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Bonaventure
The great Franciscan theologian St. Bonaventure (c.1217-74) engaged in philosophy as well as theology, and the relation between the two in Bonaventure's work has long been debated. Yet, few studies have been devoted to Bonaventure's thought as a whole. In this survey, Christopher M. Cullen reveals Bonaventure as a great synthesizer, whose system of thought bridged the gap between theology and philosophy.
The book is organized according to the categories of Bonaventure's own classic text, De reductione artium ad theologiam . Cullen follows Bonaventure's own division of the branches of philosophy and theology, analyzing them as separate but related entities. He shows that Bonaventure was a scholastic, whose mysticism was grounded in systematic theological and philosophical reasoning. He presents a fresh and nuanced perspective on Bonaventure's debt to Augustine, while clarifying Aristotle's influence. Cullen also puts Bonaventure's ideas in context of his time and place, contributing significantly to our understanding of the medieval world.
This accessible introduction provides a much-needed overview of Bonaventure's thought. Cullen offers a clear and rare reading of "Bonaventurianism" in and for itself, without the complications of critique and comparison. This book promises to become a standard text on Bonaventure, useful for students and scholars of philosophy, theology, medieval studies, and the history of Christianity.
The book is organized according to the categories of Bonaventure's own classic text, De reductione artium ad theologiam . Cullen follows Bonaventure's own division of the branches of philosophy and theology, analyzing them as separate but related entities. He shows that Bonaventure was a scholastic, whose mysticism was grounded in systematic theological and philosophical reasoning. He presents a fresh and nuanced perspective on Bonaventure's debt to Augustine, while clarifying Aristotle's influence. Cullen also puts Bonaventure's ideas in context of his time and place, contributing significantly to our understanding of the medieval world.
This accessible introduction provides a much-needed overview of Bonaventure's thought. Cullen offers a clear and rare reading of "Bonaventurianism" in and for itself, without the complications of critique and comparison. This book promises to become a standard text on Bonaventure, useful for students and scholars of philosophy, theology, medieval studies, and the history of Christianity.
272 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 20, 2013
Cullen's Bonaventure is exhaustive ... and exhausting.
The series Great Medieval Thinkers perhaps sets up its authors for frustration. The series introduction states that the books are designed to be accessible to the general reader with no prior knowledge, while still engaging and entertaining (?) specialists. Most of the books in the series cut toward the general reader. This one may confound the specialists.
Cullen's book can be seen as a counterpoint to the trend of presenting a mystical, cosmic, theological, developing, almost Eastern Bonaventure, read largely through his later works (à la Ewert Cousins)and interpreted through grids (such as the coincidence of opposites) not explicitly found in Bonaventure's works. Instead, Cullen lays out a locus by locus exposition of Bonaventure's thought, following the order of sciences laid out in his De reductione and the theological topics found in his Commentary on the Sentences.
The chapters are information overload. Terse formulas are jammed next to each other with insufficient exposition, just the opposite of a good introduction. Because so many details are treated, the book has a flat quality. The relative predominance of concepts is hard to judge. The reader gets no sense of Bonaventure as a synthetic thinker.
On the other hand, the comprehensiveness of the book makes it useful as a reference tool. It does genuinely capture the breadth of Bonaventure's thought; far from a specialist, he wrote on every theological topic of his day. Bonaventure the philosopher shines through here in a way that he does not in some other introductions. Also, Cullen helpfully distinguishes Bonaventure from Thomas, a useful feature for those who tend to equate scholasticism or even medieval theology with Thomism.
The series Great Medieval Thinkers perhaps sets up its authors for frustration. The series introduction states that the books are designed to be accessible to the general reader with no prior knowledge, while still engaging and entertaining (?) specialists. Most of the books in the series cut toward the general reader. This one may confound the specialists.
Cullen's book can be seen as a counterpoint to the trend of presenting a mystical, cosmic, theological, developing, almost Eastern Bonaventure, read largely through his later works (à la Ewert Cousins)and interpreted through grids (such as the coincidence of opposites) not explicitly found in Bonaventure's works. Instead, Cullen lays out a locus by locus exposition of Bonaventure's thought, following the order of sciences laid out in his De reductione and the theological topics found in his Commentary on the Sentences.
The chapters are information overload. Terse formulas are jammed next to each other with insufficient exposition, just the opposite of a good introduction. Because so many details are treated, the book has a flat quality. The relative predominance of concepts is hard to judge. The reader gets no sense of Bonaventure as a synthetic thinker.
On the other hand, the comprehensiveness of the book makes it useful as a reference tool. It does genuinely capture the breadth of Bonaventure's thought; far from a specialist, he wrote on every theological topic of his day. Bonaventure the philosopher shines through here in a way that he does not in some other introductions. Also, Cullen helpfully distinguishes Bonaventure from Thomas, a useful feature for those who tend to equate scholasticism or even medieval theology with Thomism.
August 7, 2025
Excelente obra!!!!! Un resumen sobre San Buenaventura pero muy articulado, fundamentado y excelente para conocer su pensamiento. Bueno para franciscanos en formación.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews