Philosophy

The essential book for dismantling Richard Dawkins' atheistic agenda. Scott Hahn and Benjamin Wiker collaborate to debunk Dawkins' theories and show how inconsistent and illogical his conclusions truly are. This is the definitive book for college students or faithful Christians hoping to answer Dawkins' claims and assert the logic and beauty of their faith.

Few political philosophers have laid such stress upon the organic and dynamic characters of human rights, rooted as they are in natural law, as did the great 20th century philosopher, Jacques Maritain. Few Christian scholars have placed such emphasis upon the influence of evangelical inspiration, or of the Gospel message, upon the temporal order as has Maritain.As this important work reveals, the philosophy of Jacques Maritain on natural law and human rights is complemented by and can only be properly understood in the light of his teaching on Christianity and democracy and their relationship. Maritain takes pains to point out that Christianity cannot be made subservient to any political form or regime, that democracy is linked to Christianity and not the other way around, and that every just regime, such as the classic forms of monarchy, aristocracy and republic, is compatible with Christianity and in it a person is able to achieve some measure of fulfillment even in the temporal order.At the same time he argues his distinctive thesis that personalist or organic democracy provides a fuller measure of freedom and fulfillment and that it emerges or begins to take shape under the inspiration of the Gospel. Even the modern democracies we do in fact have, with all their weaknesses, represent an historic gain for the person and they spring, he urges, from the very Gospel they so wantonly repudiate!

This is a work of rare prophetic brilliance by Josef Pieper, one of this century's most profound and lucid expositors of the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas. This book was written to throw light on an ancient question that has vexed and tormented many. What is the nature of "The End" toward which, even now, the world and men are moving? No writer of our time is better equipped to answer that question than Pieper. He provides the most rigorous and sustained philosophical analysis, anchored to "the primeval rock of theological pronouncement," in order precisely to understand the finalities of time and history.

While everyone is delighted by beauty, and the more alive among us are positively fascinated by it, few are explicitly aware that we can recognize truth by its beauty and simplicity. Dubay explores the reasons why all of the most eminent physicists of the twentieth century agree that beauty is the primary standard for scientific truth. Likewise, the best of contemporary theologians are also exploring with renewed vigor the aesthetic dimensions of divine revelation. Honest searchers after truth can hardly fail to be impressed that these two disciplines, science and theology, so different in methods, approaches and aims, are yet meeting in this and other surprising and gratifying ways.

This book relates these developments to nature, music, academe and our unquenchable human thirst for unending beauty, truth and ecstasy, a thirst quenched only at the summit of contemplative prayer here below, and in the consummation of the beatific vision hereafter.

How do I live a truly good life? That, in many respects, is the question we all must ask ourselves and answer. As always, even in our post-Christian society, Christ is the answer, and we discover him in the New Testament.

Drawing heavily from Pope Saint John Paul II's encyclical Veritatis Splendor and other trusted sources, author Václav Rajlich identifies four pillars of ethical reasoning: prohibited acts, prescriptions, priorities, and providence/grace (the 4Ps) to show how readers can practically use these teachings to live a good life.

Accessible, practical, and firmly rooted in the teaching and life of Christ, How to Live a Good Life Following New Testament Ethics is an essential guidebook both for contemporary Christians as well as sincere seekers looking to answer that most fundamental of questions.

Ecology calls to mind nature "out there"trees, rivers, oceans, animals, birds, the air, distinct ecosystems. But as Benjamin Wiker argues, an obvious part of nature has been mysteriously left out of the environmental movement: our own naturehuman nature, especially its essential moral aspects. In Defense of Nature shows that while both nature and human nature are equally important, there is a significant obstacle threatening the acceptance of this expanded account of ecology. The Left understands the exquisite, delicate harmony of the natural order, and why environmental pollution is harmful. The Right understands the exquisite, delicate harmony of the human moral order, and why moral pollution is harmful. Each side will tell you how very little a deviation it takes to cause disaster to the natural or to the moral order. But each refuses to see the other's argument. In Defense of Nature allows both the Left and the Right to see what the other sees so clearly, and how it all fits together, from toxic landfills and global warming, to internet addiction and human trafficking.

