- James V. Schall's Faculty Webpage
- In Praise of Father Schall First Things' "On The Square", July 28, 2010.
James V. Schall - Biographical Info
Essays and Columns by Fr. James V. Schall
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Articles, essays and columns by Fr. Schall generally available for free appear below; those more academically-oriented which may be purchased at cost can be found via GoogleScholar
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Published on Ignatius Insight (Ignatius Press)
- The "Justice" That Is Not Due Us March 10, 2010.
- Truth, Freedom and Sincerity February 25, 2010.
- The New Court of the Gentiles: On the Gospel and the Internet February 18, 2010.
- On "Believing" Atheists January 13, 2010.
- On Christmas: Each of Us Is a Salvation History December 9, 2009.
- The Nobel Speech December 16, 2009. "As far as I can tell, nothing in President Obama's background or politics prepared us for the remarkably sane address that he delivered in Oslo."
- The "Hood" Over Our Eyes: Are We Doomed As a Country? "Have we have crossed a mental line beyond which we are no longer able to understand the word "enemy"--even when he acts as one?"
- The Roots of Culture | The Foreword to Josef Pieper's Leisure: The Basis of Culture.
- On Keeping People In: The Berlin Wall and the Shortness of Political Memory October 2009. "20 years later, what do we remember?"
- "Certain Fundamental Truths": On the Place and Temptations of Politics October 6, 2009.
- On the "Great Crime" of the Gentiles September 25, 2009.
- Called to Eternal Life: Babies and Rights September 10, 2009.
- The Old Testament and the New Testament June 25, 2009. "What is the relationships between the two Testaments?"
- The Burke Lecture "Archbishop Burke has the unusual quality of being very clear. He minces no words..." May 11, 2009.
- "The Bridge Between This World and Eternal Life" May 2, 2009. "There are many who do not believe in the Resurrection of Christ. But what of those who were once skeptics and now believe?"
- Immortality, Resurrection of the Body, Memory "The actual human beings we meet are, like each of them, created for eternal life. And they will achieve it, either in grace or in judgment." April 12, 2009.
- The Extraordinary Adventure: Real Love is the Gift of Ourselves to One Another April 2, 2009.
- The Sick: On Illness and the Risks of a Perfectly Healthy Society March 10, 2009.
- Dignitas Personae: On the Originality of Every Human Person January 29, 2009.
- "The Dignity of the Person Must Be Recognized..." Sermon was given by Fr. Schall at the Right to Life Mass at Dalghren Chapel, Georgetown University, January 20, 2009.
- "The Central Event in History" If the Word did become man, the world is simply different because of it. January 12, 2009.
- On Being Amazed In The Cosmos: Christoph Cardinal Schönborn and "The Purpose of the Path" October 13, 2008.
- The Beijing Invasion August 25, 2008. "The Olympics remind us that many governments see religion as something to be controlled and persecuted."
- Against What Do We Fight? On Cardinal Dias at Lambeth August 19, 2008. What did Ivan Cardinal Dias, head of the Vatican Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, say Lambeth?
- Resurrection and Real Justice March 23, 2008. A consideration of the human longing for justice and how that desire can only be fulfilled through the Incarnation, Passion, Cross, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
- On Being Moved March 16, 2008. At the origin of the habit of art is something that happens to us before we do anything artistic: before we can move, we must first be moved.
- The Only Way You Can Be You February 25, 2008. Redemptive suffering is the path that Father chose that Christ follow to redeem us.
- The Judgment of God February 18, 2008. Sins and disorders will be judged and punished. Otherwise, no ultimate justice can be found.
- "How Difficult It Is!" | On Justice and the Earthly City January 25, 2008. The search for earthly utopia usually ends badly.
- Patron Saint of Teachers: Or, On the Meaning of the Second Semester January 7, 2008.
- The Enormity of the Universe
- Why Do Things Exist? On the Meaning of Being September 24, 2007. Philosophy means not only that all of our experience is the object of our knowing powers, but it includes properly "reflecting" on this reality.
