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Uatverty of etre Dem,
“otte Dome, Indons,
An Elementary Christian Metaphysics. By Joseph O
‘Milwaukee: The Beuce Publishing Company, 1963,
385, with index. $550.
‘Fr. Owens bas already ctalished himself a a towering
res of philoeopbienl endeavor. Those who eve boas
‘many insights seated thronghoot his sumerots published.
tratatuly bil the appearane of this metaphysintertonk,
metaphysical thenes, if one may s0 spetk are inter
foulsanding featare of the totaly i ie clear a
‘hysos ax unifed proses, ‘The admirable achievement of
{n't autor otnr than Sot In this way th two ete
Anite thingy ae etelebed, being and enone In hale
‘eounted for by them. Cogstion, by which ngs that exit
‘rn given ew saintanen Ins ower, on be nderrned by
Finally, the sopercante word familiar to Christian bl
tira el, angel, and God abe to be iventignta
‘riseples, oven thogh in regard to God the very matre of
Ein tem of tang only, an rae out quidatve ha
Tce of philoophers. The renmés at the end of each
‘wl undoubledly prove sel.
‘expresing my principal eicism of the work, T mention
Derilar points of disaisfecton. ‘The digeusion of the
ofthe speculative seenens (Part Thos eh 20) is quite seta.
i's boror of the very term abstraction lade him prastialy
the valid function of the dogrns of abstraction in the
on ofthe sence, The philowophy of nature ie auperdsially
the probien of the relationship to the experimental scien
ly dmisoel. His interpretation of the Quinguo rise
ech 24) Thave rejected eaewbore and find no reason in the
‘ane of Fr. Omens, as well a the words of hs epllogue,
hat te erucil point ini interpretation mst beth abject
‘andthe consideration of God. For it ia through the
‘hat eideno for te ultimate and proper demonstration of the
of all upon God as unique subistent ae, and thus of the
tion, must be found. What then ie the subject of mite
‘The most explicit anewer to the question ie found in the
paragraph (p. $70): ane Book Reviews
Bing, the tite of Part One, means existence. Indeed, thi
resappoted a8 fact from the outset.
cace as meaning anything bat thatthe italigenee mows
finguler extance rely. Tndood jodgment is «0 expla
fggete« kindof treneeant ation terminating physioly In
ner of the sensible singular. Nor do T understand how
Granted, however, an appsehension of being—exit
‘Owens describes i isthe et of exstene an apt subject of
inquiry? Bron bad St, Thomas sot repeated Arisotl’s
nti pon at selena? ib woald remain obvious that real
‘Shout he ra Ad the reali that wih ia. This the acto
is wot, That whish exits is being, that whow acti is to
faolaion ofthe act of exisene ar a tabject of sence sens:
fad eaterie indo.
‘But granted that the nt of existing Ie the subject of
‘hin srt of "bcing” found a maetaphysen, ax a means “or
the supersenible ender, for nadeatandiog the vers as
in every cognitive nt.” His "being i what the por
fof another er wonld have called “ont eulgre” However
‘dete of seven chapters extrietng bring fom th near
‘Maritain as “cidetio visualization.” By this a sintie
teranped as the expression of « distinctively inteigile as
‘ul, and aa soe the sours of «problematic, Consequently,
‘of Fr, Owen metaphyries doe st preset itself as having 8
‘eade of intligibiity, nor the virtuality to manifest the wb
ff the rel, or knowledge of absolute and teansrndent
‘ing of senable things i aio being. In second
sent of Suaten, Dispttationes Metephysoae (ef. Disp. 0
‘rey ne 4), there i a reeion epon the aapreme spletal bi
(Part Four, ch. 8), Beene of the subject of the sdenee
Book Reviews 218
ot val.
las, St stikos me that tho tite of the work is as fally
ts the author's foreword auggeata, Tt in very importat to
Chritian metaphyrica” The term might well be
“For the Christian aspect ia necsearly operative i this
is obo truly w metaphysical inquiry, an ultimate expane-
‘of spiitaalreltes provides corainy that there is more to
of senile things than an inguiry into their sensible being
Pr. Owens explicitly reftaine from ealiag bis work
since the term denotes “x type of thinking at variance
ritaphysss developed in the presrt book” (ii). He doce
his tents to approuchrulty under the guidance of original
texts (vi). He acknowledges, as wel, his indebedaess to
interpretation of Bt. Thomas (ix). Tt is impossible to lool
‘york as other than an interpretation of St Thomas. There
“tis impossible to interpret the metaphyseal writings of
inthis way. Fr, Oweas hus done i.
‘Taoxas C, O'Bam, 0.P.
Hose of Stuic,
“pashingion, D2
