Books and Ideas That Helped Shape the Way I View the World

Modern man, finding himself inundated with information and experiences, but sorely lacking unifying principles by which to assimilate these data, often stands stunned in the face of rapid cultural changes around him. He can't even understand the world, much less safely navigate its soul-destroying dangers. He desperately needs a way of making sense of things, a metanarrative, a set of first principles he holds about things that tend to form a framework or pattern by which he evaluates data and reaches sound conclusions.

 

Below are just a few of the books and other writings that have shaped and formed the way I view and respond to the world:

 

Veritatis Splendor (Latin for "The Splendor of Truth") "No one can escape from the fundamental questions: What must I do? How do I distinguish good from evil?" An encyclical by John Paul II that provides a framework to grasp authentic teaching on moral issues.

 

City of God (by St. Augustine) The first and magisterial comprehensive philosophy of history. According to Augustine, the world is to be viewed as the arena of a great conflict, or a confrontation between two intensely opposed forces--two cities (City of God and City of Man). The two cities cannot be found in concrete things and are actually metaphysical entities; which is to say that they have a spiritual existence. This book is the earliest influence on my thought. 

 

Fides et Ratio (Latin for "Faith and Reason") Faith and reason are not only compatible, but both are essential to the fullness of thought. An encyclical by John Paul II.

 

Theology of the Body (by John Paul II) An integrated vision of the human person presented in 129 reflections (lectures) in regular Wednesday audiences between the years 1979 and 1984. If this teaching could be understood and embraced by a generation, it could restore moral order to the universe.

 

The End of the Modern World (by Romano Guardini) As a reviewer has stated, "The wellsprings of the modern world have run dry", and Guardini is a master of analyzing our circumstances. He calls for a different set of virtues: earnestness, gravity, and asceticism. When was the last time you heard those virtues commended?

 

Ideas Have Consequences (by Richard M. Weaver) Even fifty years after its appearance, this book remains a clear, densely written, analysis of the foundational problems of modern man. Weaver also has recommendations for a remedy.