Metaphysics: A Basic Introduction in a Christian Key (Cascade Companions)

by Donald Wallenfang

Publisher:

Wipf and Stock

, 2019

Overview

What is metaphysics? Metaphysics: A Basic Introduction in a Christian Key gives a simplified answer to this daunting question. Born under the shadow of the Parthenon by Aristotle and his contemporaries, metaphysics eventually enjoyed its heyday in the medieval era and is finding a resurgence today in modernity. This book explores the perennial question of being and its uptake in the world of Christian theology. Donald Wallenfang leads the reader through five navigable chapters that feature the most basic themes of metaphysics: the question of being, first principles, causality, cosmology, and morality. The abstract tendencies of metaphysics are brought down to earth with reference to the gospel of Jesus and the relevance of metaphysics for daily living. Altogether, the reader will be inspired to think toward the whole by asking questions that penetrate beneath the surface of things. Beauty, truth, and goodness will be unveiled to the degree that we accompany Jesus the metaphysician along his itinerary of being given.

Key Features

• Provides a simplified answer to this daunting question
• Explores the perennial question of being and its uptake in the world of Christian theology
• Examines the question of being, first principles, causality, cosmology, and morality

Contents

• Being
• First Principles
• Causality
• Cosmology
• Morality

Praise for the Print Edition

Surely there aren’t many books like this one! In delightful prose, Professor Wallenfang sets forth a metaphysics that is richly and masterfully Aristotelian, while also repeatedly connecting these metaphysical insights with the Word Incarnate Jesus Christ. He concludes with a brief prolegomenon to a future phenomenological companion volume. Simply put, readers of his sparkling book, perhaps much to their surprise, will fall in love with metaphysics.

—Matthew Levering, James N. and Mary D. Perry Jr. Chair of Theology, Mundelein Seminary

Metaphysics is a Greek heritage that was fruitfully taken up by Christianity as it sought to understand itself. This clearly-written book shows how intertwined it has become with Christianity and doesn’t hesitate to portray Jesus as the metaphysician par excellence. Those who lack a metaphysics miss it dearly.

—Jean Grondin, Professor at the University of Montreal and President of the Academy of Arts and Humanities of Canada

Product Details

• Title: Metaphysics: A Basic Introduction in a Christian Key
• Author: Donald Wallenfang
• Series: Cascade Companions
• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Print Publication Date: 2019
• Pages: 154
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Resource ID: LLS:MTPHYSCSBSCCHKY
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2020-07-17T15:37:44Z

About Donald Wallenfang

Donald Wallenfang is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and professor of theology and philosophy at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. He is the author of Metaphysics: A Basic Introduction in a Christian Key (Cascade, 2019); Phenomenology: A Basic Introduction in the Light of Jesus Christ (Cacade, 2019); Dialectical Anatomy of the Eucharist: An Étude in Phenomenology (Cascade, 2017); Human and Divine Being: A Study on the Theological Anthropology of Edith Stein (Cascade, 2017); and coeditor (with John C. Cavadini) of Evangelization as Interreligious Dialogue (Pickwick, 2019) and Pope Francis and the Event of Encounter (Pickwick, 2018).

Sample Pages from Metaphysics: A Basic Introduction in a Christian Key (Cascade Companions)