Includes bibliographical references (p. 231-251) and index.

1. The encounter between philosophy and theology -- 2. Anthropology beckons -- 3. Absolute's freedom -- 4. Retrieving the spirit -- 5. An ontology of gift : finite spirit -- 6. Altogether gift : absolute spirit -- 7. God's unfathomable love : the confirmation of the gift.

"Spirit's Gift is the first book in English devoted to the philosophy of Claude Bruaire (1932-1986). Its focus is the notion of gift, a notion that has recently been the subject of lively debate involving Jacques Derrida, Jean-Luc Marion, Marcel Mauss, and others. What makes Bruaire's approach to this subject distinctive is that he treats it ontologically. This book critically examines the two main insights that govern Bruaire's ontology of gift (ontodology)." "While Bruaire's understanding of gift is decidedly philosophical, it is also of considerable theological interest, bearing as it does upon questions of Trinitarian theology, theological anthropology, and the Catholic sacrament of marriage. Rightly understood, his conception of gift sheds considerable light on the Thomistic understanding of Ipsum esse subsistens. It can also contribute to a philosophical retrieval of the category of causality and to the elucidation of the ontological ground of ethics."--BOOK JACKET.