Cornelio Fabro

Cornelio Fabro (1911-1995) was an Italian Catholic priest and philosopher.

He was the founder of the Institute for Higher Studies on Unbelief, Religion and Cultures. He is known for his prodigious philosophical production and his thomistic thought. Fabro was engaged in the renewed reflection on Thomism, especially on the notion of "participation." He has also delved deeper into the relationship of the philosophy of Kierkegaard to Christian philosophy.

He studied the origins and the nature of anthropocentrism in modern thought. Fabro also made a critical analysis of progressive theology.

Life

He first studied biological sciences in the University of Padova and Rome; and philosophy and theology in the Lateran University and Saint Thomas of Rome. From 1938 to 1940, he was ordinary university professor at Urbaniana University. In this last university he was first university professor, extraordinary (1939) and then ordinary (1942), of Metaphysics.

In 1948, he taught Theoretical Philosophy in the University of Rome. He also taught at the University of Perugia. He was the head of Faculty of Education from 1965 to 1967. In 1959, he founded at Urbaniana University the first ever European Institute of the History of Atheism.

Writings

His works were written in Italian. Here is an English translation of titles of some of his Italian works.

• The metaphysical notion of participation according to St. Thomas Aquinas, Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane, Turin, 1939;
• Perception and thought, Vita e Pensiero, Milan, 1941;
• The Phenomenology of perception, Vita e Pensiero, Milan, 1941;
• Introduction to Existentialism, Vita e Pensiero, Milan, 1943;
• Problems of Existentialism, A.V.E., Rome, 1945;
• Between Kierkegaard and Marx: for a definition of existence, Vallecchi, Florence, 1952;
• The absolute in Existentialism, Miano, Catania, 1953;
• God: Introduction to the theological problem, Studium, Rome, 1953;
• The spirit, Studium, Rome, 1955;
• From being to existing, Morcelliana, Brescia, 1957;
• Short introduction to Thomism, Desclée, Rome, 1960;
• Participation and causality according to St. Thomas Aquinas, Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane, Turin, 1960;
• Introduction to modern atheism, Studium, Rome, 1964;
• Man and the risk of God, Studium, Rome, 1967;
• Thomistic Exegeses, Papal Lateran University, Rome, 1969;
• Thomism and modern thought, Papal Lateran University, Rome, 1969;
• Karl Rahner and the thomistic hermeneutic, Divus Thomas, Piacenza, 1972;
• The adventure of progressive theology, Rusconi, Milan, 1974;
• The anthropological turn of Karl Rahner, Rusconi, Milan, 1974;
• Ludwig Feuerbach: the essence of Christianity, Japadre, L'Aquila, 1977;
• Prayer in modern thought, Editioni di Storia e Letteratura, Rome, 1979;
• The trap of historical compromise: from Togliatti to Berlinguer, Logos, Rome, 1979;
• The unacceptability of historical compromise, Quadrivium, Genoa, 1980;
• The alienation of the West: observations on the thought of And Severino, Quadrivium, Genoa, 1981;
• Introduction to Saint Thomas, Ares, Milan, 1983;
• Reflections on freedom, Maggioli, Rimini, 1983;
• The Rosmini enigma, Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane, Naples, 1988;
• Tests of the existence of God, La Scuola, Brescia, 1989;
• The odyssey of nihilism, Guida, Naples, 1990;
• For a plan of Christian philosophy, D'Auria, Naples, 1990.