- On Wars...and Wars of Ideas September 14, 2007.
- On Saying the Tridentine Mass August 16, 2007.
- Catholic Commencements and Pro-Abortion Politicians June 1, 2007 (orig. June 4, 2005).
- What Must I Read To Be Saved? On Reading and Salvation May 24, 2007.
- What Is Catholicism? Questions With Answers May 1, 2007.
- Murder On Campus: A Meditation On Death of the Young April 19, 2007.
- On "Losing" One's Faith at University April 16, 2007.
- Peace, Justice, Ecology: The "Substitutes" for God April 9, 2007.
- The Two (And Only Two) Cities February 7, 2007. The "two cities" is a consecrated phrase that comes from St. Augustine. Thinking about these "two cities" leads to the most profound issues of our time.
- On November: All Souls and the "Permanent Things" October 2006.
- The Spirit of Assisi: On Praying With Other Religions October 16, 2006.
- On School and Things That Are Not Fair August 24, 2006.
- On the Term "Islamo-Fascism" August 15, 2006.
- Do We Deserve To Be Free? On The Fourth of July, 2006
- Creation, Salvation, and the Mass June 30, 2006.
- On The Intellectual Needs of Ordinary People June 20, 2006.
- Atheism and the Purely "Human" Ethic June 5, 2006.
- Reading Without Learning: On Not Missing "Sublime Passages" May 22, 2006.
- Easter: The Defiant Feast April 2006. The Resurrection of Christ defies human understanding. But that doesn't mean it didn't happen.
- Lincoln’s Second Inaugural: A Historic Call to Charity March 3, 2006. One of the greatest speeches in American history was given 141 years ago in the midst of war, doubt, and turmoil. We would do well to re-read it today.
- Why Do We Exist? March 13, 2006. One of the most fundamental questions in human history is, "Why do I exist?" Yet many people either ignore the question or arrive poor answers. Why?
- Accidents Happen February 19, 2006. Few, if any, human lives are lived in which minor or major issues are not influenced by something that is properly called "accidental." Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
- "Written In Courage": An Analysis of the 2006 State of the Union Address February 3, 2006.
- On the Sternness of Christianity December 2004.
From the Catholic World Report
- Reflections on Caritas in Veritate July 2009
- The Notre Dame Commencement Catholic World Report March 2009 Web Exclusive.
- On Charity "Aiming for perfect justice, our laws gussy up old sins as new rights." Catholic World Report March 2009 Web Exclusive.
From the Homiletic & Pastoral Review
- The Ambiguity of Islam | Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. | A reflection on Fr. Samir Khali Samir's book, 111 Questions on Islam. Homiletic & Pastoral Review
- Evangelization and Truth Homiletic & Pastoral Review October 2008.
From the Catholic Social Science Review
- "On The Conquest of Human Nature: Ancients, Moderns—Medievals, Futures" Symposium: The Ancients/Moderns Distinction: Catholic Perspectives. Volume XIV - 2009.
From First Principles Journal
- Spring Break: A Reflection March 11, 2010.
- On Those “Who Become Extremely Wicked” March 4, 2010.
- Classrooms February 17, 2010.
- Aristotelian Principles January 20, 2010.
- How Evil Is Evil? How Good Is Good? December 8, 2009.
- Aquinas' Oysters October 21, 2009.
- Libraries without Readers September 17, 2009.
- Prudence August 5, 2009.
- The Life of the Philosopher July 8, 2009.
- What is Theology? June 8, 2009.
- Relativism May 12, 2009.
- On the Preservation of Kindness May 6, 2009.
- The Merry Widow April 15, 2009.
- Civility March 13, 2009.
- Not Wholly in Vain February 25, 2009.
- On Necessarily Making Us "Good" February 4, 2009.
- On the First and “Last” Professor January 28, 2009.
