Austin Hall Library

Why I Need to Know That My Neighbor is Human

While reading Schall early this morning, it dawned on me that I have a very fine neighbor, but I cannot prove with any scientific certainty that he exists. I can see him, hear him, speak to him, borrow his tree trimming saw, but I cannot "prove" he exists; that is, I cannot "demonstrate" what is already so evident.

I cannot prove my next door neighbor exists, but neither can I doubt it without experiencing a sort of madness--a doubting the obviously undeniable. I can only decide how to deal with him, and how I deal with him depends upon whether he is a rock, an animal, a human, a god, or whatever he may be. As long as I do not know what he is, or do not admit that I really know, I may do with him whatever I want.

The Credo of Our Age

James V. Schall made an insightful observation in an essay I read this morning on G.K. Chesterton that was originally presented at the Meeting of the American Chesterton Society, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota, in June 2005.

Schall notes that it is characteristic of our more recent times that we do not really debate anything, especially the truth of anything. He says that we avoid real debate for fear that something actually might be true and therefore put demands on our minds, polities, and morals to change our ways. Thus, we only "tolerate" things.

Schall goes on to say that debate that presupposes that truth exists and is worthy of pursuit is itself a dangerous proposition, particularly politically. Therefore, our "debates" are power struggles and number countings, not attentive and logical examinations of evidence to arrive at true conclusions and reject the untrue propositions. We don't want to actually change people's minds. We only want to understand them and let them remain as they are. To change them is to undermine the very premise of respect and tolerance.

In contrast to this recent view, Schall presents the older notion of "respect" for ideas that meant doing a person the honor of seeking to correct him if he was wrong. This came from the belief that the greatest service one man could give another was to lead him to the truth--by the route in which truth is known, that is, through argument and evidence, in courtesy and conversation.

In its original sense, tolerance meant allowing other opinions to be accurately heard without intimidation, threats, or interference. Today it means the intolerable idea of not allowing them to be heard on the basis of the evidence for them. Today tolerance means that nothing is intolerable but the truth.

He is Coming

"Today you will know the Lord is coming, and in the morning you will see his glory."

(The Invitatory antiphon for the Morning Office, December 24, 2008)

A Remarkable and Obscure Philosophy

I recently returned to the land of my birth (Texas) only to find that the philosophical air we breathed when I was young (an unarticulated Southern Agrarianism) has been tainted by a postmodern gnostic consciousness. And there is nothing so oddly disturbing as a gnostic Texan.

It is now necessary in Texas, like elsewhere, to consciously familiarize oneself with a remarkable but obscure philosophy of the way the world ought to be. In various posts, I previously introduced readers to a few interesting works and a fine historian. In this post, I recommend the work of another historian--Eugene D. Genovese. As an award-winning once-Marxist historian, he carefully and fairly analyzed the history of conservatism in the South, and ultimately embraced the traditional principles underlying that philosophy. He and his wife (Elizabeth Fox-Genovese), who passed away in 2007, were for many years two of the most influential voices in academia (together they founded the journal Marxist Perspectives in the late 1970's).

I recommend Eugene Genovese's The Southern Tradition: The Achievement and Limitations of an American Conservatism as the book to read for an outline of the distinctive characteristics of Southern conservatism. I have referred to it as a "philosophy", but Genovese does not present a well-defined philosophy (perhaps there is none). Instead, he presents the Southern Tradition, despite its limitations, as offering insights that could inform an effort at defining a sound philosophical framework. And what he outlines is not mindless modern day Limbaugh neoconservatism, or heartless democratic capitalism. Read the book for a stimulating treatment of a tradition that deserves careful attention in an era that desperately needs it.

Follow Genovese with a reading of I'll Take My Stand: The South and the Agrarian Tradition by 12 Southerners, which is a collection of essays in support of Southern Agrarian ideas that came from an early twentieth century movement centered at Vanderbilt University. The essays were written by some of the greatest American literary minds of the last century,and they were devastating and provocatively prophetic in their analysis of modern/postmodern culture. Not everything they say is commendable, but one could do much worse these days than practicing the sustainability and cultural principles of the Southern Agrarians. And they were before their time in noting where modern/postmodern thought would take us. By the way, I recommend the version with the Introduction by Louis D. Rubin, Jr., rather than the newer version with an Introduction by Susan V. Donaldson, who herself seems to exhibit some of the ideas the Southern Agrarians tried to warn us against.

