Frederick Copleston
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Frederick Charles Copleston, (April 10, 1907, Taunton, Somerset, England – February 3, 1994, London, England) was a Jesuit priest and writer on philosophy.
Copleston converted to Roman Catholicism while a pupil at Marlborough College. Seeing the poor standard of philosophical teaching in seminaries, he was author of an influential nine-volume History of Philosophy, which is highly respected by secular parties. He is well known for debating famed British thinker Bertrand Russell, in a celebrated 1948 BBC broadcast, on the existence of God, as well as analytic philosopher A. J. Ayer on logical positivism and the meaningfulness of religious language.
One of Copleston's most significant contributions to modern philosophy was his work on the theories of St Thomas Aquinas. He attempted to clarify Aquinas' 'Five Ways' (in the Summa Theologiae) by making a distinction between 'in fieri' causes and 'in esse' causes. By doing so Copleston makes it clear that Aquinas wanted to put forth the concept of an omnipresent God rather than a being that could have disappeared after setting the chain of cause and effect into motion.
[edit] Quotes
Even if the actual systems of philosophy which have appeared in the philosophical thought of a given culture are historically conditioned, there may be ways of thought exemplified by past systems which remain a feature of a people's mentality or cultural outlook.
If one refuses to sit down and make a move, you cannot be checkmated. (in relation to Russell's stubborn belief about the existence of the universe).
[edit] Bibliography
- History of Philosophy. Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd. ISBN 0-8264-6948-5