- On the Most Disordered Soul December 3, 2008.
- Redistributionism November 10, 2008.
- Democracy, or “Whatever the Majority Approves” October 27, 2008.
- Of What the Gods are Deprived September 22, 2008.
- On Memory September 3, 2008.
- Oil August 13, 2008.
- Judge for Yourselves August 8, 2008.
- My Sister's Piano July 11, 2008.
- What Philosophers Play With June 25, 2008.
- On "Everlasting Futurity" June 6, 2008.
- The Event That is Christianity May 14, 2008.
- Reflections on Natural Law May 8, 2008.
From Modern Age
- Mysticism, Political Philosophy and Play Modern Age Summer 2006.
- On Leisure and Culture: Why Human Things Exist and Why They Are “Unimportant” 46:4 Fall 2004.
- On the Measure and Conservation of Human Things 43:1 Winter 2001
From Policy Review
- When War Must Be The Answer: The Case for Force December 2004 / January 2005.
From InsideCatholic.com
- It Is Bidden Us to Rejoice December 25, 2009.
- On Being an "UltraCatholic" December 7, 2009.
- On Answering Questions November 2, 2009.
- On Never Being Correct September 9, 2009.
- Orthodoxy April 28, 2008.
- The Lord Alone March 3, 2008.
- In the Company of Good Men February 18, 2008.
- The Last 'Nonsense' In Print September 4, 2007.
- Responsibility for Our Souls May 6, 2007.
- On the 'Right' to Be Created April 1, 2007.
- On Murder and War February 4, 2007.
- Mathematics December 31, 2006.
From The Catholic Thing
- Grace Revealed December 23, 2009.
- Tiger, Tiger December 17, 2009.
- The Immaculate Conception December 8, 2009.
- The Grounds of Civilization December 2, 2009.
- Happiness is Seldom Universal November 19, 2009.
- All Saint's Day November 3, 2009.
- Mass with 'Nowhere Man' October 22, 2009.
- Another Sort of Learning October 9, 2009.
- Johnson September 30, 2009.
- The Present American Polity Sepember 17, 2009.
- Fall Semester Returns September 3, 2009.
Interviews with James V. Schall
- The Mind That Is Catholic Father Schall on Embracing the Whole of Reality. Interview with Annamarie Adkins. Zenit News. September 28, 2009.
- Revelation and Political Philosophy: An Exchange with James V. Schall, S.J., by William Tullius. TELOS-scope [The TELOS Press blog] September 21, 2009.
- Sense and Nonsense: A Conversation with Rev. James V. Schall, S.J. InsideCatholic.com. September 19, 2009.
- Putting Things In Order: Father James V. Schall, S.J., on Eighty Years of Living, Thinking, and Believing January 2008.
- Father James Schall on "Spe Salvi" (Part I) January 31, 2008. | February 1, 2008. Interview with Carrie Gress, Zenit News Service.
- 31 Questions for Schall (Part One) October 10, 2007 | Part II October 16, 2007.
- Regensburg Revisited (Part 1): Interview With Father James Schall | Part II | Part III October 9-11, 2007. Interview with Zenit News.
- On Catholic Political Philosophy: on Faith, Reason and Politics - Part I | Part II: on Worship as the Consummation of Philosophy Interview with Zenit News. September 10, 2005.
- "Belloc Would Not Have Been Surprised at Sept. 11" Father James Schall on the Essayist's Thoughts on Europe and Islam. Zenit News. October 10, 2003.
Advent Interviews with Ken Masugi, senior fellow of the Claremont Institute.
- An Advent Conversation with James V. Schall, S.J. (December 9, 2009).
- Fr. James V. Schall on The Openness of the Christian Mind (December 22, 2008).
- Fr. James V. Schall on Pope Benedict and the Defense of Reason (December 13, 2007).
- Fr. James V. Schall on Benedict XVI at Regensburg (October 1, 2006).
