Recovering Nature - by John P O'Callaghan Hardcover

Book Synopsis

The recovery of nature has been a unifying and enduring aim of the writings of Ralph McInerny, Michael P. Grace Professor of Medieval Studies at the University of Notre Dame, director of the Jacques Maritain Center, former director of the Medieval Institute, and author of numerous works in philosophy, literature, and journalism. While many of the fads that have plagued philosophy and theology during the last half-century have come and gone, recent developments suggest that McInerny's commitment to Aristotelian-Thomism was boldly, if quietly, prophetic. In his persistent, clear, and creative defenses of natural theology and natural law, McInerny has appealed to nature to establish a dialogue between theists and non-theists, to contribute to the moral and political renewal of American culture, and particularly to provide some of the philosophical foundations for Catholic theology.

From the Back Cover

The recovery of nature has been a unifying and enduring aim of the writings of Ralph McInerny, Michael P. Grace Professor of Medieval Studies at the University of Notre Dame, director of the Jacques Maritain Center, former director of the Medieval Institute, and author of numerous works in philosophy, literature, and journalism. While many of the fads that have plagued philosophy and theology during the last half-century have come and gone, recent developments suggest that McInerny's commitment to Aristotelian-Thomism was boldly, if quietly, prophetic. In his persistent, clear, and creative defenses of natural theology and natural law, McInerny has appealed to nature to establish a dialogue between theists and non-theists, to contribute to the moral and political renewal of American culture, and particularly to provide some of the philosophical foundations for Catholic theology.

This volume brings together essays by an impressive group of scholars, including William Wallace, O.P., Jude P. Dougherty, John Haldane, Thomas DeKoninck, Alasdair MacIntyre, David Solomon, Daniel McInerny, Janet E. Smith, Michael Novak, Stanley Hauerwas, Laura Garcia, Alvin Plantinga, Alfred J. Freddoso, and David B. Burrell, C.S.C.

John P. O'Callaghan is Professor of Philosophy at Creighton University and author of Thomist Realism and the Linguistic Turn: Toward a More Perfect Form of Existence (Notre Dame Press, 2003).

Thomas S. Hibbs is Professor of Philosophy at Boston College and author of Dialectic and Narrative in Aquinas: An Interpretation of the Summa Contra Gentiles (Notre Dame Press, 1995).

Review Quotes

"This volume is a good case study of how post-positivist analytic philosophers have been more willing to examine the history of philosophy and seek resources in it, and how many contemporary Catholic and Christian philosophers are more willing to learn from analytic philosophy for the study and development of their own traditions." --The Philosophical Quarterly

-This volume is a good case study of how post-positivist analytic philosophers have been more willing to examine the history of philosophy and seek resources in it, and how many contemporary Catholic and Christian philosophers are more willing to learn from analytic philosophy for the study and development of their own traditions.- --The Philosophical Quarterly

This volume is a good case study of how post-positivist analytic philosophers have been more willing to examine the history of philosophy and seek resources in it, and how many contemporary Catholic and Christian philosophers are more willing to learn from analytic philosophy for the study and development of their own traditions. The Philosophical Quarterly"

About the Author

John P. O'Callaghan is director of the Jacques Maritain Center and associate professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He is co-editor of Recovering Nature: Essays in Natural Philosophy, Ethics, and Metaphysics in Honor of Ralph McInerny, also published by the University of Notre Dame Press.