Customer Reviews

Forms and Substances in the Arts (French Literature Series)

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I think Gilson is self-defensible, however, for any who didn't read the comment I made on his review, I'll reiterate it formally here.

I simply cannot comprehend (1) that anyone who has read Gilson could possibly consider him some kind of dunce nor (2) the belief that Gilson is popular in academia (!). Very few people I have encountered in academia have even heard of Gilson, and, of those who have, I could count on the knuckles of one finger how many agree with him. Clemons would have been much nearer to the truth if he had said the EXACT OPPOSITE of every single statement he made!

This is an excellent work, but it may not be completely comprehensible if you haven't read his earlier work, The Arts of the Beautiful. Both are excellent, and both show us, I think, a side of Gilson we don't always see in his more historical work, namely that aspect of him which is a very original philosopher and not solely an expositor. Nonetheless, those who have studied his major works should already be aware that, even in his historical writing, he's still very much an original philosopher. Even in his writing on St. Thomas, he is not merely commenting or reiterating -- he is appropriating.

I have Gilson's book on Aquinas and have read it twice--many readers, some of whom must be conversant with Aquinas will recognize the lack of intelligent analysis in this book. Gilson's
t overrated and lacks the critical acumen to make cogent judgements. Compare Kenner's books on Eliot, Pound, Beckett etc. and Abrams' two critical masterpieces. I strongly recommend that the reader ignore Gilson. That he is so popular with academics is yet another index of the lunacy of today's literary/religious/ philosophical critics. If only Mark Steyn could be persuaded to write some literary criticism, we could then have critical perceptiveness and fine writing to help us understand literary works. Gilson is pathetic.