- Fr. James V. Schall on Faith, Reason, and Politics (December 20, 2005).
- Fr. James V. Schall on Political Philosophy (December 23, 2003).
- Fr. James V. Schall on Reason and Faith (December 24, 2002).
James V. Schall on the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI
- Veritas Vincit: The Pope in Prague October 28, 2009.
- Omnipotence and Mercy August 21, 2009.
- Caritas in Veritate: "It's Principle Driving Force..." July 14, 2009.
- Caritas in Veritate Is a Guide For Temporal Life Zenit. July 8, 2009.
- The Gift of God On Benedict's remarks in Nazareth, June 15 2009.
- "A Word Addressed by God to His People": Benedict XVI and the Interpretation of Sacred Scripture May 19, 2009.
- "The Single Divine Plan": Thinking About Poverty December 17, 2008. Benedict XVI's recent World Day of Peace Message contains some important--and often surprising--observations.
- "Words create history": On Benedict XVI and the Synod October 20, 2008.
- Benedict in Paris: "Logos is among us." September 15, 2008.
- Will To Truth: On the Death of Alexander Solzhenitsyn August 6, 2008.
- On The Risk of Listening June 26, 2008. In his ongoing work of addressing what he calls the "crisis of modernity," Pope Benedict XVI continually urges a return to vibrant, authentic philosophical inquiry.
- "The Reality of God": Benedict XVI on the Trinity June 5, 2008. Over Trinity Sunday, the Holy Father reflected deeply on the central mystery of the Christian Faith.
- Ratzinger's Faith and Reason - In Appreciation of Tracey Rowland's Ratzinger's Faith: The Theology of Pope Benedict XVI.
- The Papal Visit April 8, 2008.
- "Always More Than Is Seen": Benedict XVI on the Meaning of Man March 1, 2008.
- Father James Schall on "Spe Salvi" (Part I) January 31, 2008. | February 1, 2008. Interview with Carrie Gress, Zenit News Service.
- Why the Bewilderment? Benedict XVI on Natural Law October 27, 2007. The Holy Father continues to emphasize the reasonable nature of Christianity as he fights against both religious and secular fundamentalism.
- Regensburg Revisited (Part 1): Interview With Father James Schall | Part II | Part III October 9-11, 2007. Interview with Zenit.org.
- "Where God is, there is the future" October 1, 2007.
- "The Self-Revelation of God's Reality in History": On the Final Chapter of Jesus of Nazareth September 6, 2007.
- Pope Benedict XVI and the Essential Worldwide Mission August 27, 2007.
- "No Weighing, No Disputing, No Such Thing": Ratzinger and Europe August 11, 2007.
- "God Is The Issue" | The Temptation in the Desert and the Kingdoms of This World in Benedict XVI's Jesus of Nazareth June 29, 2007.
- God Made Visible: On the Foreword to Benedict XVI's Jesus of Nazareth June 18, 2007.
- Pope Benedict XVI On Natural Law March 16, 2007.
- Benedict on Aquinas: "Faith Implies Reason" February 1, 2007.
- Secularity: On Benedict XVI and the Role of Religion in Society January 9, 2007.
- "A Requirement of Intellectual Honesty": On Benedict and the German Bishops December 20, 2006.
- What is the Proper Object of Theology? The Pope at the Gregorian November 27, 2006.
- Intellectual Charity: On Benedict XVI and the Canadian Bishops | Fr. James V. Schall, S. J. October 9, 2006.
- God as Logos, Allah as Will Father James Schall on Benedict XVI's Regensburg Address. Zenit News. October 3, 2006.
- The State Which Would Provide Everything Commentary on Deus Caritas Est par 28b. October 3, 2006.
- Ratzinger and Regensburg: On What Is a University? September 18, 2006.
- The Regensburg Lecture: Thinking Rightly About God and Man September 15, 2006.
- Atheism and the Purely "Human" Ethic June 5, 2006. On Benedict XVI's Address to Biblical Commission.
