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Average Rating:  out of 7 Reviews
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Price: $16.95
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Sale: $9.99
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Manufacturer: Ignatius Press
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EAN (European Article Number): 9781586171971
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Number of Items: 1
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Binding: Paperback
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Author: Father James V. Schall
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Publisher: Ignatius Press
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Dewey Decimal Number: 282
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Publication Date: 2007-10-31
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Reading Level: 225
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Description: 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.
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Customer Reviews
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Review Summary: Ho hum, another 5 star review |
Date: 2008-12-17 |
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Details: This book is very easy read, one which requires almost no background knowledge. The author looks at "order" in various aspects of life and faith. Basically, the entire book can be thought of as an argument for God's existence based on order in the universe. Unlike some other books on design, this does not go heavy or deep into science at all. I particularly enjoyed his chapter on the order of hell. Just the title of the chapter (The Order of Hell) seems not quite right, but the author shows the reason for hell, it's importance, and it's order. He takes a bit of a different twist on it then what you've probably heard. It's thought provoking.
Now I can name three living Jesuits whose writing doesn't scream "dissenter." |
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Review Summary: Highly recommended |
Date: 2008-12-13 |
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Details: Schall has written some jems over the years, but I would have to say I found The Order of Things to be my favorite so far. If you have not delved into Catholic philosophy or theology before, you are in for a treat, though as an earlier review noted (and I concur) it is deep and requires some mental energy. What it can deliver is a reorientation of the mind to a perspective that is not commonplace today yet intellectually challenging and profoundly captivating once one acquires it. Order of Things delivers intellectual insight with a fresh manner that makes Order just plain fun to read. |
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Review Summary: really, though! |
Date: 2008-10-11 |
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Details: I thought the back-cover praises highly exaggerated. Then I read the book, and realized that it is quite impossible to write anything worse. |
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Review Summary: "A Book about. . .Well, Everything" |
Date: 2008-08-03 |
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Details: Father James V. Schall, Georgetown Professor and political theorist, has written a wonderful book. Tackling such topics as Divinity and the Godhead, the Cosmos, the human soul, and other topics, he presents his reflections and arguments in a simple, yet comprehensive and logical fashion. Yet, the genius of the book is not in the individual topics, but rather in the deft synthesis of ideas and concepts, in the intertwining, if you will, of these seemingly separate "orders" into a coherent whole.
The joy is in the reading. For an ostensibly dry subject, Father Schall manages to maintain a high level of reader interest throughout the 230+ pages. A well-formed index and selected bibliography provide the reader with additional source material should he or she wish to explore specific topics further. Without compromising intellectual integrity THE ORDER OF THINGS puts things simply and directly -- the hallmark of solid scholarship and human creativity. |
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Review Summary: A Veritable Smorgasbord of Unified Reflections on Order |
Date: 2008-03-01 |
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Details: Fr. Schall's text is quite a distillation of the central idea that there is an order to things and that this order is part of a unified whole when viewed from the foundational building blocks of the Godhead. I picked this text up because it seemed to providentially be placed in my path in several different locations in my local bookstore which I had visited only with the desire to find books to later purchase online more cheaply. I am glad that I picked this book up immediately.
Although it is merely 234 pages, "The Order of Things" is a dense, but approachable, read which takes on a panoply of considerations in order to see the overall direction of the Creator, His cosmos, and the parts therein (particularly man). It is difficult to lay out the fullness of Schall's presentation in a short review since he pulls from many philosophical, theological, and cultural sources to address and consider a great variety of topics related to order. However, in short, it can be said to be an arrow which strikes the heart, having passed through the Godhead into the world and then into humanity. Schall's considerations are centered on that order which is the dynamic ordering of love in the Trinity, even if that is only implicit in much of the text. His exposition of order (and its contrast to disorder) is not one of a static nature but one which draws its unity from the initial consideration of the Triune God.
This is a book that one can revisit many times (and I intend to do such over time). I highly recommend it as a veritable smorgasbord which touches the depths of the soul. |
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