As it reviews the significance of man and human life, philosophy has considered the concept of "existence" most recently through a system of principles found in the study of "metaphysics." An abstraction that can be interpreted many ways and which has been discussed and analyzed from the perspective of many philosophers through the ages, including Kant and St. Thomas Aquinas, existence is defined by Webster's Dictionary as "reality as opposed to appearance." Such words are narrow in scope and even meaningless, however, unless explored fully within some type of intellectual, spiritual and moral framework. Such is the attempt by Joseph Owens in his work, An Interpretation of Existence (1968). The purpose of this paper will be to review his book, summarizing its contents and presenting a clear understanding of its position on the concept of existence, particularly in light of linguistic considerations.
Before beginning this report, however, it is important to recognize the position from which the author writes. As a follower of the Thomistic tradition, Owens ascribes to the principles developed by St. Thomas Aquinas (1225 74), a professor of theology within the Catholic Church, whose philosophy has been applied to 20th century economic, social and political problems by many prominent philosophers.
In his writings, Thomas held that theology and science cannot contradict each other since truth is indivisible. To prove this he set out to reconcile Christianity with earlier philosophies, such as Aristotelian and Kantian. Further, Thomas argued that a thing that needs completion by another is in a state of potency and that everything is arranged in ascending order to God who combines potency and act. Lastly, it was this theologian who pronounced what has become a well known and accepted thought, that evil is only the absence of good. His major work was entitled Summa theologica (1267 73) in which he set out a systematic expos...