Krátké pojednání o existenci a existujícím – Maritain Jacques (2024)

The book was created as a response to the existentialism movement that spread in Western Europe, especially in France, after World War II. Court traité de l’existence et de l’existant (1947) focuses particularly on the ideas of J. P. Sartre, but also addresses other existentialist philosophers, including Martin Heidegger and the precursor of existentialism, Søren Kierkegaard. ***** In reality, the book is about much more than just a reaction to this philosophical trend. ***** In the preface, Maritain shows that Sartre and others define themselves as existentialists by claiming that 'existence precedes essence,' but the true existentialist was St. Thomas Aquinas, who upheld not only the necessary priority of existence (esse, being) but also the necessity of essence (essentia). Contemporary existentialism emphasizes existence at the expense of essence, which is erroneous. Maritain devotes most of his book to interpreting the philosophy of existence in St. Thomas. ***** In four central chapters, the author interprets and develops the fundamental problems of the human subject, its being and activity. He provides an interpretation of the intuition of being, the activity of human freedom, the structure of the subject, the subjectivity of man, his relationship to divine action, and the evil in human action...