- The Encyclical: God’s Eros Is Agape January 2006.
- On Reading the Pope: Part I | Part II. January 20, 2006.
- What a Homily Should Be: Doctrinal, Liturgical, and Spiritual On Benedict XVI's address to the Austrian Bishops (ad limina visit, November 5, 2005).
Books by Fr. James V. Schall
The Mind That Is Catholic: Philosophical & Political Essays
Catholic University of America Press (November 2008)
The "Catholic mind" seeks to recognize a consistent and coherent relation between the solid things of reason and the definite facts of revelation. Its thought aims to understand how they belong together in a fruitful manner, each profiting from the other; each being what it is. The Catholic mind is not a confusion of disparate sources. It respects and makes distinctions. It sees where things separate. It is in fact delighted by what is.
This delightful book is not polemical, but contemplative in mood. Schall shares with readers a mind that is constantly struck by how things fit together when seen in full light. He brings to his work a lifetime of study in political philosophy, a wide-ranging discipline that, in many ways, is the most immediate context in which reason and revelation meet. The Mind That Is Catholic respects what can be known by faith alone. But it also considers what is known by faith to be itself intelligible to a mind actively thinking on political and philosophical things. The whole, at the risk of its own contradiction, does not exclude the intelligibility of what is revealed. Reviews
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The Life of the Mind: On the Joys and Travails of Thinking
Intercollegiate Studies Institute (April 2008)
In The Life of the Mind, Georgetown University’s James V. Schall takes up the task of reminding us that, as human beings, we naturally take a special delight and pleasure in simply knowing. Because we have not only bodies but also minds, we are built to know what is. In this volume, Schall, author of On the Unseriousness of Human Affairs (ISI Books), among many other volumes of philosophical and political reflection, discusses the various ways of approaching the delight of thinking and the way that this delight begins in seeing and hearing and even in making and walking. We must be attentive to and cultivate the needs of the mind, argues Schall, for it is through our intellect that all that is not ourselves is finally returned to us, allowing us to live in the light of truth.
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The Order of Things
Ignatius Press (October 2007)
Father James Schall, the well-known author and professor of philosophy at Georgetown University, inquires about the various orders found in the cosmos, the human mind, the human body, the city, and he seeks to reflect upon the unity of these orders.
In a world in which the presence of reason and order are denied - presumably in the name of science - in favor of chance explanations of why things are as they are, it is surprising to find that, in the various realms open to the human intellect, we find a persistent order revealed. At first sight, it may seem that this reality can be explained by chance occurrence, but after a point, there is a growing sense that behind things there is, in fact, an order. This order can be traced in the many areas that are open to the human mind. As Aquinas has noted, the order within the cosmos points to an order outside of it, since the cosmos cannot be the cause of its own internal order. Philosophers have long inquired about the curious fact that the order of things implies not a mere relationship of one thing to another, but a hint that the universe is created with a certain superabundance. Why is the universe, and the things within it, not only ordered but, ordered with a sense of beauty? Not only is there an order in things, but also the human mind seems attuned to this order as something it delights in discovering. This relationship implies that there is some correspondence between mind and reality. What is the relationship between the mind and reality? The Order of Things explores this question. Relying on common sense and the experience available to everyone, Schall concludes that it requires more credulity to disbelieve in order than to experience it. Finally, Schall explores the fundamental cause of order, what it is like? Having looked at the order of the created universe, it is not surprising that the revelation of the Godhead is itself ordered in terms of an inner relationship of Persons. |
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The Regensburg Lecture
St. Augustines Press (April 2007)
The uproar over the supposedly anti-Islamic quotation in it occluded the meaning of Pope Benedict XVI's September 12, 2006, University of Regensburg lecture. Including its full text in an appendix, Schall expands upon its themes. Thirteenth-century Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus' "offensive" words concern the first, religiously motivated violence and the nature of God. The second theme is the loss of European Christian identity; the third, the "dehellenization" of the West. Benedict frames all three issues as matters of reason and religion. Crucial to his argument is the realization that, because of the Incarnation, Christianity doesn't conceive of God as dealing unreasonably with humanity, and as it is unreasonable to force religious belief, violence for religious ends is proscribed. Making the other themes urgent is the educational practice of reserving reason for secular disciplines only, which is why, Schall thinks, the pope made his remarks where and to whom he did. The university and professors can help reverse dehellenization by reconnecting reason and religion in teaching. -- Booklist
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Roman Catholic Political Philosophy
Lexington Books (October 2006)
In Roman Catholic Political Philosophy author James V. Schall tries to demonstrate that Roman Catholicism and political philosophy---revelation and reason--are not contradictory. It is his contention that political philosophy, the primary focus of the book, asks certain questions about human purpose and destiny that it cannot, by itself, answer. Revelation is the natural complement to these important questions about God, human being, and the world. Schall manages to avoid polemicism or triumphalism as he shows that revelation and political thought contribute to a fuller understanding of each other.
