Philosophy Begins in Wonder

by Stephen D. Schwarz with Kiki Latimer

TESTIMONIALS

“This is a unique mastery weave of both theological and practical skills in the delivery of  authentic homilies.” – Fr. Dominic Anaeto, Professor of Pastoral Studies and Homiletics, and author of Human Sexuality: Precious Gift and Perilous Challenge with Particular Reference to the Sexual Abuse Scandal in the Church

“Phenomenology has the reputation of being esoteric, boring, vague, and indecisive. This book refutes that canard in spades.  It is commonsensical, captivating, crisply clear, and compellingly convincing. And it covers pretty much the whole range of philosophical questions.” – Dr. Peter Kreeft, Professor of Philosophy, Boston College, Boston, MA

“Do you want to ‘get to the bottom’ of the meaning of life and big issues about reality? Here’s your chance. In this book, you will see displayed not only reasons for doubt about perennial truths but also life-changing insights.” – Ronda Chervin, Professor Emerita of Philosophy, Holy Apostles College & Seminar, Cromwell, CT

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephen D. Schwarz, Philosophy Professor emeritus, Ph.D. Harvard, author, and student of Dietrich von Hildebrand, taught philosophy forty-four years at the University of Rhode Island. His belief that the true spirit of a philosopher is that of wonder was the foundation on which he taught thousands of students in the classroom. Now in Philosophy Begins in Wonder, he brings together, in an easily accessible, wonder-filled compilation, his teachings in Metaphysics, Philosophy of the Person, Epistemology, and Ethics, including Virtue Ethics.

Kiki Latimer, author, public speaking coach, editor, and teacher of Homiletics, received her BA from the University of Rhode Island in the Oral Interpretation of Literature, Psychology, and Philosophy and her MA in Moral Theology from Holy Apostles College & Seminary.  Student and life-long friend of Stephen D. Schwarz, she has accompanied him in transforming his classroom teaching experience to the written pages of Philosophy Begins in Wonder.

OTHER CATHOLIC PHILOSOPHY BOOKS

The Gender Link to the Human Soul

by Kimberly Bruce

TESTIMONIALS

“Kimberly Bruce has done an important service bringing ancient and modern wisdom to bear on our contemporary confusion around gender. Modern proposals (and demands!) that gender is a subjective experience, coincidental at best to the person have reached the highest levels of our society and culture. Bruce makes the case that gender is not only biological, but theological, and essential to the Creation, Fall, and Redemption of the human person made male and female. Sex and gender exist with meaning and purpose well before any conscious phenomenology of them. Sex and gender will continue to exist with their eternal meaning and purpose in Heaven. There are few more urgent and important issues today where Christians need the light of God’s wisdom than on gender. A prayerful reading of this book will bring light to both the mind and heart.” – Damon Owens, Theology of the Body Teacher, Evangelist

“In unassailable contrast to the cloudy spirit of our age, Kimberly Bruce produces a sharp and clear examination of gender and the identity of each unique human person. She synthesizes science and theology to show that gender is real and everlasting, not something that is fluid and imaginary. This is a significant work for our time, one that is the manifestation of dogma lighting the path that can guide humanity forward in true progress.” – Stacy Trasancos, PhD, Executive Director of the St. Philip Institute for Catechesis and Evangelization

“In this brief study Kimberly Bruce has compiled a comprehensive account of the biological, psychological, sociological, Scriptural and Magisterial sources on the abiding reality of embodied personhood, drawing particularly on the living mysteries of the Son of God, Jesus Christ and His Mother Mary; and, as such, leads to the possibility of enriching a growing body of reflection and stimulating further work on the significance of being a male-person or a female-person. The eternally enduring nature of being male and female raises the following, blazing questions: What is the everlasting significance of being male and female? What is the resplendent revelation of the person-gift-sign of being either a man or a woman which awaits us in heaven? In what way will the mystery of the Blessed Trinity brilliantly illuminate the fact that man and woman are made in the image and likeness of God?” – Francis Etheredge is married with eleven children, three of whom are in heaven, his latest book is Mary and Bioethics: An Exploration

“Kimberly Bruce has written a must-read introduction to the body-soul composite. In six chapters, she addresses important gender issues, such as gender identity, that are being discussed in our modern culture. Using biology, theology, and common sense, she explains the proper interpretation of these issues. She immediately, on the first page of the book, writes: “Identifying gender as being an everlasting attribute of one’s eternal soul distinguishes gender as being fundamental and intrinsic to the human person – a quality that is retained – not shed, ‘done away with’ nor morphed into its opposite in the life to come.” That is, once we are conceived, we live forever, as male or female. Kimberly uses the example of Christ in the third chapter. The divine Person who became incarnate as a male, lived his life as a male, died as a male, and in the Resurrection, we see that he is still a male. That is true of the Ascension too. So too in the fifth chapter when she addresses Mary, the Mother of God, who was born a female, and the Church teaches, is now the Queen of Heaven. Chapter 4 was my personal favorite, because Kimberly talks about male and female in communion, and what happens to that relationship after the Fall. The consequences are serious, but yet there is hope for mankind. This is the subject matter of much of St John Paul II’s theology of the body. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in gender issues, in the fact that we remain male and female into the next life, or in the Theology of the Body.” – Cynthia Toolin-Wilson, Ph.D., S.T.L., author of Survivor: A Memoir of Forgiveness

