The McCabe Reader

by Brian Davies (Editor), Paul Kucharski (Editor)

Herbert McCabe OP was one of the most intelligent Roman Catholic thinkers of the 20th century, whose writings have enjoyed enormous and welcome success. A significant influence on philosophers such as Anthony Kenny and Alasdair McIntyre, McCabe also counted amongst his friends Seamus Heaney and Terry Eagleton, and moved amongst the literary elite. His wide personal interests are reflected in his writings, which cover a broad range of topics. In this reader we glimpse an insight into the workings of a brilliant mind occupied by topics including the philosophy of God and Christian doctrine, ethics and moral theology, the problem of evil, the philosophical theology of St Thomas Aquinas, the traditional catholic concern for prayer, liturgy, Mary and St Dominic. Further musings reflect on issues that interested McCabe the most - philosophy of God, Christology, fundamental and sacramental theology, and ethics.

Edited by Brian Davies and Paul Kucharski, two well known McCabe specialists, the selection is a gem which will be of use to any reader interested in comprehending the key issues for a thoughtful life, and also includes some of McCabe's most dazzling sermons.

Genres: Theology, Philosophy, Essays

384 pages, Hardcover

Published September 22, 2016

About the author

Brian Davies is a Dominican friar and Professor of Philosophy at Fordham University, New York. He has published extensively on the thought of St Thomas Aquinas.

Reviews

[Brumaire Bodbyl-Mast · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent look into a more modern take on many theological concepts in Catholicism, which proves quite readable!

[Elliot · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel bad giving this two stars, I'm usually not that harsh. In fact, I actually discovered McCabe about five years back through the republication of a phenomenal piece "The Class Struggle and Christian Love." (https://www.christiansocialism.com/20...) So when a friend graduating from seminary a few years back was giving away books, I happily grabbed this one. There is no question McCabe is a fascinating figure- a Dominican priest trained in philosophy but with no formal postgraduate training, he was the editor of an influential journal New Blackfriars, he heavily influenced and taught a number of literary/religious heavyweights: Terry Eagleton, Denys Turner, Rowan Williams, and was influential in Alasdair MacIntyre's conversion to Catholicism. Part of what makes McCabe so interesting is his reception and use of Wittgenstein and his continuation of Wittgenstein's claim (via Aquinas) that "Not how the world is, is the mystical, but that it is" (Tractatus 6.44) - and this comes through in his essay The Logic of Mysticism. The reason I have to give it two stars, despite the fact that I can recognize McCabe's intellectual prowess, is I find his marriage of Aquinas, Aristotle, and Wittgenstein (similar in some ways to what one finds in MacIntyre) simply completely wrong! It would take a whole essay to explicate why and I'm too lazy to do so. Nonetheless, I always find there is still a lot to be gained from reading thinkers we disagree with!

[Alfredo Nicolás Dueñas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is undoubtedly a turning point for me, both for the clarity and accessibility I want to accomplish with my writing, but also for how to marry my religious and philosophical convictions. What a beautiful example of grammatical Thomism made approachable, relevant, and not any less thorough and important.

My students will be reading a lot of this!

[Tynan Brooks]

Great collection of McCabe's writings, it's kind of amazing how consistently clear and brilliant he was. Somewhat saddened by the relative absence of any directly political essays here, though.