A Contemporary Introduction to Thomistic Metaphysics, MichaelGorman, Washington DC, Catholic University Press, 2024 (ISBN 9780813237336), xiv + 247 pp., Pb $34.95

Even if Michael Gorman, long-time professor and chair of philosophy at Catholic University of America, had not disclosed in his Acknowledgments that this book's material took shape across decades of teaching philosophy to undergraduate and graduate students, it would be easy to conclude as much after reading just a few pages. In its careful organization, simple presentation and delightful, relaxed style, this new introduction to Thomistic metaphysics warmly invites its readers to dip their toes into the otherwise foreboding waters of philosophical inquiry. By Gorman's own admission, the approach taken is rather broadly Thomistic, surveying the conventional views and concepts but leaving sufficient ‘wiggle room’ for the author to qualify (or even deviate) as desired (p. 2). It is ‘contemporary’ in that it presents the standard loci afresh with a modern audience in mind and without assuming any level of prior knowledge (p. 5). After some preliminary definitions and a brief historical overview, Gorman's Introduction notes that his account of metaphysics will be ‘substance-centered’ (p. 15). A substance, as Chapter 1 explains, is ‘an independent unified thing’ (p. 20), the most basic level of being. Features and properties, also defined and described here in their essential and accidental varieties, are what then characterize these substances (p. 22). Chapter 2 considers how substances change and yet nevertheless maintain their identity, gently broaching fundamental but abstract concepts like form, matter, potentiality and actuality along the way. This leads naturally into Chapter 3's discussion of parts, which make up or constitute a substance (p. 57). In their combination, physical parts force us to grapple with competing theories like nihilism and universalism. Here, as so often elsewhere, Gorman skilfully and judiciously summarizes the leading alternatives before demonstrating how the Thomistic understanding (‘it's whole-dependent parts all the way down’, p. 65) proves most compelling. Similarly, non-physical parts (or features) require a substratum in which to inhere, and again the Thomistic view (that ‘substances are constituted by their essences or natures at the most basic, foundational, substantial level and further constituted by their accidents as existing in less fundamental, more superficial ways’, p. 84) best resolves the difficulties identified in other theories. Gorman's work is no mere rehashing of late medieval commonplaces, however, as in the same chapter he can, for example, modify ‘the traditional Thomistic way of speaking’ about ‘having’ form and matter, in the careful effort avoid reification (a recurring concern in this work). Chapters 4–7 shift the focus away from substances themselves, towards consideration of their effects and their interrelationships. Thus, Chapter 4 first argues that substances act as causes, in keeping with agent causation theory. Here, Gorman's contrast between ‘movie’ causation and ‘snapshot’ causation to illustrate various aspects of the classic fourfold Aristotelian-Thomistic scheme is a particularly vivid example of his remarkable talent for concretizing the abstract. Chapter 5 then deftly navigates the complex discussion of universals and particulars, duly considering and situating four major theories along the spectrum from Platonic realism to ‘Dr. Seuss’ (extreme) nominalism, before landing softly in favour of a moderate nominalism which ‘accepts real conspecificity without asking us to take on the special burden of believing in universals’ (p. 127). This conclusion, Gorman tentatively suggests, is Aquinas's own view as set forth in On Being and Essence, though he is quick to acknowledge that many Thomists may disagree and insist on Aquinas's moderate realism (pp. 134–135). Chapter 6 delves into necessity, contingency, and the notion of possible worlds. Here, Gorman labours valiantly to make such ‘modal distinctions’ comprehensible through a variety of illustrations, tables and visual diagrams, along with summaries of the influential theories of contemporary philosophers like Alvin Plantinga and David Lewis. The reader is left slightly frustrated, however, when this lengthy treatment gives way to the assertion that in fact, Thomism enables us ‘to talk about modality without possible worlds’ through its principle that actuality precedes potentiality (p. 152). Thus, the chapter's positive argument receives much briefer treatment than what proves to have been a perhaps unnecessarily detailed digression on possible worlds theories that Gorman rejects. Nevertheless, a lively imaginary dialogue on this subject between Aristotle (‘Ari’), Plantinga (‘Al’) and Aquinas (‘Tom’) helps to conclude the chapter on a charming note. Finally, Chapter 7 attends to the metaphysical categories and the transcendentals. The presentation is simplified, as Gorman readily acknowledges, but for this reason, all the more effective in driving home his central point that, in keeping with the book's substance-centred approach, ‘the only real categories are categories of substances and accidents’ (p. 168). While one might wish that Gorman had gone just a bit further in delineating his own list of categories in more detail, his point that this is not what ultimately matters is well taken (p. 173). The book's final two chapters ascend from philosophy to theology. Chapter 8 provides a sort of climax to the substance-centred account that has been developed to this point by demonstrating the necessity, centrality and agency of God as the supreme ‘substance’. In classical fashion, Gorman suggesting that ‘if there is a God, then God will somehow be the most important or basic entity that there is’ (p. 187). He introduces Aquinas's Five Ways as ‘sourcing arguments’ which posit God as the necessary source, or cause, for various metaphysical effects. Gorman further explains how the unique metaphysical attributes of God—as the one in whom essence and existence are identical, the one possessing universal perfection and the one whose presence is ubiquitous—have important implications for the nature of created reality and creaturely participation. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of proper modes of predication (univocal, equivocal and analogical language) and their relevance for rightly conceptualizing the Creator-creature distinction. Lastly, Chapter 9 offers what might be considered a pair of ‘case studies’ in applying Thomistic metaphysics to theological matters—specifically, the doctrines of the incarnation and eucharistic transubstantiation. Here Gorman wants to illustrate both ‘how metaphysical ideas fit into and support theology’ and ‘how metaphysical ideas get modified under theological pressure’ (p. 213). Thus, the incarnation of Jesus prompts us to consider how one person (a substance) can exist in two natures (which constitutes substances). Similarly, the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation must explain how the accidents (outward features) of the elements can remain the same even as their essences (natures or substances) transform into the body and blood of Christ. In both cases, Gorman's argument is essentially the same: standard metaphysical principles need not be understood as applying without exception; rather, they describe what can be the case but not what necessarily must be the case. So, ‘Christ's human nature need only be capable of establishing an independently existing person’ (though in the incarnation, it does not, p. 221) and ‘an accident is something that can inhere in a substance’ (though in transubstantiation, it does not, p. 225). While I am not sure how persuasive this simple argument will prove to advanced philosophers, it at least serves to illustrate for general readers that ‘metaphysics makes a real positive contribution to faith's quest for understanding’ (p. 229). Whatever one makes of Gorman's particular arguments at various points, his book's grand achievement, in introducing beginners so effectively to the major topics and debates within Thomistic metaphysics, is nothing short of remarkable. In his eminently conversational style, well-sequenced organization and amazing proclivity for illustration (with the frequent aid of his pet cats, Mickey and Rusty), Gorman draws upon both his impressive body of scholarship and a lifetime of personal teaching experience to present a work that will quickly alleviate the fears of even the most uninitiated reader. And for those who desire to advance further (or to determine how faithfully Gorman's ideas reflect those of Aquinas himself), the suggested primary source readings at the end of each chapter and the recommended bibliography at the book's conclusion provide helpful points of departure. All told, it is difficult to imagine a more universally-suitable orientation to this foundational topic.