Overview

James Schall, the well known author and professor at Georgetown University, inquires about the differing orders found in the cosmos, the human mind, the city, the human corpus and seeks to reflect on the unity of these orders. In a world in which the presence of mind 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 area after area that is open to the human mind, we find a persistent order revealed. At first sight, this recurrence can be explained by chance occurrence, but after a point, the sense that behind things outside of our theories thee is, in fact, an order. This order can be traced in the various areas that are open to the human mind. Two wonderments follow from such considerations. First, order does appear at the various levels that are experienced in every day life. Second, the various particular orders seem to be witness to a common good in which each has some reasonable place. Aquinas had said that the order within the cosmos pointed to an order outside of is, 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 only a jejune relationship of one thing to another, but a hint that the universe is created in a certain abundance. Why is the universe and the things within it not only ordered but, within the order and above it, a beautiful order? It would be sufficient for its function, Samuel Johnson said, if the peacocks tail were an un-splendid brown or black, but in fact it is an amazing display of beauty that is wholly unnecessary, yet somehow fitting for its purpose.Not only is there an order in things but the human mind seems attuned to this order as something it delights in discovering. This relationship implies that

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9781586171971

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Reviews

""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

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

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

Author Information

James V. Schall, S.J., was a Professor of Political Philosophy from 1977 to 2012 at Georgetown University, where he received his Ph.D. in Political Th eory in 1960. Three times he was granted the Award for Faculty Excellence by the senior class at Georgetown's College of Arts and Sciences. He wrote hundreds of essays and columns and more than thirty books, including On Islam, The Order of Things, and Another Sort of Learning from Ignatius Press.

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