In adjudicating between two opposite errors of political (and thus anthropological) philosophy, Jacque Maritain capitalizes on the distinction between our material individuality and our personhood. These are not, as he points out, two separate realities, but two aspects of one reality. By the fact of our materiality, we are individuals: needy, fragile, and insufficient of … Continue reading On Maritain’s Person and the Common Good
One of the challenges of a hylomorphic theory is articulating in what sense the soul is a spiritual substance. This is because the soul is the form of the body, even while every single body that exists has some form. A tree has a form. In fact, the form of a tree is also a soul. … Continue reading Spiritual Souls vs. Material Souls
Last week, I mentioned what will not be taken from us if we choose what is better: “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42). Here is how Thomas Aquinas puts it in his mediation on the relationship between the Contemplative and Active life: Sometimes a … Continue reading Thomas’s Take on Life Interrupted
One of the most charming moments of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Hobbit takes place at Beorn’s farm when Gandalf tells his host their tale. By twos and threes, the dwarves intrude, interrupting Gandalf’s narrative. In part, this is intended to soften the blow of fourteen unexpected visitors arriving all at once. Yet for a moment, one might wonder if … Continue reading Tolkien on How to Tell (Interrupt) a Story
Aristotle does not begin his treatise On the Soul by declaring that we are made in the image of God. Rather, he begins with the stunningly obvious observation that among all of the things which exist, we distinguish those which live from those which do not. Each of those things which live (plants, animals, and human beings) … Continue reading This is what we call a Soul
What did the florist say to the potter? Continue reading “Mr. Spun’s Truly Terrible Awful Jokes: #40”
Judges 16:23-31 “Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands,” said the Philistines. But Samson prayed and received the Spirit of God. He stretched forth his arms and allowed the Temple of Dagon to crush him, that he might bring down that house, so that the house of Israel might rise. Continue reading Samson and the Cross
