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 THE ORDER OF THINGS: The New Book from Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. 
The Order of Things
Father James Schall, the well-known author and professor of philosophy at Georgetown University, inquires about the various orders found in the cosmos, the human mind, the human body, the city, and he seeks to reflect upon the unity of these orders. In a world in which the presence of reason and order are denied--presumably in the name of science--in favor of chance explanations of why things are as they are, it is surprising to find that, in the various realms open to the human intellect, we find a persistent order revealed. At first sight, it may seem that this reality can be explained by chance occurrence, but after a point, there is a growing sense that behind things there is, in fact, an order. This order can be traced in the many areas that are open to the human mind. As Aquinas has noted, the order within the cosmos points to an order outside of it, since the cosmos cannot be the cause of its own internal order. Philosophers have long inquired about the curious fact that the order of things implies not a mere relationship of one thing to another, but a hint that the universe is created with a certain superabundance. Why is the universe, and the things within it, not only ordered but, ordered with a sense of beauty? Not only is there an order in things, but also the human mind seems attuned to this order as something it delights in discovering. This relationship implies that there is some correspondence between mind and reality. What is the relationship between the mind and reality? The Order of Things explores this question. Relying on common sense and the experience available to everyone, Schall concludes that it requires more credulity to disbelieve in order than to experience it. Finally, Schall explores the fundamental cause of order, what it is like? Having looked at the order of the created universe, it is not surprising that the revelation of the Godhead is itself ordered in terms of an inner relationship of Persons. "Here is a book about everything, the subject which just happens to be the most neglected in our narrow-minded, short-sighted world. Fr. Schall takes on heaven and hell and everything in between. And his clear-thinking sparkles in his clear-writing. A painless and praiseworthy way to sweep out any confusion and muddled ideas that may be lurking in your head." - Dale Ahlquist | Author, Common Sense 101: Lessons from G .K. Chesterton "Father James V. Schall is one of the few renaissance men still among us. His knowledge of various areas of reality and human endeavor is encyclopedic. Dealing with important abstract ideas, he is able to put flesh on them so that the ordinary reader can grasp easily what he is getting at. Schall is the apostle of truth and reality, since he is always reminding the reader to consult that which is." - Kenneth Baker, S.J. | Editor, Homiletic & Pastoral Review "After reading James V. Schall's The Order of Things, I have been sorely tempted to give up teaching and simply tell my students to read Schall. This little work is a virtual ratio studiorum of higher education in the finest sense. Its wisdom towers over the current intellectual scene with a common sense sanity that is intoxicating. It is Schall at his best." - Peter A. Redpath | Professor of Philosophy, St. John's University Fr. James V. Schall, S.J., is Professor of Political Philosophy at Georgetown University. He was born in Pocahontas, Iowa, January 20, 1928. Educated in public schools in Iowa, he graduated in 1945 from Knoxville, Iowa High, and then attended University of Santa Clara. He earned an MA in Philosophy from Gonzaga University in 1945. After time in the U.S. Army (1946-47), he joined the Society of Jesus (California Province) in 1948. He received a PhD in Political Theory from Georgetown University in 1960, and an MST from University of Santa Clara four years later. Fr. Schall was a member of the Faculty of Institute of Social Sciences, Gregorian University, Rome, from 1964-77, and a member of the Government Department, University of San Francisco, from 1968-77. He has been a member of the Government Department at Georgetown University since 1977.  Fr.
Schall has written hundreds of essays on political, theological, literary,
and philosophical issues in such journals as The Review of Politics,
Social Survey (Melbourne), Studies (Dublin), The Thomist,
Divus Thomas (Piacenza), Divinitas (Rome), The Commonweal,
Thought, Modern Age, Faith and Reason, The Way (London), The New
Oxford Review, University Bookman, Worldview, and many others.
