Page 3 - John Wippel Flipbook

Msgr. Wippel concentrated on Thomas Aquinas and Godfrey of Fontaines but has also studied several other important 13th century thinkers and the various controversies and condemnations of that time.
Msgr. John F. Wippel earned a B.A and an M.A in Philosophy from the Catholic University of America in 1955 and 1956, as well as an STL there in 1960. After spending 1960 to 1961 as an Instructor in the School of Philosophy at Catholic University, he was granted a two-year leave of absence to pursue doctoral studies in philosophy, which he achieved at I’Université Catholique de Louvain in April 1963. Msgr. Wippel received his Ph.D. in Philosophy in 1965 after publishing an article based on his dissertation.
After earning his doctorate, he resumed teaching in the School of Philosophy in September 1963 and rose through the ranks, eventually becoming an Ordinary (Full) Professor in 1972 and was named Theodore Basselin Professor of Philosophy in 2001. He also was awarded a postdoctoral degree in
Philosophy from Louvain in 1981, based on a book entitled, The Metaphysical Thought of Godfrey of Fontaines, and was given an honorary Doctorate of Letters by the Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies in Toronto in 2005.
Msgr. Wippel has used his years of specialization and dedication to publish several books including, Metaphysical Themes in Thomas Aquinas (1984), Boethius of Dacia: On the Supreme Good, On the Eternity of the World, On Dreams (1987), Medieval Reactions to the Encounter between Faith and Reason (1995), The Metaphysical Thought of Thomas Aquinas: From Finite Being to Uncreated Being (2000), and Metaphysical Themes in Thomas Aquinas II (2007). Although they are just a small sample of Msgr. Wippel’s work, he has also edited, coauthored, or coedited several other books and numerous articles and book chapters. Today, Msgr. John F. Wippel continues to bestow his students with his expertise at the School of Philosophy at the Catholic University of America.