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Thomas Pfau's study of images and visual experience is a tour de force linking Platonic metaphysics to modern phenomenology and probing literary, philosophical, and theological accounts of visual experience from Plato to Rilke.Incomprehensible Certainty presents a sustained reflection on the nature of images and the phenomenology of visual experience. Taking the "e;image"e; (eikon) as the essential medium of art and literature and as foundational for the intuitive ways in which we make contact with our "e;lifeworld,"e; Thomas Pfau draws in equal measure on Platonic metaphysics and modern phenomenology to advance a series of interlocking claims. First, Pfau shows that, beginning with Plato's later dialogues, being and appearance came to be understood as ontologically distinct from (but no longer opposed to) one another. Second, in contrast to the idol that is typically gazed at and visually consumed as an object of desire, this study positions the image as a medium whose intrinsic abundance and excess reveal to us its metaphysical function-namely, as the visible analogue of an invisible, numinous reality. Finally, the interpretations unfolded in this book (from Plato, Plotinus, Pseudo-Dionysius, John Damascene via Bernard of Clairvaux, Bonaventure, Julian of Norwich, and Nicholas of Cusa to modern writers and artists such as Goethe, Ruskin, Turner, Hopkins, Cezanne, and Rilke) affirm the essential complementarity of image and word, visual intuition and hermeneutic practice, in theology, philosophy, and literature. Like Pfau's previous book, Minding the Modern, Incomprehensible Certainty is a major work. With over fifty illustrations, the book will interest students and scholars of philosophy, theology, literature, and art history.

This eagerly awaited study brings to completion Louis Dupre's planned trilogy on European culture during the modern epoch. Demonstrating remarkable erudition and sweeping breadth, The Quest of the Absolute analyzes Romanticism as a unique cultural phenomenon and a spiritual revolution. Dupre philosophically reflects on its attempts to recapture the past and transform the present in a movement that is partly a return to premodern culture and partly a violent protest against it. Following an introduction on the historical origins of the Romantic Movement, Dupre examines the principal Romantic poets of England (Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, Keats), Germany (Goethe, Schiller, Novalis, Holderlin), and France (Lamartine, de Vigny, Hugo), all of whom, from different perspectives, pursued an absolute ideal. In the chapters of the second part, he concentrates on the critical principles of Romantic aesthetics, the Romantic image of the person as reflected in the novel, and Romantic ethical and political theories. In the chapters of the third, more speculative, part, he investigates the comprehensive syntheses of romantic thought in history, philosophy, and theology.

Presenting with moving insight the relations between man, as a person and as an individual, and the society of which he is a part, Maritain's treatment of a lasting topic speaks to this generation as well as those to come. Maritain employs the personalism rooted in Aquinas's doctrine to distinguish between social philosophy centered in the dignity of the human person and that centered in the primacy of the individual and the private good.

In Thick and Thin: Moral Argument at Home and Abroad, Michael Walzer revises and extends the arguments in his influential Spheres of Justice, framing his ideas about justice, social criticism, and national identity in light of the new political world that has arisen in the past three decades. Walzer focuses on two different but interrelated kinds of moral argument: maximalist and minimalist, thick and thin, local and universal. This new edition has a new preface and afterword, written by the author, describing how the reasoning of the book connects with arguments he made in Just and Unjust Wars about the morality of warfare.Walzer's highly literate and fascinating blend of philosophy and historical analysis will appeal not only to those interested in the polemics surrounding Spheres of Justice and Just and Unjust Wars but also to intelligent readers who are more concerned with getting the arguments right.

In his Treatise on the Virtues, Aquinas discusses the character and function of habit; the essence, subject, cause, and meaning of virtue; and the separate intellectual, moral, cardinal, and theological virtues. His work constitutes one of the most thorough and incisive accounts of virtue in the history of Christian philosophy. John Oesterle's accurate and elegant translation makes this enduring work readily accessible to the modern reader.

The Treatise on Happiness and the accompanying Treatise on Human Acts comprise the first twenty-one questions of I-II of the Summa Theologiae. From his careful consideration of what true happiness is, to his comprehensive discussion of how it can be attained, St. Thomas Aquinas offers a challenging and classic statement of the goals of human life, both ultimate and proximate. This translation presents in accurate, consistent, contemporary English the great Christian thinker's enduring contributions on the subject of man's happiness.

Opportunities for Learning brings together the works of one of the most highly regarded past Presidents of the American Sociological Association, focusing on uncovering and addressing educational inequities in elementary and secondary schools. Few sociologists of education can rival the depth and breadth of Maureen T. Hallinan's contributions to the field. This book compiles her writings, some of which have never been published before, to bring the full insight of both her sociological imagination and her theoretical and empirical research. Through articles, book chapters, and invited lectures, Hallinan explores the interplay among theory, research, and policy. Other pieces focus on the importance of opportunities to learn, peer friendships, and ability grouping for instruction. She writes in depth about various attempts of educational reform, and the effects of Catholic schools. Hallinan sought to address the enduring problems of sociological theorizing and research within education, and her writings contribute important insights and provide foundations for the next generation of social scientists. This collection demonstrates Hallinan's keen ability to communicate balanced inquiry by engaging multiple perspectives in her theoretical framework coupled with strong empirical testing of the relationships.

Faith of the Fathers provides a captivating collective biography of the Catholic priests who served in America's most deadly war.Faith of the Fathers brings to light the forgotten stories of courageous chaplains whose commitments to faith and to men at war during America's most divisive conflict have long been overlooked. The Reverend Robert J. Miller provides a comprehensive and compelling portrait of the 126 priest-chaplains who served during the Civil War and reflects on the importance of religion and faith in nineteenth-century America. As a culture of death and horror raged around them, Catholic priest-chaplains met the needs of soldiers and officers alike, providing years of faithful and dedicated service in hospitals, prisons, battlefields, and camps.Whether ministering to Union or Confederate soldiers (or both), in eastern or western theaters, in battle or camp, these priests risked their lives to bring faith and hope to one of the darkest and most devastating periods of American history.

Women in the Orthodox Tradition brings feminist insights into dialogue with Orthodox Christianity to theologically identify and respond to challenges of gender equality. Orthodox Christianity places great importance upon tradition, from doctrinal formulas and sainted teachings to festal commemorations and a hymnic liturgy. But what does this mean for women who are often missing, misrepresented, or outnumbered in the androcentric historical tradition? Women in the Orthodox Tradition engages with feminist insights to argue that ignoring this bias in Christian tradition is theologically problematic for Orthodox faith. By critically examining the spiritual values that shape Orthodoxy, the commemorations of women saints within it, and liturgical and doctrinal expressions that shape it, author Ashley Marie Purpura makes the case that it is theologically necessary to unsay the patriarchal limits of tradition and seek a more inclusive interpretation instead. In acknowledging the messy entanglement between tradition, theology, and historical patriarchal values, Women in the Orthodox Tradition advocates for women's voices, contributions, and diverse humanity within the church.