Chesterton: una cuestión de estilo en el reino de la verosimilitud

SANTIAGO ARGÜELLO

Buenos Aires

Congreso; XXXVI Semana Tomista ? Congreso Internacional: «Intérpretes del pensamiento de Tomás de Aquino»; 2011

Sociedad Tomista Argentina

It seems quite evident that in our modern world likeliness is ahead of truth. Now, both terms should not come de iure in conflict with each other. Indeed, any philosophy truly alive is able to hold a constant interaction between them. Thus an authentic Thomism is not only the one able to exhibit truth but also to present itself as likely to any mind of any time and place. In the twentieth century there was a Thomistic figure, whose strangeness produced amazement even among the most refined interpreters of Aquinas. His name was Gilbert K. Chesterton, a journalist without university education. His presentation of Thomas Aquinas? philosophy made scholars such as Gilson, Maritain, Pieper or Lonergan consider him as one of the best ?if not the best? introductions to the works of that medieval thinker. In my opinion, Chesterton?s singularity lies, above all, in the accuracy of his starting point to deal with medieval philosophy; that is, his unequalled knowledge and experience of the condition of modern thought and its need of a sort of medieval intelligence. In other words: the chestertonian ability to handle likeliness in order to achieve truth, results inestimable. However, Chesterton?s wisdom does not only concern how to start reading Aquinas, but it is present in the existential consequences he draws from Aquinas? thought as well.