“This short book goes a long way toward an original yet orthodox exploration of the role of gender in Catholic theology. Especially enlightening are the chapters that relate the holy gift of gender to Christ’s glorified body, Mary’s Assumption, and mankind’s Fall. Readers will leave with a renewed appreciation for the mystery of human gender and its complementarity in God’s divine plan. I highly recommend that readers think deeply about this book and its lessons.” – Christopher M. Reilly, MA, MPIA

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kimberly Bruce is an author, writer, and blogger. She has a master’s degree in Theology with additional leadership training from the Women of Grace Benedicta Institute for Women. Kim has been instrumental in leading Life Teen, Women of Grace, and other catechetical programs in her diocese. She is author of the book, Look at the SON: The Fruit of Medjugorje, and her blog, “Tips for Daily Holiness,” helps Catholics in their everyday pursuit of holiness.

OTHER CATHOLIC PHILOSOPHY BOOKS

How to Listen & How to Speak: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants to Renew Commonsense and Uncommonsense Wisdom in the Contemporary World

by Dr. Peter Redpath

While the subject of this monograph is chiefly human communication in the form of listening and speaking, it examines this subject as a chief means to enable contemporary readers to come into contact with common and uncommon commonsense wisdom of past intellectual giants. It does so for the chief goal of fostering world peace by enabling readers to enrich their own lives and that of others by acquiring some of this wisdom and putting it to use on a daily basis.

Paperback: $24.95 | Kindle: $9.99

Words, Concepts, Reality: Aristotelian Logic for Teenagers

By Thaddeus Kozinski, Ph.D.

When we hear the word logic, we tend to think of arguments, premises and conclusions, claims and evidence for claims. But this is only half of it. Arguments are made of words, and words are symbols or signs of concepts, the building blocks of human thought. The study of the concept, the most fundamental aspect of logic, was once an essential part of liberal education, and to aid in its recovery is the goal of this book. This is a must-have for any introductory logic course.

Paperback $14.95 | Kindle $9.99

TESTIMONIALS

“There are two kinds of logic:  mathematical logic, for computers, to deal with abstractions, and ordinary language logic, for human beings, to deal with things in the real world.  Neglect of the second kind of logic is one of the main reasons why students today can’t read or think as well as previous generations.  This logic text is a fine beginning to reverse that decline.  It’s also an excellent introduction to common-sense philosophy.” — Dr. Peter Kreeft, professor of philosophy at Boston College and The King’s College, and author of Socratic Logic: A Logic Text using Socratic Method, Platonic Questions, and Aristotelian Principles, Edition 3.1

“In an age in which truth has lost its natural and compelling self-evidence, we have to go back to the “first things” in our programs of education.  Thaddeus Kozinski helps meet this need with the present book, which offers something much rarer than it ought to be: a logic textbook designed for young minds, and indeed one that understands that the purpose of logic is not just to make formally valid arguments, but to articulate what is.  Highly recommended!” — Dr. David C. Schindler, Professor of Metaphysics and Anthropology, Pontifical John Paul II Institute

“While aimed at teenagers, this introduction to Aristotelian logic as it concerns the grasp and formation of concepts will be of benefit to many others, whether already learned in Aristotle or not. Its straightforward and uncomplicated presentation gives ready insight into a form of logic that, despite or perhaps because of its lack of modern ‘algebraisized’ sophistication, is more immediately intuitive and useful. Its direct, simple, and assertoric style of presentation, its clever use of examples from elementary grammar, its avoidance of philosophical polemic, as well as its use of dialog boxes, simple questions and exercises, make it eminently suited to its purpose. The mastery of the elements of Aristotelian logic is of great value in and of itself independently of its relation to other and more modern ways of teaching logic, especially as these other ways do little to promote appreciation of and mastery in the art of concept formation. This book will do much to make up for such deficiency, and at an age when direct, assertoric presentation, without distraction into controversy and alternatives, is both more suitable and more useful.” — Dr. Peter Simpson, Professor of Philosophy and Classics at the City University of New York Graduate Center

“In a comment crazed culture that forms instantaneous judgements and opinions based on slogans, memes, headlines, sound bites, and emotion, the paucity of our society’s logical skill has never been more evident. The need for a solid education in how to reason well has become all the more urgent, and Kozinski’s book starts right where it needs to: the very foundation of logical thought. Words, Concepts, Reality is an accessible and timely work for assisting young minds, and older minds that are still young in ability, become well-ordered and efficient in fulfilling their purpose: truth.” — Matt D’Antuono, physics teacher and author of A Fool’s Errand: A Brief, Informal Introduction to Philosophy for Young Catholics and other works