Reviews
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Sum Total Of Human Happiness
St. Augustines Press (October 2006)
This is a book on the truth of things, including the truth found in things that are wrong or even evil, the “alternative world.” But it is primarily a book about the many things that are, the infinity of particular things, as well as the highest things, both of which come to us primarily by gift and superabundance. The wonder, indeed the amazement, of our `1existence is not that there is so little, but so much. And it is intrinsic to this “so much” that, through our minds and our experience, we are open to these things that are not ourselves. The mind is capax omnium, capable of knowing all things.
What interests Fr. Schall is the delight of things that are. Aristotle taught us that a proper pleasure is found in each of our many disparate activities. He suspected that the greatest pleasure is in thinking not about what we concoct from our imaginations to think about, but what is there in the world before us. This immense variety of what is is given to us to think about. The world is not evaporated of intelligence simply because it is not our intelligence that we find there as the organizer of what is. The “sum total of human happiness,” as Samuel Johnson has taught, is not simply the “one necessary thing,” but all things, including the unnecessary ones, the ones that include ourselves. We exist as if we are being gently, sometimes violently, drawn outside of ourselves. We have “restless hearts,” and we are glad. We are not merely unsettled by what passes and changes, but by what does not. We can love things so much we are sad . . . sad because we are not yet ready for them, for all that is. There are “haloes” in Hell. And the highest things exist “for their own sake.” Even damnation praises God by reminding us of how important are our powers to choose, or reject, what is good, what is. We seek happiness in all we do, as Aristotle said. But we do not set out to grasp the “joy” that is given to us. This joy is a “by-product,” as Josef Pieper well said. The thesis of this book is, rather, even when we seek all these things, these delightful things, as we should, what we are seeking is that one light in which all things, including the ones before us, are. In the end, St. Thomas is right, “the universe would not be perfect if only one grade of goodness were found in things.” This is the root of our delight, as it is the root of our being, of our standing before what is. |
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On the Unseriousness of Human Affairs: Teaching, Writing, Playing, Believing, Lecturing, Philosophizing, Singing, Dancing
Intercollegiate Studies Institute (January 2002)
Although Schall's title might seem to promise a romp through the Elysian Fields with Epicurus and Nietzsche, nothing could be further from the truth. Recruiting philosophy and literary theory into an inspirational narrative, Father Schall (A Student's Guide to Liberal Learning), who teaches at Georgetown University, contends that "unseriousness" derives from the realization that while humankind is not the highest thing in existence, human beings are good. Humanity's joy, then, comes in its celebration of being-in-the-world; those enjoyable activities, which might seem like wasting time, are in fact related to "our transcendent destiny," our spirituality. Taking passages from Plato, Augustine, Aquinas, Dante and Chesterton, Schall argues that our lives have a particular gravity, but that they are unserious compared to the seriousness of God. Our lives are merely, then, responses to an order that exists beyond us, and Schall demonstrates through readings of philosophers ranging from Aristotle to Peanuts' Charlie Brown that various unserious behaviors playing, dancing, singing, writing provide the skills to connect to that transcendent order. For example, he observes that "[e]ssays keep us alert to the wonder of things," and "[l]etters keep us in touch when we are not literally before those whom we would see face to face." Schall weaves together his meditations with theological interludes in which he explores briefly such topics as redemption, salvation and eschatology. Although these reflections do not break any new ground or open up any radically different channels of discussion, Schall's book will appeal to fans of C.S. Lewis, Chesterton and Peter Kreeft. -- Publisher's Weekly
