The Texture of Being: Essays in First Philosophy (Studies in Philosophy and the History of Philosophy)

Kenneth Schmitz has spent an illustrious career as a philosopher striving to unite what Hegel called the "being of the ancients"―their deep engagement with metaphysics―to "the subjectivity of the moderns"―the modern concern with the interior life and historical particularity of human beings. Schmitz has sought to show how these concerns are two aspects of one "single philosophical life" which, far from being a pointless exercise, reflects an intellectually and spiritually fruitful human existence. In this volume, Schmitz brings his encyclopedic knowledge of the Western philosophical tradition to bear in a wide-ranging series of essays grouped under three headings: Being, Man, and God. He brings disparate philosophical traditions into conversation, such as classical Aristotelian-Thomistic metaphysics, the modern critical rationalism of Kant, the idealist synthesis of Hegel, the postmodern deconstructionism of Derrida and Foucault, and the personalist phenomenology of Scheler, Von Hildebrand, and Wojtyla. Schmitz explores re-situating classical metaphysics, with its confidence in the human ability to reach speculative truth, into a post-Enlightenment world that rejects the possibility, yet which values human interior richness. Schmitz believes, for instance, that we can have meaningful discourse about God's existence and about the role of beauty in helping us recognize that being is a gift received. Diverse in topics yet unified in purpose, this volume brings together Schmitz's penetrating and rich insight into being, produced over many years, to offer readers a magisterial study from one of the great Christian philosophers of our time. Kenneth Schmitz has spent an illustrious career as a philosopher striving to unite what Hegel called the "being of the ancients"their deep engagement with metaphysicsto "the subjectivity of the moderns"the modern concern with the interior life and historical particularity of human beings. Schmitz has sought to show how these concerns are two aspects of one "single philosophical life" which, far from being a pointless exercise, reflects an intellectually and spiritually fruitful human existence. In this volume, Schmitz brings his encyclopedic knowledge of the Western philosophical tradition to bear in a wide-ranging series of essays grouped under three Being, Man, and God. He brings disparate philosophical traditions into conversation, such as classical Aristotelian-Thomistic metaphysics, the modern critical rationalism of Kant, the idealist synthesis of Hegel, the postmodern deconstructionism of Derrida and Foucault, and the personalist phenomenology of Scheler, Von Hildebrand, and Wojtyla. Schmitz explores re-situating classical metaphysics, with its confidence in the human ability to reach speculative truth, into a post-Enlightenment world that rejects the possibility, yet which values human interior richness. Schmitz believes, for instance, that we can have meaningful discourse about God's existence and about the role of beauty in helping us recognize that being is a gift received. Diverse in topics yet unified in purpose, this volume brings together Schmitz's penetrating and rich insight into being, produced over many years, to offer readers a magisterial study from one of the great Christian philosophers of our time. Kenneth L. Schmitz is professor of philosophy at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family as well as a fellow of Trinity College and professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Toronto. He is the author of numerous works including At the Center of the Human The Philosophy of Karol Wojtyla/Pope John Paul II. Paul O'Herron teaches philosophy at Mount St. Mary's College in Newburgh, New York. PRAISE FOR THE "[Schmitz] unites an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the history of philosophy, a commitment to traditional metaphysics, and a creative mind that both challenges and profits from advances made in modern and post-modern philosophy. . . . Schmitz provides his readers with a deep and rich understanding of the personal and a convincing case for developing a metaphysics of the personal that takes into account both the being of traditional metaphysics and the modern concern for the historical and the concrete." Eugene Thomas Long, Review of Metaphysics Part I. Being. -- Metaphysics: Radical, Comprehensive, Determinate Discourse -- Analysis By Principles And Analysis By Elements -- From Anarchy To Principles: Deconstruction And The Resources Of Christian Philosophy -- Neither With Nor Without Foundations -- Another Look At Objectivity -- Enriching The Copula -- Created Receptivity And The Philosophy Of The Concrete -- The Solidarity Of Personalism And The Metaphysics Of Existential Act -- Part Ii. Man. -- The Geography Of The Human Person -- Immateriality Past And Present -- The First Principle Of Personal Becoming -- Purity Of Soul And Immortality -- Is Liberalism Good Enough? -- Part Iii. God. -- Theological Clearances: Foreground To A Rational Recovery Of God -- God, Being And Love: New Ontological Perspectives Coming From Philosophy -- The Death Of Good And The Rebirth Of Man -- The Witness Of Beauty: The Profile Of God. Kenneth L. Schmitz ; Edited By Paul O'herron. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 317-323) And Index. Contents Preface Introduction by Paul O’Herron PART I. BEING 1. Metaphysics: Radical, Comprehensive, Determinate Discourse 2. Analysis by Principles and Analysis by Elements 3. From Anarchy to Principles: Deconstruction and the Resources of Christian Philosophy 4. Neither with nor without Foundations 5. Another Look at Objectivity 6. Enriching the Copula 7. Created Receptivity and the Philosophy of the Concrete 8. The Solidarity of Personalism and the Metaphysics of Existential Act PART II. MAN 9. The Geography of the Human Person 10. Immateriality Past and Present 11. The First Principle of Personal Becoming 12. Purity of Soul and Immortality 13. Is Liberalism Good Enough? PART III. GOD 14. Theological Clearances: Foreground to a Rational Recovery of God 15. God, Being, and Love: New Ontological Perspectives Coming from Philosophy 16. The Death of God and the Rebirth of Man 17. The Witness of Beauty: The Profi le of God Bibliography Index of Names "In this volume, Schmitz brings his encyclopedic knowledge of the Western philosophical tradition to bear in a wide-ranging series of essays grouped under three headings: Being, Man, and God. He brings disparate philosophical traditions into conversation, such as classical Aristotelian-Thomistic metaphysics, the modern critical rationalism of Kant, the idealist synthesis of Hegel, the postmodern de-constructionism of Derrida and Foucault, and the personalist phenomenology of Scheler, Von Hildebrand, and Wojtyla."--Jacket