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Thaddeus Kozinski taught philosophy and humanities for ten years at Wyoming Catholic College, where he also served as Academic Dean. He is an advocate of Catholic liberal education and the Socratic method of teaching, and has authored a number of articles and books, including The Political Problem of Religious Pluralism: And Why Philosophers Cannot Solve It and Modernity as Apocalypse: Sacred Nihilism and the Counterfeits of Logos. He developed and taught a course on Reason in the Theology of St. Thomas at Holy Apostles College & Seminary in Cromwell, CT. At present, he teaches philosophy for Memoria College and John Adams Academy. He is the author of Modernity as Apocalypse: Sacred Nihilism and the Counterfeits of Logos (Angelico Press) and Words, Concepts, Reality: Aristotelian Logic for Teenagers (En Route).

OTHER CATHOLIC PHILOSOPHY BOOKS

The Right Way to Live: Plato’s Republic for Catholic Students

by Richard Geraghty

TESTIMONIALS

“Does it matter if a virtue is a means or an end? Geraghty masterfully shows how Plato’s Republic framed the answer to that question two and a half millennia ago in a way that still makes sense for us in today’s modern world.” – Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, co-author with Ronda Chervin of Catholic Realism: A Framework for the Refutation of Atheism and the Evangelization of Atheists

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

As a professor of philosophy for many decades, Richard Geraghty has been rated the most popular of teachers because of his gift not only for simplifying difficult concepts, but also for expounding them with brilliance and humor.

Until his death in 2017, Richard served as a professor of philosophy at St. Joseph’s House of Studies, the college-level facility of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word at EWTN.

Over the course of his career, Richard taught philosophy at the University of Dayton, Providence College, St. John’s College Seminary, and Holy Apostles College & Seminary.

OTHER CATHOLIC PHILOSOPHY BOOKS

Soulful Organizational Leadership

by Arthur William McVey

TESTIMONIALS

“Similar to all Western organizations today, all the institutions within the Catholic Church are suffering from a leadership deficit. Most often, like their secular counterparts, when confronted by the problem of leadership training within the organizational Church, Church leaders get their philosophy and psychology of organizational leadership from secular “philosophers” and “psychologists” whose understanding of the human person is one that denies the reality of the human soul and is, therefore, soul-less. Hence, when attempts are made to apply them to reality, these principles tend to generate anarchy. As an alternative to this, Catholic philosopher Bill McVey provides readers with

 

• an in-depth understanding of Thomistic faculty psychology of the human soul, in which human habits and intellectual and moral virtues (principles of leadership excellence) are situated and develop, and
• the means of concrete leadership examples and case studies, and how to apply these within the context of for-profit and non-profit organizations.

Thomistic organizational psychology is an organizational metaphysics that explains Thomistic metaphysics, moral psychology, and faculty psychology in a way that not only fills in the gaps in the teachings of contemporary great organizational, seminal scholars like Chester Bernard, W. Edwards Deming and Peter Drucker, but transcends them!” – Dr. Peter Redpath, author of The Moral Psychology of St. Thomas Aquinas and A Not-So-Elementary Christian Metaphysics, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2.

“McVey’s application of organizational metaphysics and behavioral psychology in such a practical manner has been a game changer for me in my rethinking my work in both educational technology leadership, a field in which I’ve developed many courses for the benefit of teacher preparation programs, and priestly and lay ministerial leadership, a field I’ve helped frame through my contributions to standards revision and assessment processes. If I can see these applications in my two fields, then I can surmise the absolute value McVey’s soulful organizational leadership may have on all fields.” – Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, author of Among the Marvelous Things: The Media of Social Communications and the Next Generation of Pastoral Ministers

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Arthur William McVey graduated from St. Paul’s College, University of Ottawa, Canada, with a Bachelor of Scholastic Philosophy and Theology. He completed his MA in Religion and Culture, focusing particularly on the subject matter of social behavior, symbolic interactionism, and secular rituals, at the school of Religion and Culture at Wilfrid Lauier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. After graduation, McVey left Canada, and moved to the USA. After a major spiritual experience, he returned to Christ and became an Episcopal priest. Over time, he began a study of Charles Sanders Peirce that guided him back to a serious study of Thomas Aquinas. Eventually, he became more and more dedicated to Thomistic philosophy and theology, being especially motivated by the scholarship of Peter Redpath and deciding to do a Ph.D. in Aristotelian-Thomistic philosophical psychology at Abat Oliba University in Barcelona, Spain. McVey did his doctoral research and dissertation on organizational leadership and the nature of Aristotelian-Thomistic Behavioral Organizational Psychology. After he received his Ph.D., McVey answered the call to revert back to Rome, the Church of his birth.

OTHER CATHOLIC PHILOSOPHY BOOKS