As Alasdair MacIntyre notes in the preface, the work of Pinckaers attracted strong

and fully justified notice in this country with the publication in English of his The

Sources of Christian Ethics. As Pinckaers himself notes in the text, excellently translated

by Michael Sherwin, the interest should in no way be limited to Roman

Catholics. Morality recasts the earlier book in an argument that is both lower and

upper case catholic, and is accessible to readers and teachers outside the limited

circle of moral theologians and academic ethicists. Pinckaers contends that

Christian morality is not first of all about obligations but about happiness, understanding

that the happiness of union with God is our natural destiny made possible

by grace. The Sermon on the Mount is at the center of an approach to morality

that turns on the distinction between freedom for excellence and freedom of

indifference, the former understood as human flourishing and the latter as a neutral

capacity to choose between controversies. The proposal of Morality is thoroughly

Christ-centered, humanistic, and faithful to the magisterial teaching of the

Church. Warmly recommended.

First Things

If you want to have the experience of reflecting on Catholic morality as though

you were reading about it for the first time, treat yourself to Father Servais

Pinckaers Morality: The Catholic View. He has recovered the classical view of the

moral life as the quest for happiness and has presented it with disarming simplicity.

Bringing us back to the Sermon on the Mount and Romans 12 15, the writings

of Augustine and Aquinas, and the theme of natural law, he has freed those texts

from the layers of legalism which has hidden their liberating, spiritual powers for

moral living. By distinguishing freedom of indifference from freedom for excellence,

he has restored a wise vision of freedom. No one has shown better the role

of virtues as building blocks for morality. Catechists need to read this book.

Rev. Alfred McBride, O.Praem., Professor of Homilectics and Catechetics at Blessed

Pope John XXIII Seminary, Weston, Massachusetts

Father Pinckaers has given us a masterful exposition of Christian living. The clarity

and brevity of his presentation captured well by the translator make this book

ideal for classroom and parish use.

Readers will find the historical and systematic observations very informative.

Romanus Cessario, St. John s Seminary, Brighton, Massachusetts

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The fact of pleasure is obvious to us, but its relation to reason is less understood. We are beings who laugh and run, sing and dance, but we too seldom reflect on why we do these things. Above all, we are beings who think and who want to know whether our lives make sense. In this thought-provoking study of the relationship between our reason and our experience of pleasure, popular professor and author Fr. James Schall shows how reason, religion and pleasure are not in conflict with one another. Religion has to do with how man relates to God. Catholicism is not so much a religion as a revelation. It records and recalls how God relates to man.The popular mood of our time is that neither religion nor revelation has much to do with real life. Yet when we look at things as having meaning and order, they fit together in surprising ways. This coherence should bring us joy, and teach us how reason, religion and pleasure can work together for our benefit. Schall shows us in this book why we have many reasons to think that our lives make sense, that our pleasures can be reasonable, and our reason itself is a pleasure.

Since the early twentieth century, scientific materialism has so undermined our belief in the human capacity for transcendence that many people find it difficult to believe in God and the human soul. The materialist perspective has not only cast its spell on the natural sciences, psychology, philosophy, and literature, it has also enthralled popular culture, which offers very little to encourage the "soul's upward yearning."

There are many signs of the widespread loss of confidence in our ability to soar upward, and these have been noted by thinkers as diverse as Carl Jung (psychiatrist), Mircea Eliade (historian of religion), Gabriel Marcel (philosopher), and authors C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Their observations were validated by a 2004 study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry that linked the absence of religion with a marked increase in suicide, meaninglessness, substance abuse, separation from family members, and other psychological problems.

Thus, the loss of transcendence is negatively affecting an entire society. It is stealing from countless individuals their sense of happiness, dignity, ideals, virtues, and destiny.Ironically, the evidence for transcendence is greater today than in any other period in history. The problem is, this evidence has not been compiled and made widely available--a challenge Father Spitzer aspires to meet with this book.

Father Spitzer's work provides a bright light in the midst of the darkness by presenting traditional and contemporary evidence for God and a transphysical soul from several major sources. It shows that we are transcendent beings with souls capable of surviving bodily death; that we are self-reflective beings aware of and able to strive toward perfect truth, love, goodness, and beauty; that we have the dignity of being created in the very image of God. If we underestimate these truths, we undervalue one another, underlive our lives, and underachieve our destiny.

Recognized as a modern spiritual classic and perhaps Dietrich von Hildebrand's greatest work, this sublime and practical study gives a penetrating analysis of the true path to holiness for those who love Christ. The first requisite is the person's desire for change, and with that fundamental attitude in mind, von Hildebrand devotes a chapter to each of the successive spiritual attitudes necessary for those who strive for Christian perfection. The Beatitudes are treated with beauty and depth in an uncompromising challenge to every serious Christian to put into practice these teachings of Christ.

How do you continue to find God as dementia pulls your loved one into the darkness?