La via della bellezza : Esse e pulchrum nel pensiero di Tommaso d’Aquino

Abstract

This volume brings together the Proceedings of the Conference organized by the International Society Thomas Aquinas on 19 October 2024 at the Abbey of Fossanova in Priverno, the site where the Angelic Doctor concluded his earthly pilgrimage on 7 March 1274. The collection comprises four principal lectures and twenty-five further studies, distributed across five thematic sections: the pulchrum in its metaphysical and theological dimensions; the relationship between pulchrum and bonum; twentieth-century receptions; interpretations of Aquinas’s doctrine of beauty; and additional contributions of a transversal nature. The volume offers substantial evidence of the fecundity of Aquinas’s thought on the nexus between being and beauty, underscoring both the historical rootedness of his oeuvre—situated in dialogue with the major figures who preceded him, from Plato and Aristotle to Augustine, Boethius, and Pseudo-Dionysius—and the enduring significance of his contributions to theological, anthropological, ethical, and educational inquiry. Attention is likewise given to the rich legacy his perspective has bequeathed, enabling fruitful engagement with later thinkers such as Hans Urs von Balthasar, Umberto Eco, and Luigi Pareyson. Of particular note are the innovative contributions that place the via pulchritudinis in conversation with contemporary concerns in education and the evaluation of scientific research. These studies demonstrate how Thomistic thought continues to open promising and insightful avenues of investigation, engaging not only metaphysics and theology but also ethics, the natural and social sciences, and pedagogy.