Contenu du sommaire : 1907-2007 : Centenaire de la Revue des Sciences philosophiques et théologiques - Frères prêcheurs : une vocation universitaire ?

Was Lacordaire the founder of the Revue des Sciences philosophiques et théologiques?
Although Lacordaire did not make it his concern to raise Dominican studies to a university standard, when subsequent generations became intent upon doing so this was in keeping with his work and spirit. For his correspondence shows that he took an interest in matters pertaining to religious education : when necessary, he intervenes to defend it, he advocates the study of Scripture and of Saint Thomas, and he insists on the importance of libraries.

Ambroise Gardeil and the fight to study
The Revue des Sciences philosophiques et théologiques has always recognised Ambroise Gardeil to be its guiding light, even though he was by no means its founder. This article seeks to support this retrospective affiliation by appealing to the Report addressed by Père Gardeil to the provincial Chapter in France in July 1901, while he was Director of Studies. Besides a lucid critique of the inadequacies of Dominican preaching and training, it contains a lively call for the development of scientific methods in philosophy and theology, and for a closer relation to be established between the Preaching Friars and the spirit and reality of the university. All this was, in fact, the driving force behind the creation of the Revue des Sciences, and behind the lasting influence of the studium at Le Saulchoir.

The Renewal of Medieval Thought : the Dominican contribution
In this inaugural lecture, A. de Libera goes deeper into the issues raised at the conference by looking at the ideal of the master, as developed by Y. M.-J. Congar, based on his portrait of Saint Thomas (1937), at the work done by the Leonine Commission, especially R.-A. Gauthier and L.-J. Bataillon, at the publications of G. Théry and É.-H. Wéber, and at the research and « spirit » of M.-D. Chenu.

The role played by the RSPT in the new understanding of medieval philosophy and theology
The contribution made by the Revue des Sciences to the methodology of research into medieval thought, and the doctrinal perspectives of its authors. Particular reference is made to : L.-J. Bataillon, M.-D. Chenu, P.-M. de Contenson, V. de Couesnongle, Th. Deman, J. A. Destrez, A. Gardeil, R.-A. Gauthier, L.-B. Geiger, P.-M. Gils, É. Gilson, P. Glorieux, A. Landgraf, O. Lottin, P. Mandonnet, E. Schillebeeckx, A.-D. Sertillanges, R. de Vaux. In an appendix, the article publishes the correspondence between Pères Jacquin and Mandonnet which relates to the origins and genesis of the Revue.

Theological limit and phenomenological finitude in Thomas Aquinas
Fidelity to Thomas Aquinas means being faithful not simply to the letter, but to the spirit of his theology. If we re-read the first questions in the Summa Theologica in the light of the modern concept of « finitude », they take on a new and different meaning. The idea of « limit » in theology is similar to that of « finitude » in phenomenology to the extent that, for Aquinas, we are human beings, and are called to remain so from start to finish. A mere observation in phenomenology, finitude becomes a summons and a call in theology. In an original and highly contemporary way, we therefore learn from Thomas Aquinas to respect and love the « limit » with which we are created – the one response, if there is one, to the question of the contemporary significance of Thomas' thought for us today.

Analytical Thomism?
For 50 years philosophers formed in the British analytical tradition have sought to learn from Thomas Aquinas (E. Anscombe, P. Geach, A. Kenny, P. Foot), mainly as an aid to overcoming Cartesian epistemology and to developing virtue ethics. More recently, Haldane has inaugurated a programme of « analytical Thomism » : the chief result of which so far is his « mind/world identity theory ». None of these admirers of Thomas has as yet found a way of assimilating his metaphysics of being.

Philosophy and Theology
Around the time of Vatican II, a generation following in the footsteps of Père Marie-Dominique Chenu took over the school of theology at Le Saulchoir. Inspired by the tradition of their predecessors, they worked on contemporary philosophical and theological questions, some of which – e.g. the question of a « Christian philosophy » – dated back to the period when Chenu was in charge. In dialogue with German thinkers such as Heidegger and Bultmann, the young Dominicans at Le Saulchoir expanded the horizon of French theology at a time when philosophy and theology were undergoing a transformation. In so doing, they gave philosophical depth to the theological horizons which their predecessors had opened up, by taking seriously the historical dimension of the faith. Throughout all its continuities and changes, theological work at Le Saulchoir draws attention to the central significance of the incarnation for Christian life and thought. At the same time, the importance given to « theological loci », in the wake of Pères Gardeil and Chenu, makes it possible to integrate a large number of perspectives into a scientific theology that is rooted in the living faith of the Church.

