THE INTELLECTUAL ORIGINS OF THE CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY OF ÉTIENNE GILSON

Abstract

Gilson managed to creatively present, update, and reveal the heuristic potential of Thomism as a paradigmatic system of metaphysical and epistemological realism, which had proved its historical continuity and notable influence even on the founders of the rational discourse of the Enlightenment. Gilson’s merit also lies in his expression of the constitutive role of human reason in the construction of Christian philosophy, as well as in the fact that he did not attempt to mask a possible lack of argument by appealing to the doctrine of divine revelation. The researcher advocated the need for the creative rethinking of Thomism as a dialogical system of ideas and emphasized the inadequacy of the uncritical repetition of Aquinas’ teachings in the frozen historical form in the context of new unprecedented challenges.