10. Catholicity Necessary to Sustain Popular Liberty -- 11. Authority and Liberty -- 12. The Works of Daniel Webster -- 13. Schools of Philosophy -- 14. Liberalism and Socialism -- 15. Civil and Religious Freedom -- 16. Liberalism and Progress -- Part III. Freedom and Communion -- 17. The American Republic -- 18. The Democratic Principle -- Notes.

v. 1. The Universalist years, 1826-29 -- v. 2. The free thought and Unitarian years, 1830-35 -- v. 3. The Transcendentalist years, 1836-38 -- v. 4. The transcendentalist years, 1838-39 -- v. 5. The transcendentalist years, 1840-1841 -- v. 6. Life by communion, 1842 -- v. 7. Life by communion years, 1843-1844.

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"Explores historically the whole intellectual development of Orestes Brownson and places his political thought into [the context of Civil War-era America]." -- Preface.

It has recently been said that only since the 1930’s has the notion of Christian philosophy become “an object of explicit discussion.” No doubt the writer had in mind the lively controversy over the validity of the concept of Christian philosophy that came to a head in the historic conference on the subject sponsored by the Société française de philosophie in Paris in 1931. Contemporary discussions of the meaning and appropriateness of the notion often go back to the Parisian debate (...) and the abundant literature pro and con that grew out of it. We should not think, however, that before the dispute of the 1930’s there were no distinctly expressed differences of opinion about the meaning and validity of the term ‘Christian philosophy’. The recently published Christliche Philosophie im katholischen Denken des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts makes it abundantly clear that already in the nineteenth century philosophers and theologians throughout Europe were discussing these topics and adopting opposing views about them. It is remarkable that one of the most outspoken and articulate protagonists in the discussion was an American, Orestes Brownson. But then, Brownson by any account was a remarkable—if somewhat neglected—man. The present essay concerns his views on Christian philosophy and between philosophy and theology, which he formulated in opposition to the European Rationalists and Traditionalists. (shrink)

Previous editions published under the title: Orestes A. Brownson; a pilgrims̕ progress. Bibliography: p. [299]-305.

If, as some physicians of the national malaise claim, the American dream is dead and our history as a nation has reached its end, it seems fitting to reopen the question of what America is - or should be, or what was once thought she ought to be. Although we can hardly expect this to be persuaded any longer by the historic dreams of the new Adam, a review of that century-old challenge to debate, founded in the possibility of an (...) achieved human perfection, can provide u with humane instruction in understanding the present and the future. The author here gives us that review through the eyes of a major nineteenth-century commentator. Orestes Brownson's work is a significant part of American history, especially of its intellectual history. Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., wrote of Brownson: "...one feels the pathos of modernity in this stormy pilgrim...His life still touches contemporary nerves - from the antagonisms of capital and labor to the place of the Catholics in American society, from the nature of American culture to the death of God..." To expect solutions from - to expect agreement with - Brownson is to ask for more than this book intends. Much of his mastery was in the isolation and sharply etched presentation of the question. Clarity and depth of thought are everywhere reflected in his work. Whither that thought leads is clearly the work of ultimate judgment by the reader. By allowing Brownson to speak for himself, and confining critical comments chiefly to footnotes, the author presents him as still vigorously alive and, it is hoped, as a formative influence in America's future.'. (shrink)

There is always some justification for bringing a forgotten writer to the attention of a country all too forgetful of the names that once were familiar through the length and breadth of the land. Not infrequently the obscurity into which such a writer has fallen is not entirely deserved and often some forgotten gem of truth is once again unearthed. Truth is not the monopoly of the famous; in the most unsuspected corner it is sometimes found. And in the hidden (...) tomes of Brownson's works we have discovered several valuable ideas which have well repaid us for our efforts in bringing them to light. That other truths lie still hidden in those self same volumes we confidently believe, and we urge that others also look through Brownson's works in search of them, seeing what we have missed and hearing with ears at tuned to what for us was silence. (shrink)

Extensively utilizing Brownson's lesser-known writings, Butler examines, in chronological order, the phases of Brownson's personal and spiritual development, thereby assessing the importance and contemporary relevance of his thought.

The resurgence of American interest in political ideas, together with the search for a native American conservatism, is evident in the revived study of the political philosophy of Orestes A. Brownson, one of the most original political thinkers of that transitional era between the administrations of Jackson and Lincoln when the future Republican party was in embryo. In the past Americans contributed enormously to political practice, but only slightly and incidentally to theory. The American historian, Henry Steele Commager, has (...) recently remarked that since Jefferson and Hamilton most American political thought has been merely repetitive. To this generalisation Brownson is the outstanding exception of the mid-nineteenth century. (shrink)