The Myth of the Thomas Dante

Kenon Foster: How and why Dante gained nearly all his philosophical and theological knowledge from Aquinas has been largely discredited. In this talk, I'm going to tell the story of the rejection of the Thomas Dante in the 20th century through the context, scholarship and influence of one rather remarkable English Dominican Father,. Cannon Foster, 1910 to 1986. He will also demonstrate how Foster's overly literalist approach to Dante's poem underpins his identification of problematic relationships between reason and revelation. The practice of reading Dante and Aquinas alongside one another is both valid and fruitful.