Finally, familiarize yourself with the work of Richard M. Weaver by reading his energizing Ideas Have Consequences. Better yet, read it several times. It is tightly packed with thought-provoking analysis of what ails modern society. Read Weaver, Genovese, and the Southern Agrarians, along with Latin, as early and as often as possible, and one is likely to become an educated person, regardless of the region of the country in which one resides--even if it's the Northeast.

It's Not About Turning Back the Clock

As I walked my long driveway this morning to retrieve my paper, it was one of those foggy winter East Texas mornings when just before dawn it is dark, warm, bleakly damp, and silent. The only sounds were the limbs of the numerous oak trees that line the driveway dripping their moisture on the leaf-covered ground below, and the faint echo of a rooster in the distance, punctuating the serene stillness with his reminder of an ancient betrayal.

I opened the newspaper and scanned the day's headlines. As usual, they were all reminders that western civilization's institutions and system of values are disordered--as dark and vaporous as an East Texas pre-dawn morning--but less promising since the re-dawning of culture is not now on the horizon.

Despite the vapid protestations of the enlightened elite, some believe that the fabric of our social order has unraveled--that a genuine revival of culture is urgently needed. They long for a return to learning, reason, principled social discourse, the intellectual self-reliance of character, and robust conservative habit. Some critics in opposition quote the familiar cliche', "You can't turn back the clock." In the words of Richard Weaver, "The most charitable thing that can be said of [them] is that [they are] confused in a fundamental way. No one beyond the first grade in philosophy believes that time can be reversed." (The Southern Essays of Richard M. Weaver, ed. by George M. Curtis, III and James J. Thompson, Jr.).

What Weaver and others who call for a revival of culture are saying is not that time ought to be reversed, but that certain things "do not have their subsistence in time", and that certain virtues ought to be practiced and values embraced "regardless of the era in which one finds oneself born." Principled ideas and philosophy are simply not confinable to a particular era. As even Spinoza said, "In so far as the mind conceives a thing under the dictates of reason, it is affected equally, whether the idea be of a thing future, past, or present." (On the Improvement of the Understanding, Prop. LXII).

Time must yield to truth and not truth to time.

Advanced Level Augustine of Hippo

For those prepared to tackle the more advanced St. Augustine

Augustine Through the Ages: An Encyclopedia by Allan D. Fitzgerald (Editor) (An important addition to anyone's library who intends become very familiar with St. Augustine. At nine-hundred pages, it is the most up-to-date reference work on Augustine, and surveys every aspect of his life, work, and influence. This is the very best place to begin any serious research of this important figure.) The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine, Vol. 1: The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition by Jaroslav Pelikan (This is not specifically a treatise about Augustine or his work, but it has a very succinct treatment of Augustine on nature and grace in chapter six, pp. 278-331, that is very helpful in understanding this important concept. This entire series by Pelikan is excellent in its own right.) The Christian Philosophy of Saint Augustine by Etienne Gilson (Perhaps the best detailed treatment of Augustine's philosophical thought. This book is deep, rich, complex at points, and difficult to find even on the secondary market.) City of God by St. Augustine (A monumental work, written after the sack of Rome in the fifth century, in defense of Christian culture. It is written for those with some sense of classical learning, so it is often unappreciated in this age of purpose driven lives. Henry Bettenson's translation is perhaps the most easily accessible, but Gerard O'Daly's Augustine's City of God: A Reader's Guide is the only actual reader's guide I am aware of on the City of God. It is an excellent introduction and overview. There is an abridged version of this magnum opus, edited by V.J. Bourke, which includes a Foreword by Etienne Gilson (pp. 13-35) that is a must read.) Last, but not least, is The Trinity by St. Augustine (Augustine's most difficult work, worked on intermittently for sixteen years, this is the essential classic on trinitarian thought. Edmund Hill's translation has helpful notes and essays that are invaluable.)

Man Either Enjoys Things or Uses Them

Motivated by a brief discussion with my son-in-law following yesterday's lunch, I have been contemplating the prospect that most of our offenses in life derive from the fact that we wish to enjoy things we should only seek to use. This is a very Augustinian idea. It is the truth I wish I could impress upon my children as a key to a happy life.

Etienne Gilson succinctly makes this point in his excellent work, The Christian Philosophy of Saint Augustine. Explaining Augustine's thought, he says:

When the different ways in which man conducts himself toward things are reduced to their simplest forms, they are found in the final analysis to be but two: man either enjoys things or uses them. Enjoying a thing means fixing one's will upon it out of love for the thing itself; using a thing means utilizing it as a means of obtaining something else. We enjoy what we think of as an end; we use what we look upon only as a means.

