From Unity to Pluralism: The Internal Evolution of Thomism

Through an in-depth study of four key figures – Pierre Rousselot, Joseph Marechal, Jacques Maritain, and Etienne Gilson – From Unity to Pluralism traces the evolution of Thomism in the first half of the twentieth century. Through their work, Thomisism encountered contemporary thought and rediscovered its authentic roots, and the ideal of a univocal, unitary doctrine of Scholastic truth embodied in the unambiguous teachings of Thomas Aquinas, which had inspired the Thomist revival at the end of the nineteenth century, gradually gave way. The result is the emergence of pluralism within the system itself and the independent development of the theologies of Karl Rahner and Bernard Lonergan.

Gerald A. McCool S.J. was a Professor of Philosophy at Fordham University, and served as the department chair from 1977 to 1981. He taught theology in Fordham’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences from 1995 to 1997. During his time at Fordham he served on the Executive Committee of the Philosophy Department, the Board of Directors of Jesuits of Fordham, and the Fordham University Faculty Senate. His publications include, The Neo-Thomists, Person and Being, and The Ambrosian Origin of St. Augustine’s Theology of the Image of God in Man.