Bonaventure’s metaphysical thought and his interpretation of Aristotle

Contemporary scholarship on Bonaventure has characterized him as the Neo-platonic foil to the Aristotelianism of his day. The present book, however, shows a Bonaventure who is highly enthusiastic about utilizing the philosophy of Aristotle and who centers much of his philosophical project around interpreting and understanding the texts of Aristotle. Two goals are central to this book. The first is to shed light on Bonaventure’s greatly understudied ontology and theory of forms, demonstrating how his philosophical system is an important and unique alternative to other medieval Aristotelian systems. The second is to establish, more broadly, how Bonaventure’s interpretation of Aristotle is a resource which should be mined for contemporary efforts in thinking about and reading Aristotle himself.

Franziska van Buren is a post-doctoral researcher in ancient philosophy at KU Leuven.

Van Buren’s work makes an impressive contribution to Bonaventure scholarship, which could really reset the whole debate and narrative. It will challenge the historical norms for many a reader and interpreter of Bonaventure—perhaps, also of Aristotle! Indeed, this work will upend some deeply entrenched historical narratives that have proven a major obstacle for understanding Bonaventure as a philosopher. Christopher M. Cullen, Fordham University