The Person and the Polis

The contribution of Christian intelligence to western culture is widely recognized by those committed to the scholarly pursuit of truth, concerned for the welfare of the nation, and dedicated to the preservation and advancement of the permanent achievements of the West. The dignity of the human person and the place of the human person in society, the western polis, have in large part been developed in the context of a Christian culture that continues to offer insights for the development of the human person. This book addresses the place of faith and values in the secular state. Renowned specialists in a wide range of disciplines - philosophy, jurisprudence, psychology, and theology - discuss how the person and the polis are guided by ethics and religion, and how liberty and transcendence interact in human aspirations. The contributors are Hadley Arkes, Romanus Cessario, Robert P. George, Michael Novak, Daniel N. Robinson, Kenneth Schmitz, and Paul C. Vitz. The authors enter into a constructive conversation in an attempt to attain a deeper understanding of the human person through the integration of insights from practical wisdom and Christian faith. The book advances the cause of the human person and society by synthesizing the genuine contributions of the human sciences with an openness to spiritual sources of understanding and practice. Such intelligent dialogues between the sciences, philosophy, and religion - about human dignity and beatitude, moral responsibility and values, law and custom, community and institutions - contribute potent means for nourishing the person and constructing the polis with the insights of reason strengthened by the surety of faith and Christian intelligence.