Of course, one must still have one's gaze fixed upon proper ends--all subordinated one to the other so that they are all ultimately embraced under a single end--the sovereign good, i.e. something so good that nothing better can be imagined.

Intermediate Level Augustine of Hippo

For those getting more serious about St. Augustine

St. Augustine of Hippo: Life and Controversies by Gerald Bonner (A very good one-volume study of Augustine's theology that concentrates on his powerful influence in three critical controversies with the Manichees, the Donatists, and the Pelagians. Bonner devotes two chapters to each controversy, one on the historical context, and one on the theological content.) Augustine: Christian Truth and Fractured Humanity by Carol Harrison (This book does not appear on the list of favorites of most Augustinian scholars, but I am not an Augustinian scholar and I found this short but packed volume to be highly instructive. It is quite helpful in outlining the major threads in Augustine's thought and observing them in the context of his life and times. Harrison's work is also notable in that it manifests a good grasp on the large body of secondary literature on Augustine, and it reflects an understanding of the development of Augustine's thought--even to the point of identifying dates in the development of his thought. It is one of the very few secondary sources that ties (correctly, I believe) Augustine's shift in thought and emphasis of sin and grace to his study of St. Paul's epistles, particularly the Book of Romans.) On Christian Teaching by St. Augustine (The De Doctrina Christiana is one of Augustine's most important works on the classical tradition. In his very first article of the Summa, St. Thomas Aquinas presented his own undertaking as an attempt to promote the sacred learning advocated and defined by St. Augustine in his De Doctrina Christiana. Undertaken at the same time as Confessions, it essentially outlines Augustine's approach to hermeneutics (the science of biblical interpretation).) On Free Choice of the Will by St. Augustine (This is a seminal work on free choice and the will. It contains an insightful treatment on the problem of evil and provides much deep and fruitful thought for serious thinkers.) The Enchiridion on Faith, Hope, and Love by St. Augustine (Augustine wrote the Enchiridion (Greek for "handbook") as a response to a friend who wanted a handbook of Christian teaching. While not as moving or as engaging as Confessions, it is important because it succinctly covers important topics such as baptism, original sin, abortion, faith and works, election, and the grace of God. The Enchiridion has served as a catechism throughout the history of the Church from which other catechisms have drawn. In fact, the most recent Catechism of the Catholic Church quotes Augustine extensively.) Augustine and the Catechumenate by William Harmless (Perhaps Augustine's least known role is that of a catechist (one who helps with the Christian formation of others). This book outlines his work as a teacher of candidates for baptism and takes a look at how Augustine approached each stage of preparation: evangelization, catechumenate, candidate for baptism, and post-baptismal catechesis. This work is important for exposing a little known, and often overlooked, side of this important figure of Western civilization. Augustine, by the way, was catechized by St. Ambrose, the Bishop of Milan.)

Entry Level Augustine of Hippo

In June I posted three separate reading lists for those interested in the study of St. Thomas Aquinas. This entry is the first for those interested in undertaking a study of the most influential figure in Western culture--St. Augustine of Hippo.

Preparatory Recommendations for the Study of Augustine:

Augustine of Hippo: A Biography (New Edition, with an Epilogue) by Peter Brown (This is the best biography of Augustine and a good place to start the Augustinian educational process. This new edition has an epilogue on the newly discovered sermons and letters). The Young Augustine: The Growth of St. Augustine's Mind Up to His Conversion by John J. O'Meara (A classic, originally published in 1956, and now back in print). Augustine: A Very Short Introduction by Henry Chadwick (A compact (144 pages) and very helpful volume that discusses Augustine's views of free choice, vocation, creation, and other serious questions). Augustine: Major Writings by Fr. Benedict Groeschel (This is an exceptional little introduction to St. Augustine and somewhat of a tutorial with its own reading program included. It is also an excellent introduction to Confessions). Confessions by St. Augustine (One of the masterpieces of Western literature. Augustine's deeply moving meditation on his life and conversion (Books 1-9), on his interior life at the time of his writing (Book 10), and on the opening verses of the Book of Genesis (Books 11-13). Henry Chadwick's translation is considered by many as the best translation to date. R.S. Pine-Coffin's translation is my personal favorite for its elegant British style).