John FX Knasas
Encyclopedia
John Francis Xavier Knasas ( born 1948 ) is a leading Existential
Thomist in the Neo-Thomist movement, best known for engaging such thinkers as Bernard Lonergan
, Alasdair MacIntyre
and Jeremy Wilkins in disputes over human cognition
to affirm a Thomistic epistemology of direct realism and defending the thought of Jacques Maritain
, Étienne Gilson
and Fr. Joseph Owens
. He holds the Bishop Wendelin J. Nold Endowed Chair as Professor of Philosophy at the Center for Thomistic Studies at the University of St. Thomas
in Houston and earned his doctorate at the University of Toronto
, under the direction of Fr. Joseph Owens.
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
Thomist in the Neo-Thomist movement, best known for engaging such thinkers as Bernard Lonergan
Bernard Lonergan
Fr. Bernard J.F. Lonergan, CC, SJ was a Canadian Jesuit priest, philosopher, and theologian widely regarded as one of the most important Catholic thinkers of the twentieth century....
, Alasdair MacIntyre
Alasdair MacIntyre
Alasdair Chalmers MacIntyre is a British philosopher primarily known for his contribution to moral and political philosophy but known also for his work in history of philosophy and theology...
and Jeremy Wilkins in disputes over human cognition
Cognition
In science, cognition refers to mental processes. These processes include attention, remembering, producing and understanding language, solving problems, and making decisions. Cognition is studied in various disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science...
to affirm a Thomistic epistemology of direct realism and defending the thought of Jacques Maritain
Jacques Maritain
Jacques Maritain was a French Catholic philosopher. Raised as a Protestant, he converted to Catholicism in 1906. An author of more than 60 books, he helped to revive St. Thomas Aquinas for modern times and is a prominent drafter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights...
, Étienne Gilson
Étienne Gilson
Étienne Gilson was a French Thomistic philosopher and historian of philosophy...
and Fr. Joseph Owens
Joseph Owens (Redemptorist)
Reverend Joseph Owens, C.Ss.R. , was a Canadian Roman Catholic priest and a scholar in medieval philosophy.-Life and career:...
. He holds the Bishop Wendelin J. Nold Endowed Chair as Professor of Philosophy at the Center for Thomistic Studies at the University of St. Thomas
University of St. Thomas (Houston)
The University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, United States is a comprehensive Catholic university, grounded in the liberal arts...
in Houston and earned his doctorate at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, under the direction of Fr. Joseph Owens.
Book-length works
- Jacques Maritain: The Man and His Metaphysics [1989]
- The Preface to Thomistic Metaphysics [1991]
- Thomistic Paper VI (Editor) [1994]
- Being and Some Twentieth Century Thomists [2003]