We are excited to have our author, Michael Gorman, discuss his book A Contemporary Introduction to Thomistic Metaphysics on our blog. Michael Gorman is ordinary professor of philosophy at The Catholic University of America.
Q: As we note on the jacket there, are many introductory books on Thomistic metaphysics. What compelled you to write this one, and what do you think makes it particularly unique?
A: I’d been teaching a metaphysics course for ten years or so, assigning certain texts from Aristotle and Aquinas, but also assigning a textbook that introduced students to key ideas in analytic metaphysics. As the years went by, I found myself relying on the textbook less and less, and one day I realized why: I had developed my own way of thinking through the material. When I jokingly said to my students, “I should just write my own book on this,” they took it seriously and encouraged me to do it. So I did!
I think what makes it different from most other such books is this. On the one hand, I take positions, rather than simply laying out options and saying “you choose.” On the other hand, I try hard to give alternative views a fair shake, rather than just quickly brushing them off. Also, I go very far out of my way to present things in a down-to-earth, non-technical manner, using everyday examples and even a bit of humor sometimes.
Q: What do you say to a beginner for whom just the term “Thomistic metaphysics” is daunting?
A: The book was written with beginners in mind! Metaphysics is difficult, that’s true, but it’s less spooky than it sounds. It just means thinking about reality in an extremely general way. If you think about dogs, that’s not metaphysics. If you ratchet up the level of generality to thinking about mammals, then animals, then living things, you still haven’t arrived at metaphysics, but you’re getting closer. You’re doing metaphysical thinking when your thoughts apply to everything—not just to dogs, or mammals, or animals, or living things, but to all things whatsoever.
Q: Is the book written only for beginners?
A: No. More advanced students, and even philosophy professors, can find its approach interesting. At times I oppose Aquinas’s views to those of analytic philosophers, but other times I draw on ideas that analytic philosophers have developed to clarify what’s going on in traditional philosophy.
Q: What do you hope readers get out of this book?
First, I hope that readers learn some philosophy—both in the sense of acquiring some good ideas, and in the sense of getting better at thinking philosophically. Second, I hope it will enable them to read classic philosophical texts with greater understanding. Third, I hope they have fun! Again, I’ve written the book in a way that’s down-to-earth, using everyday examples, and using technical words only when necessary. The point is to make it easier for readers to think about the realities that metaphysics is about, rather than feeling that their job is to master arcane vocabulary. To paraphrase Aquinas, philosophy is about reality, not about what people say about reality! Once you break through to actually thinking about reality itself, you find that everything that happens to you, all day long, is interesting and thought-provoking.