Subjective Encounters: the influence of Etienne Gilson on the philosophical thought of JPII

Recently I received a writing prompt for an assignment outlining the influence that the French Philosopher Etienne Gilson had upon the thought of Pope Saint John Paul II.  Knowing JPII to be an avid lover of art and a poet himself, I embarked on the assignment thinking that Gilson would prove to have been a great Artistic influence on JPII's writings. Prior to the article, my only exposure to Gilson was through his book Arts of the Beautiful which I read for a music/art class in college. As poetry, drama, and the arts were such integral parts of JPII’s life and informed much of his philosophical approach, it is easy to see where my uninformed first assumption sprang from. And it is still possible that Gilson was an influence on the artistic life of JPII. Gilson’s philosophy of art however would not be the great influence to remain with JPII and inform his later writings; rather it would be his work in Thomistic thought and realism which JPII would rely heavily on and influence his own later writings.

Gilson was born in the year 13 June, 1884 in Paris, France. His early study and writings were on Rene Descartes, and the history of philosophy, defending a doctoral thesis titled “Liberty in Descartes and Theology”. His study into the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas did not begin to emerge until Gilson was captured during the First World War, at which time he took up different areas of study beginning with St. Bonaventure. While he was imprisoned he managed to gather a few of his fellow captives and give lectures on matters of art and philosophy, an act which would begin his international reputation for teaching as well as thinking. After his release Gilson, along with Jacques Maritain was the first to receive the honorary doctorate of Philosophy from the Angelicum.

Gilson became ever more convinced that the solution many midaevil thinkers arrived at to solve the problem of appeared socio/political and spiritual conflict of interest and needs, namely, to split the world into two distinct empires dictated by the pope and the government, left the world in a terrible chasm, devoid of the possibility of a Christian moral social order. Being first a historian of Philosophy, Gilson began his study of Aquinas from a historical perspective and to see his thought in the context of not only Aquinas’ own time but in the practical application of modern time. Gilson observed the thought of his own day to be highly Cartesian, “deteriorating into a science which would signal humanity's abdication of the right to judge and rule nature, humanity made a mere part of nature, which in turn would give the green light for the most reckless of social adventures to play havoc with human lives and institutions (Étienne Gilson,” Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation, June 15, 2022), last modified June 15, 2022, accessed July 30, 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89tienne_Gilson)". Gilson believed that a revival of Thomistic thought was the key to moving away from philosophy as a system and thereby a formula for proving the legitimacy of whatever the philosopher desired.

Aquinas began with the Aristotelian understanding that all knowledge comes through our senses, which means that at least to a certain extent our senses must be accurate at conveying the perceivable world. With this starting point, Gilson “emphasized that the first principle of methodical realism is the same as the first principle of all human knowledge: an existing being, something that exists. Hence, Thomists deceive themselves when they think that a Kantian critique of knowledge or some sort of metaphysical reasoning must serve as a starting point of doing philosophy (Biography of Étienne Gilson's Intellectual Life.” Adler. Last modified January 30, 2019. Accessed July 30, 2022. http://www.adler-aquinasinstitute.org/etienne-gilson-society/biography-of-etienne-gilsons-intellectual-life/)". The Cartesian method of doubting everything and starting from scratch, even if pursued through Thomistic principles is always erroneous.

This is the area which would have the most impact on the thought of Pope Saint John Paul II and his own studies in the realm of Phenomenology and combating against the polarization of Faith and Reason. John Paul II accepted several classical principles of epistemology: that there is a knowable objective truth, that all knowledge comes to humans through the senses, and that a radical criticism of everything held by trust is absurd. He agrees with Gilson that any knowledge presupposes an existing being (a Cartesian notion), and even goes so far as to write in Love andResponsibility that “Existence is the first and basic good for every creature… All other goods derive from this basic good (Wojtyla, Karol. Love and Responsibility. Translated by H. T. Willetts. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1981, p. 51)". However, though he recognizes the absurdity of the radical skepticism, John Paul II recognizes that our senses can indeed be mistaken, and the fact that we accept data and knowledge through our senses cannot be divorced from our own personal experience. In other words, we cannot divorce the subjective experience of reality from knowing reality itself. The way which something manifests itself as beheld by the subjective observer must be accounted for. And if we are to believe Augustine who held that the created world is made up of vestigia of God, footprints designed to bring us closer to Himself so that all knowledge is some knowledge of God we see the necessity of the subjective experience in full knowledge of the truth as encounter with another Person as opposed to so many factual nuggets to categorize data.

Gilson was first a historian of Philosophy; secondly a philosopher in his own right with great impact to the world. The turn of the century, bringing with it not one but two world wars was a tumultuous time. A growing sense of humanitarian needs, human dignity and personal freedom was gripping the world. Coupled with this was the beginnings of truly worldwide Cartesianism, where almost the entire world population began to hold that everything we had done before, all that had previously been believed was to be doubted and in need of concrete proof. Gilson was one of the leading figures to discuss bridging this gap, hosting as it were a conversation between Cartesian thought and realism, a conversation between Kant and Aquinas.