Eckhart, Aquinas, and the Problem of Intrinsic Goods

I discuss Eckhart's and Aquinas' conception of human-divine union with reference to what I call the problem of intrinsic goods, a problem concerning how to reconcile the pursuit of actions which are prima facie sought for their own sake (e.g. pursuing justice for the marginalized, listenin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMedieval mystical theology Vol. 28; no. 1; pp. 3 - 13
Main Author Chua, Reginald Mary
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Routledge 02.01.2019
Subjects
creation
deification
Germain Grisez
Meister Eckhart
Thomas Aquinas
union
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Summary:I discuss Eckhart's and Aquinas' conception of human-divine union with reference to what I call the problem of intrinsic goods, a problem concerning how to reconcile the pursuit of actions which are prima facie sought for their own sake (e.g. pursuing justice for the marginalized, listening to a work of music) with the pursuit of God as the ultimate end of every action. I introduce the problem with the help of Germain Grisez's critique of Aquinas' account of union with God, and I suggest that Eckhart's alternative conception of union may be understood as an attempt to resolve (or dissolve) the problem.
ISSN:2046-5726
2046-5734
DOI:10.1080/20465726.2019.1620488