Distinguer pour unir, ou Les degres du savoir was first published in 1932 by Jacques Maritain. In this new translation of The Degrees of Knowledge, Ralph McInerny attempts a more careful expression of Maritain's original masterpiece than previous translations. Maritain proposes a hierarchy of the forms of knowledge by discussing the degrees of rational and suprarational understanding. Nine appendices, some longer than the chapters of the book, advance Maritain's thought, often by taking on criticism of earlier editions of the (...) work. Rightly called Maritain's cardinal work, The Degrees of Knowledge is a magnificent and sagacious achievement. Jacques Maritain's masterpiece proposes a hierarchy of forms of knowledge that culminate in mystical experience and wisdom, which is a gift of the Holy Ghost. Maritain argues that the intellectual life is meant to be complemented by the spiritual life and should culminate in sanctity. (shrink)

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be (...) preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. (shrink)

With this new volume of the _Collected Works of Jacques Maritain_, the University of Notre Dame Press is publishing the first English edition of a remarkable group of essays which Maritain prepared for publication in the year before his death. He brings together various writings which had previously not appeared in print or had circulated privately. The heart of the book is to be found in two series of articles. The first consists of ten philosophical essays. There are essays (...) which deal with truth, with philosophy at the time of Vatican II, and with the divine aseity; two on philosophy of nature dealing with evolution and with animal instinct; and three in moral philosophy. A second series is made up of mainly theological articles. Four are contributions to what Maritain calls an existential epistemology. They are followed by a moving meditation on the Mass and the Church triumphant. When he lay dying at Fossanova, Thomas Aquinas, in deference to the wishess of the Cistercians, with whom he had found refuge, wrote a commentary on the Song of Songs. How better could a lifelong Thomist round off his lifetime of writing than with his own essay on the Song of Songs? This is what Maritian does in the serenely profound meditation that closes the volume. (shrink)

A philosophy of freedom.--Religion and culture.--On the purification of means.--Appendices: Person and property.--The doctrine of "Satyagraha" as set forth by M. K. Gandhi.

At eighty-five, Jacques Maritain, the most distinguished Catholic philosopher of the twentieth century, has written what he offers as his last book, and it turns out to be a shocker. The peasant, as Maritain calls himself in the title, is a man who calls a spade a spade; and a storm of controversy descended immediately on the book's publication in France, as both Right and Left reeled from the force of Maritain's criticism.The Peasant of the Garonne is a sharp (...) attack on the new philosophy, hoping to cool off the fever for change that Maritain believes is imperiling the church's traditional spirituality and even the substance of doctrine. There is sardonic humor in his treatment of Teilhardians, phenomenologists, existentialists, new-style biblical critics, and clerical Freudians, but Maritain is deeply serious in warning that their capitulation to fashioniable trends represents a kind of kneeling before the world. (shrink)

Catholic philosopher's attempt to show the traditional ways by which the reality of God has been demonstrated.

Excerpt from Antimoderne Elements DE philosophie, Fascicule I Introduction generale a la Philosophie, 8 edition. Fascicule II. Petite Logique, 4 edition. (tequi. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such (...) as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. (shrink)

Far more telling than mere biography, this collection of the extant letters exchanged between philosopher Jacques Maritain and social activist Saul Alinsky reveals a deep and intimate friendship, however unexpected and unlikely. Indeed, to all who knew or knew of them the dignified, prominent philosopher and the earthy, truculent genius of social reform seemed antithetical to one another in almost every way. The Maritain-Alinsky correspondence began in 1945, shortly after they met, and continued until Alinsky's death in 1972. The (...) tone and content of the letters vary widely, ranging from expressions of mutual admiration and friendship, to details of the triumphs and tragedies of their personal lives, to anguished considerations of death and immortality. In their letters Maritain and Alinsky offer each other personal expressions of strong mutual support - as well as judicious warnings and slightly apprehensive distancing - for the different works each had undertaken at various times in his respective careers. They also discuss the Catholic church, taking ironic jibes at clerical pomposity and exchanging praise of the socially aware. Though it is difficult to tell whether either man had a significant influence on the thought and work of the other, their correspondence attests that the philosopher and the provocateur, so different in personality, educational backgrounds, demeanor, and intellectual affinities, enjoyed a surprisingly intimate and extraordinary friendship. With context and interpretation of the letters provided by the editor, this intriguing collection of lively, moving letters not only reveals the depths of a most improbable friendship, it also goes far in exposing thehumanity behind the personas. (shrink)

Presenting with moving insight the relations between man, as a person and as an individual, and the society of which he is a part, Maritain's treatment of a lasting topic speaks to this generation as well as those to come. Maritain employs the personalism rooted in Aquinas's doctrine to distinguish between social philosophy centered in the dignity of the human person and that centered in the primacy of the individual and the private good.

Philosophical ethics from Socrates to Sartre.

The freedom of the intellect.--The theory of the superman.--The intellect and the reign of the heart.--Christian humanism.--The theory of success.--The mathematical attenuation.--The myth of progress.--The myth of necessary progress.--The philosophy of revolution.--The progess of the spirit.--System of philosophic harmonies.--Notes (p. 189-200).

t. 1. Les années françaises, 1927-1940 -- t. 2. Les années américaines, 1941-1961.