Personalism and Metaphysics - (Philosophy of Personalism) by Juan Manuel Burgos (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Personalism seeks to understand the person in its richness, complexity, and unity, and, to achieve this goal, it has developed a rich and solid anthropology as well as an ethic of the person that is having repercussions in the philosophical and sociopolitical sphere. But what is the value of this philosophy? Does it offer a mere description of the reality of a phenomenological type, or does it penetrate to the bottom of what exists, offering its intelligible essence? Does it offer an ultimate explanation of the person, or is her vision subordinated to a deeper and more decisive one that would correspond to metaphysics?

To answer these questions, the author, an international expert in personalist philosophy, first defines the various meanings in which the term metaphysics can be understood and, secondly, does a comparison between personalism, in particular, integral Personalism, and the metaphysics of being. The analysis concludes that personalism can be considered a first sectoral philosophy, that is, a philosophy that does not need other philosophical referents to establish itself as a philosophy thanks to its direct access to experience, where the person is found.

This conclusion is based on the epistemology of integral experience and imposes a review of the traditional role of metaphysics and its connection with anthropology in general and Personalism in particular.

Review Quotes

Juan Manuel Burgos presents his own version of personalism, which is nevertheless well rooted in the personalist tradition. He has been developing his project for years and is among a group of world-renowned personalists who study the complexity and mystery of the human person. His new book deals with the relationship between personalism and metaphysics. He poses the question of whether personalism can be considered a first philosophy. The answer is positive: it is indeed a sectorial first philosophy, which may or may not be supported by traditional metaphysical projects, especially Thomistic ones. Not every personalist has to agree with its final thesis, although its position is well-founded and deserves much scholarly attention. It provokes further questions and opens up new areas of personalist discussion. This book confirms that personalism is a dynamic and growing school of thought that goes beyond describing the mere phenomena of the person and seeks deeper reasons for his being. I highly recommend this book as a new step to help us better understand the reality of the human person.

Dr. Grzegorz Holub

The work "Personalism and Metaphysics" by Professor Juan Manuel Burgos offers an original confrontation between personalist thought and the metaphysical tradition, which can be summed up in one question: does personalism need a metaphysical foundation? To answer this question, Prof. Burgos analyzes the fundamental contents of what has historically been called the "metaphysics of being," that of the Aristotelian-Thomist school. Three fundamental intuitions emerge from this presentation: the first, that the Aristotelian categorization is not acceptable due to its universality and its difficulty in representing what is specifically human; the second, the possible use of the Thomistic distinction between being and essence, at least intending to consider human life as a creation that bears multiple potentialities; and third, a new understanding of the relationship between the sciences that is more faithful to the experience of the human person. In short, the conclusion of Prof. Burgos is clear: personalism, at least in the version that he proposes (his "integral personalism") does not need to rely on a specific metaphysics because it is already by itself, a metaphysics, or, said otherwise, a first philosophy capable of providing a coherent sense of reality.

La obra "Personalismo y Metafísica" del profesor Juan Manuel Burgos ofrece una confrontación original entre el pensamiento personalista y la tradición metafísica, que se puede resumir en una pregunta: ¿el personalismo necesita una fundamentación metafísica? Para responder a esta cuestión el Prof. Burgos analiza los contenidos fundamentales de lo que históricamente se ha denominado "metafísica del ser", es decir, la de la escuela aristotélico-tomista. De esta presentación emergen tres intuiciones fundamentales: la primera, que no es asumible la categorización aristotélica a causa de su universalidad y su dificultad para representar lo específicamente humano; la segunda, el posible aprovechamiento de la distinción tomista entre ser y esencia, al menos de cara a la consideración de la vida humana en cuanto creación portadora de múltiples potencialidades; y la tercera, una nueva comprensión de la relación entre las ciencias que sea más fiel a la experiencia de la persona humana. En definitiva, la conclusión del Prof. Burgos es clara: el personalismo, al menos en la versión que él propone (su "personalismo integral") no necesita apoyarse en una metafísica determinada porque es ya por sí mismo, una metafísica, o, dicho de otro modo, una filosofía primera capaz de proporcionar un sentido coherente de la realidad.

Dr. Eduardo Pérez Pueyo