Père André-Jean Festugière
The life and work of the great scholar, Père Festugière (1898-1982), was to introduce an international academic community to the riches of the classical soul, both Greek and Roman, and to the spiritual expressions of personal religion in Late Antiquity, the period which coincided with the beginnings of Christianity.

Yves Congar as a review-writer
Yves Congar took part in the writing of the bulletin reports for the Revue des Sciences philosophiques et théologiques between 1931 and 1977, thousands of pages which give us an insight into the theologian's « workshop ». Several aspects of his work as a reviewer are highlighted here, beginning in the period between 1931 and 1939. The years 1947, 1949, 1950 are examined in more detail, and the output between 1969 and 1977 is summarized.

Dominique Dubarle and projective geometry
Geometry often crops up in the work of Père Dominique Dubarle. It provides, first of all, a criterion for testing the rational coherence of the projectivity of concepts, and for assessing the rationality of Hegel's philosophy of religion, together with the question this philosophy raises for believing thought. Geometrically, it is possible to interpret projectively the world as it is and, through that framework, to interpret it in faith.

The Place of Theology in a university curriculum according to J. H. Newman's The Idea of a UniversityAt the request of Archbishop Paul Cullen and in order to arouse support for the founding of a Catholic University in Ireland, Newman gave a series of five lectures in Dublin in 1852. In these, he outlines his conception of a university as « a place of teaching universal knowledge », his view of the place of theology in a university curriculum, and – most importantly – his view of the harmful consequences of its exclusion.

On the other side of the road
From the Cahiers « boutique », on the other side of the road, Péguy apostrophized the Sorbonne as leading us astray and preventing us from hearing the « youthful maiden » that is Hope. Until 1902, when he came up against the « vexations of history » which the collapse of Dreyfusism made apparent to him, this good student from the age of the « black hussars » was too much in debt to the École and the University to consider cursing them. After 1902, however, he lambasts those from across the road who were handing out moral and political dividends from the Affaire, an « intellectual » and « modern » group which, now in power, was able to exercise its dominion over minds from within the University, and to establish an academic tyranny. Their modernity, he says, no longer means « being up with the times ». From then on, and drawing freely on a Bergsonian notion of duration in order to shake up the positivist conception of history, the anti-modern Péguy follows the example of Augustine and Pascal by passing over from the pagan Clio to the Christian Eve, dreaming of the day when the « tree of knowledge » and the « tree of the cross » will meet.

The RSPT and the Liturgical Movement before the Second World War (1907-1943)The foundation of La Maison-Dieu did not result in an inferior place being given to the liturgy, in the Revue des Sciences philosophiques et théologiques. Through the regular appearance of his bulletin report, Père Gy, in particular, made it a veritable journal of liturgical studies. The foundation of the Revue was part of the same dynamic of a « ressourcement in the tradition » as the Liturgical Movement. The Revue then took a cautious stance over the debate between asceticism and liturgy, and briefly reviewed R. Guardini's Spirit of the Liturgy. It was a place of dialogue between sacramental theology and the history of the liturgy.

The Second Vatican Council in the Revue des Sciences philosophiques et théologiques
This snapshot of the Revue des Sciences between 1959 and 1968 shows that the Revue did not follow the debates at the Council particularly closely, except those concerning Episcopal collegiality, the relation between Scripture and Tradition, and Mariology. It kept pushing ahead with what it specialised in : the history of medieval philosophy and theology. But it also anticipated, particularly in philosophy, a number of subsequent conflicts; for example, in its discussions of the work of Rudolf Bultmann or that of Martin Heidegger

Theology and university culture
The way in which a theologian, ecclesiologist and ecumenist has been able to benefit from the demands of university culture. At the end of the 20th century, the relation between theology and academic procedures became less tense. The university culture has created the environment for a departure from doctrinal dogmatism and institutional fundamentalism. It has begun to enable the field of practical theology to flourish. If university culture can rightly be thought of as favourable to theology, the existence of the believer nevertheless demands a different epistemology.