He contributes regularly to Crisis and Homiletic & Pastoral
Review. He is the author of numerous books on social issues, spirituality, culture, and literature including On the Unseriousness of Human Affairs: Teaching, Writing, Playing, Believing, Lecturing, Philosophizing, Singing, Dancing, Redeeming the Time, Human Dignity and Human Numbers, and A Student's Guide to Liberal Learning. Books by Fr. Schall published by Ignatius Press include Another Sort of Learning, Idylls and Rambles, The Order of Things, Christianity and Life, Distinctiveness of Christianity, and Liberation Theology. Other recent books by Fr. Schall include A Student's Guide to Liberal Learning (ISI), The Life of the Mind (ISI), The Sum Total of Human Happiness (St. Augustine's Press), and The Regensburg Lecture (St. Augustine's Press). Articles and columns appearing on IgnatiusInsight.com: 2008 Articles and Columns: • The Papal Visit • Resurrection and Real Justice • On Being Moved • "Always More Than Is Seen": Benedict XVI on the Meaning of Man • The Only Way You Can Be You • The Judgment of God • Schall on the Sapienza Lecture: Benedict XVI on the Nature of a University • "How Difficult It Is!" | On Justice and the Earthly City • Putting Things In Order: Father James V. Schall, S.J., on Eighty Years of Living, Thinking, and Believing • Patron Saint of Teachers: Or, On the Meaning of the Second Semester 2007 Articles and Columns: • What In Christmas Season Grows: On the Days Leading Up to the Nativity of the Lord • The Enormity of the Universe • The Encyclical on Hope: On the "De-immanentizing" of the Christian Eschaton • Why the Bewilderment? Benedict XVI on Natural Law • 31 Questions for Schall (Part Two) • 31 Questions for Schall (Part One) • "Where God is, there is the future" | On Benedict XVI in Austria • Why Do Things Exist? On the Meaning of Being • On Wars...and Wars of Ideas • "The Self-Revelation of God's Reality in History": On the Final Chapter of Jesus of Nazareth • "God Is The Issue": The Temptation in the Desert and the Kingdoms of This World • Pope Benedict XVI and the Essential Worldwide Mission • On Saying the Tridentine Mass • "No Weighing, No Disputing, No Such Thing": Ratzinger and Europe • God Made Visible: On the Foreword to Benedict XVI's Jesus of Nazareth • What Must I Read To Be Saved? On Reading and Salvation • What Is Catholicism? Questions With Answers • Murder On Campus: A Meditation On Death of the Young • On "Losing" One's Faith at University • Peace, Justice, Ecology: The "Substitutes" For God • Pope Benedict XVI On Natural Law • The Two (And Only Two) Cities • What Is "Legal"? On Abortion, Democracy, and Catholic Politicians • Benedict on Aquinas: "Faith Implies Reason" • Secularity: On Benedict XVI and the Role of Religion in Society 2006 Articles and Columns: • "A Requirement of Intellectual Honesty": On Benedict and the German Bishops • What is the Proper Object of Theology? The Pope at the Gregorian • The Soul of the West | An interview with Fr. James V. Schall, S.J • On November: All Souls and the "Permanent Things" • The Spirit of Assisi • Intellectual Charity: On Benedict XVI and the Canadian Bishops • The State Which Would Provide Everything • 9/11 Revisited • On School and Things That Are Not Fair • On the Term "Islamo-Fascism" • Is Christianity a Comfortable Religion? • Godless: A Review • Do We Deserve To Be Free? On The Fourth of July, 2006 • Creation, Salvation, and the Mass • On The Intellectual Needs of Ordinary People • Atheism and the Purely "Human" Ethic • Reading Without Learning: On Not Missing "Sublime Passage" • The Meaning of Dogma • On Adapting to "Modern Times" • Easter: The Defiant Feast • Mystifying Indeed: On Being Fully Human • Lincoln's Second Inaugural: A Historic Call to Charity • Accidents Happen! • "Written In Courage": An Analysis of the 2006 State of the Union Address • God's Eros Is Agape • On Reading the Pope 2005 Articles and Columns: • Christmas: Sign of Contradiction, Season of Redemption • What a Homily Should Be: Doctrinal, Liturgical, and Spiritual • The End Times: The Secret Hidden From the Universe • The Brighter Side of Hell • Dialogue Is Never Enough • The Inequalities of Equality • On Praise and Celebration • Making Sense of Disasters • Martyrs and Suicide Bombers • Wars Without Violence? • Chesterton and the Delight of Truth • The One War, The Real War • Reflections On Saying Mass (And Saying It Correctly) • Suppose We Had a "Liberal" Pope • On Being Neither Liberal nor Conservative • Is Heresy Heretical? • Catholic Commencements: A Time for Truth to Be Honored 2004 Articles and Columns: • On The Sternness of Christianity • On Teaching the Important Things IgnatiusInsight.com Interview with Fr. Schall (2005): • On Learning and Education: An Interview with Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. | Part 1 of 3 • On Writing and Reading: Interview with Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. | Part 2 of 3 •Chesterton, Sports, and Politics: Interview with Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. | Part 3 of 3 • Read more of Fr. Schall's essays on his website. |
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