John Rickaby
General Metaphysics
Reprint of the Edition London, New York, Bombay 1901
Abstract
John Rickaby’s General Metaphysics (first published 1890) is a systematic textbook that offers a clear and structured introduction to classical metaphysics from a Scholastic, Aristotelian-Thomistic perspective. As part of the Stonyhurst Philosophical Series (also known as the Manuals of Catholic Philosophy), the work is designed for students of philosophy and theology. The book explores the most fundamental questions about reality, including the nature of being, essence and existence, substance and accident, causality, relation, and the attributes of being such as unity, truth, and goodness. Rickaby presents these concepts in a logical, question-and-answer style, aiming to reconcile traditional Aristotelian and Thomistic ideas with the demands of modern philosophical inquiry . He also addresses the problems of space and time, the finite and the infinite, and the concept of personality as a metaphysical category. The work is noted for its clarity and conciseness, making complex abstract ideas accessible to beginners while remaining rigorous enough for advanced study.
About the Author
Joseph John Rickaby, SJ (1845 – 1932) was an English Jesuit priest and philosopher. Rickaby was born in 1845 in Everingham, York. He received his education at Stonyhurst College, and was ordained in 1877, one of the so called Stonyhurst Philosophers, a significant group for neo-scholasticism in England, along with Richard F. Clarke, Herbert Lucas, and his own brother, John Rickaby. At the time he was at St Beuno’s, he was on friendly terms with Gerard Manley Hopkins; they were ordained on the same day. He was affiliated with Clarke’s Hall in Worcester College, Oxford, and would deliver conferences to Catholic undergraduates of Oxford and Cambridge.