Suchergebnisse

James V. Schall is well known for being a learned theorist (and an equally learned practitioner) of so-called Christian Aristotelianism. That Schall affirms the basic compatibility of Christian faith and human reason, then, is not surprising. But the particular way that he affirms this is surprising. Schall regularly speaks of the relation of Christian faith and human reason in terms of the qualified incompleteness of both political philosophy and Christian revelation. The mutual incompleteness of political philosophy and Christian revelation indirectly sheds light on the characteristic error made by contemporary hyper-rationalists, whether they are overt modern rationalists or covert religious rationalists.

An introduction to a symposium on the life, career, & thinking of Orestes Brownson (1803-76), considers why this American religious, political, & philosophical figure is so little known or read by contemporary students. Brownson, an important contributor to the transcendentalist movement, converted to Catholicism in 1844 & emphasized the transformative powers of a genuine Christian faith. His thoughts on the nature & destiny of the US are summarized in, The American Republic (1865), which is described as a "penetrating analysis of the promise & perils held out by the American experiment in democracy." Attention is given to the "American character" of Brownson's thought; his understanding of both a "providential constitution" & the dialectical relationship between human reason & Christian faith; & his critique of the Lockean premise that law & morality are rooted in individual autonomy. The three contributors to this symposium each consider different challenges presented by Brownson's thinking about religion & politics. Taken together, their essays shed light on some of the reasons for Brownson's unwarranted neglect. J. Lindroth

The author deplores that much of the recent scholarly & journalistic interest in Leo Strauss stems from an ill-informed & incredible belief that he masterminded the Bush administration's foreign policy, in particular, the military invasion of Afghanistan & Iraq. However, several serious books have been published lately that seek to engage Strauss as a thinker, among them Heinrich Meier's Leo Strauss and the Theologico-Political Problem & Daniel Tanguay's Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography. Both place at the forefront what lies at the center of Strauss's thought: the question of God & politics. Strauss emphatically notes that the classical political philosophers seldom considered this "all-important question," & then only cautiously & indirectly. Strauss appreciates that the question quid sit deus is as much a moral & political question as it is a theological or philosophical one. To put it succinctly, can men acquire the knowledge of the good needed to guide their lives unaided or are they dependent on Divine Revelation? Strauss's writings on this & related questions are explored. J. Stanton