculties here and now will never be complete, either individually or collectively. Among outstanding scholars contemporary with Aquinas himself, whose contribution to philosophic learning should not be overlooked, there is perhaps none more illustrious than the Franciscan, Bonaventure of Bagnorea.2 Yet, although the Five Ways of Thomas Aquinas have in the ensuing centuries been the subject of voluminous analyses and commentaries, setting forth radically different approaches to and interpretations of the Five Ways,3 only minimal attention comparatively has been accorded to 1 Cf. Etienne Gilson, The Spirit of Mediaeval Philosophy, trans. A. H. C. Downes (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1940), passim. 8 Like Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventure attained sainthood, but use of the term "Saint" has been deliberately omitted from both the title and body of this study in order to emphasize further that Bonaventure's indubitable sanctity is quite irrelevant in interpreting and appraising his philosophy. 8 For a definitive refutation of the predefinition approach by the Gilsonian School and Canon Van Steenberghen to the Five Ways of Aquinas, see Thomas C. O'Brien, O.P., Metaphysics and the Existence of God (Washington, D.C: The Thomist Press, i960), passim. Bonaventurian Ways to God through Reason193 the Bonaventurian approaches to God.4 Although that in itself affords a distinct motive for entering upon this study, there are additional reasons for such an undertaking. 2. Divergent views regarding Bonaventure's location in the philosophic movement. - Conflicting opinions in respect of Bonaventure's philosophical orientation exist both (a) as to his philosophy in general, and (b) as to his ways to God in particular. In respect of his philosophy generally, that it is "Augustinian" is commonly accepted, although such a characterization is too vague to meet the issue fully. When attempts are made, however, to locate his philosophy more precisely, a sharp difference of opinion occurs. The locus in quo of this divergence is the extent to which the Franciscan Doctor was influenced by new philosophical developments in his time, especially by the works of Aristotle which, through then current translations, were gaining increasing attention and favor at the University of Paris. There are two poles of thought upon the philosophy of Bonaventure as a whole: that of Gilson who regards his philosophy as antiAristotelian , and Canon Van Steenberghen who holds such philosophy to be Aristotelian centered. Antecedent to this, however, is the question whether Bonaventure's philosophy is in fact autonomous. As to that Gilson's answer is unequivocally in the negative, for as he admonishes: Into Bonaventure's system one can enter only by an act of faith.6 He further notes that although Bonaventure recognizes "a formal distinction between philosophy and theology," the Franciscan Doctor regards any real distinction as "illegitimate," and thus "holds that precisely as philosophy it is vitiated by its claim to exist apart."8 Both Van Steenberghen and Robert take the opposite view.7 4 On Bonaventure's approaches to God, only eleven books and fourteen articles (other than histories of philosophy) appear to have been published within the last century. Of these, little more than a third at most concentrate upon the subject itself. 8 Etienne Gilson, The Philosophy of St. Bonaventure, trans. Dom Illtyd Trethowan and Frank J. Sheed (Paterson, N.J.: St. Anthony Guild Press, 1965), P- 438· 8 Ibid., 439. 7 For a further analysis of the views of Van Steenberghen and Robert, 7 - Franciscan Studies 1976 194THOMAS R. MATHIAS Concerning Bonaventure's broad philosophical commitment, Gilson claims it is in radical opposition...