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Reason, Revelation, and Human Affairs
Lexington Books (February 2001)
This book is intended to serve as an introduction to the thought of James V. Schall, arguably one of the best, perhaps even the only, authentically Thomistic political scientist writing today. In contrast to main currents in contemporary Thomism, Schall remains conversant with the great tradition of political philosophy and therefore appreciates the complex and relatively imprecise nature of political reflection. In this book, the distinguished theorist addresses a wide range of subjects, including the question of overpopulation, the thought of Charles McCoy and Leo Strauss, the role of Christianity in political philosophy, and the challenges that the democratic project pose to human beings' perception of the truth. As a meditation on practical and theoretical political questions, self-consciously proceeding from the perspectives of both nature and grace, the book provides a unique picture of what a genuine Thomistic political science might look like.
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Schall on Chesterton: Timely Essays on Timeless Paradoxes Catholic University of America Press (June 2000)
Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) was one of the most original minds of the twentieth century. He was a gifted journalist, essayist, biographer, poet, novelist, playwright, philosopher, debater, and defender of common sense, of Christianity, and of the Catholic faith. He was truly an influential man of his time, writing thousands of essays and hundreds of books. Today he remains one of the best and most quoted writers of the English language.
In this book of essays, Father James V. Schall, a prolific author himself and a prominent Catholic writer, brings readers to Chesterton through a witty series of original reflections prompted by something Chesterton wrote-timely essays on timeless issues. Like Chesterton, Schall consciously leads the reader to the reality of what is, of what is true and what is at the heart of things. It is a handbook of how to take up almost any essay or chapter or paragraph of Chesterton's many works and, upon further reflection, come to realize that he was a profoundly wise man who still teaches vividly and accurately a century after he wrote. Schall easily captures Chesterton's fondness of life and laughter, and at the same time, makes readers aware of Chesterton's extreme insight and rigorous understanding of ideas and truth. Included in this book is an introductory chapter on Chesterton as a "journalist," which is how he identified himself, and a concluding chapter that provides an extended reflection on Chesterton's world. Forty-one essays comprise the heart of the book. They range widely in subject matter, from the Catholic Church as the "natural home of the human spirit," through such topics as virtue and honor, horror and detective stories, toys and Christmas, right and wrong, to the shocking conclusion that indeed "dogmas are not dull." Reviews
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A Student's Guide to Liberal Learning (Isi Guides to the Major Disciplines)
Intercollegiate Studies Institute (April 2000) Related |
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Another Sort of Learning
Ignatius Press (April 1988)
"James V. Schall has written a delightfully odd book about books, because he believes that (1) to be educated is to confront the great questions about what is; that (2) many modern students, in or out of school, never learn to raise, much less answer, the great questions, thus are uneducated in the deepest sense; and that (3) great books, past and present, which wrestle deeply yet non-technically with these questions rather than passively mirroring popular culture with its myopia and prejudices, can fill this vacuum for anyone, in or out of school. It contains unusually sane reflections on education, unusually reflective reviews of books, and unusually discriminating booklists. Just the book I have wanted to give my students for years."
