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Doctrine of Being in the Aristotelian Metaphysics

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This is a classic of Aristotelian secondaries. Owens' (not to be confused with G.E.L. Owen) account of pros hen equivocity and the "as structure" of the science of Being (metaphysics) is a major contribution to Aristotle scholarship and is more than likely the source for G.E.L. Owen's notion of "focal meaning". This is a thematic account of Aristotle's Metaphysics focusing on the role of equivocals. However, Owens does provide pretty close readings of most of the books. He has extensive notes on the other major secondaries (obviously, written prior to 1978) and a bibliography of 608 entries. This is one of the most comprehensive, influential, and refreshingly readable accounts of one of Aristotle's most difficult texts.

No actual series of words can convey the excellence of the scholarship Father Owens' work magisterially sets forth. It is a detached, objective, and eminently instructive account of one of the most difficult and profund works written in the West. It is worth every moment of persual that the book requires of the reader in order that he begin to come to grips with one of the greatest thinkers of our era. I cannot recommend highly enough Father Owens' monumental acheivement, "The Doctrine of Being in the Aristotleian Metaphysics".