— Peter Kreeft, Boston College
"For years I have meant to write such a book as Another Sort of Learning, suggesting how the rising generation might acquire some measure of wisdom despite the intellectual vices or indifferences of the Academy; but I am happy that Schall has forestalled me. It is full of much valuable wisdom." |
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Jacques Maritain: The Philosopher in Society (20th Century Political Thinkers)
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. (March 1998)
The engaging and inquiring mind of French philosopher Jacques Maritain reflected on subjects as varied as art and ethics, theology and psychology, and history and metaphysics. Maritain's work on the theoretical groundings of politics arose from his diverse studies. In this book, distinguished theologian and political scientist James V. Schall explores Maritain's political philosophy, demonstrating that Maritain understood society, state, and government in the tradition of Aristotle and Aquinas, of natural law and human rights and duties. Schall pays particular attention to the ways in which evil appears in political forms, and how this evil can be morally dealt with. Schall's study will be of great importance to students and scholars of political science, philosophy, and theology.
Reviews
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At the Limits of Political Philosophy: From
Catholic University of America Press (August 1996) Illustrating the contribution of the Roman Catholic tradition to political philosophy, this work includes the discussion of the "brilliant errors" that have arisen in the history of political philosophy. A discussion of the death of Socrates and the death of Christ is also included here.
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Idylls and Rambles: Lighter Christian Essays
Ignatius Press (April 1994)
The English or French essay has been in many ways the most delightful of literary expressions. Moreover, the essay has been particularly adapted to Christianity, to its concreteness, to its awareness of the importance not just of ideas or thoughts, but of little things, particular moments wherein salvation and joy more especially take place. Idylls and Rambles takes its title from the two journals of Samuel Johnson, The Idler and The Rambler. Johnson was the most insightful and original of men. Too, this book takes its form, the number of its chapters, from Belloc who loved the essay and who wrote so charmingly and profoundly about everything he saw. These particular essays are moments Father Schall has seen, people he has known. They are often lightsome, yet they bear the sense that it is in joy that our most perplexing moments occur for joy, more than sadness perhaps, leads to the highest things in which we exist.
''Hurrah for Fr. Schall. He is keeping alive in our time one of the noblest, and most ancient, forms of literature, namely, the short essay. But if 'noble' and 'ancient' suggest solemn, think again. 'He who has the faith has the fun,' said Chesterton. We readers are the beneficiaries of this maxim in Fr. Schall's essays. There is fun and substance, and serious reflection, and all of it in good prose, and all of it suffused with the spirit of a robust Christian orthodoxy.'' Thomas Howard, Author, Chance or the Dance |
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Liberation Theology in Latin America
Ignatius Press (October 1982) |
Book Reviews by James V. Schall, SJ
Book Reviews
- Ultimate Battles On Raymond Dennehy's novel, Soldier Boy.
- The World We Think In and the Drama of Existence October 29, 2008. A review of The Modern Philosophical Revolution, by David Walsh.
- "The Agent of Truth on the Margin of the World" on Robert Sokolowski's Phenomenology of the Human Person. June 20, 2008.
- Ratzinger's Faith and Reason - In Appreciation of Tracey Rowland's Ratzinger's Faith: The Theology of Pope Benedict XVI. May 2008.
- Book Review: Political Philosophy and the God of Abraham, by Thomas L. Pangle The Review of Metaphysics March 2007.
- Book Review: Leo Strauss and the Politics of American Empire, by Anne Norton The Review of Metaphysics December 2006.
- Book Review: Leo Strauss: The Early Writings The Review of Metaphysics September 2006.
- Godless A Review of Ann Coulter's Godless: The Church of Liberalism. July 2006.
- "Mystifying Indeed": On Being Fully Human on Robert Sokolowski's Christian Faith & Human Understanding. March 28, 2006.
- Book Review: Augustine and the Limits of Politics, by Jean Bethke Elshtain Theological Studies June 1997.
- Book Review: Faith and Political Philosophy: The Correspondence Between Leo Strauss and Eric Voegelin, 1934-1964 Review of Metaphysics June, 1994.