Customer Reviews

Healing the Culture: A Commonsense Philosophy of Happiness, Freedom, and the Life Issues

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

With the keen eye of a philosopher Father Robert Spitzer slices to the heart of our culture and proposes a renewal based on a foundational understanding of what it means to be a person. He identifies the sources of human happiness as having four levels ~ all good, so long as they are not distorted in their importance. Spitzer claims that the happiness we find in our relationships, for example, is superior to the happiness we find in a tasty dinner or in achieving a promotion. Building on this notion of personhood, Spitzer examines the concepts of rights, the Common Good, and other cultural categories and then turns to examining specific social problems like abortion and euthanasia. He shows how in a culture that over-values individual choices, we have come to undervalue the human person. And best of all he shows us how to build a society that is true to the best of who we are. Most highly recommended.

I have been quoting the book since I opened it.
There is help for the religious, non-religious, or even anti-religious reader who would like to find a higher level of happiness in his life. There is no preaching. You will not feel as though the author is trying to convert or convince you of anything. He is explaining and teaching.
Who doesn't want to understand their world and be happier at the same time?
It is easy to understand, complete as far as I can tell, and compelling. There are no greek letters, polysyllabic-for-effect words, and yet you don't feel as though you are reading "Ethics for dummies." But, you will be educated and uplifted.
The introduction tells us how we ended up discussing abortion and euthanasia as a legal option in the first place. He does not use a "slippery slope" analogy, but describes the process that has made some women feel that society expects them to have an abortion.
The first chapter is a crash course in logic and basic ethics, with explanations that have stuck in my mind as both familiar and novel ways of saying what I have been reading in other much more difficult to read books.
And it just gets better from there.

Extremely well written and easy to read. Very enjoyable but with sufficient depth to challange any serious thinker. A well thought out elaboration of the philosophy that lies behind legitimate constitutional government and a pro-life (in the broadest sense of the word) culture.

This book is exactly what I would like have written if I had the knowledge, understanding and talent to pull it off.

It presents the concepts and explanations that prove that the pro-choice and euthanasia movements are essentially anti-liberty, anti-freedom and the ultimate source of much that is wrong with our culture today.

This is an easy to read, enlightening book dealing with the root causes of our cultural attitudes. Refreshing, well thought out arguments that educate the reader and inspire all of us to be more thoughtful and caring in our decisions. Ignore the negative review--he misses the point.

Fr. Spitzer uses ancient wisdom of the Greek Philosophers to remind contemporary society what happiness is truly about. Our society has become increasingly shallow and selfish. Please, read this book!

Without a shared philosophy, Father Spitzer knows, debates about the controversial life issues can degenerate into point-counterpoint donnybrooks. So the bulk of Healing the Culture is a prolegomenon to the pro-life position, an extended presentation of the classical Christian argument that human happiness cannot be limited to merely material or pragmatic concerns.

That such a philosophy seems counter-cultural does suggest the need for healing, and the author's case for unselfish ethics is well-organized and compelling. Particularly strong are his discussions of how true freedom requires moral goodness, how democracy ultimately derives from inalienable rights (not simple majority rule), and the futility of fully defining personhood by merely sociological categories.

All in all, Healing the Culture is a good introduction to the good life. But one wonders if philosophy alone can heal the divisions behind the current culture wars? Changing people's convictions about issues as personal as abortion and euthanasia may require more than rational argument.

This book represents philosophical personalism at its best. It makes you reflect on what it means to be a person. Following a basic maxim of Greek philosophical wisdom, "Operation follows existence," the author develops an objective definition of personhood. From there, he takes you to the next step: If you are a person what does it really mean to be happy? He proposes four levels of happiness: 1) Happiness 1, that which comes from an external stimulus. It interacts with one or more of the five senses, but does not last very long. 2) Happiness 2, that which comes from ego-gratification. This kind of happiness comes whenever one can shift the locus of control to oneself. Hence, winning, gaining power or control, or gaining popularity causes happiness. 3) Happiness 3, that which comes when we want to make a difference with our lives, our time, our energy and our talent, because we also desire love, truth, goodness, beauty and being. 4) Happiness 4, that which comes from an awareness of a seemingly unconditional horizon surrounding human curiosity, creativity, spirit and achievement. In the context of faith, this desire for unconditional, perfect, ultimate, and even unrestricted Love, Goodness, Truth, Beauty and Being, might be called a desire for God. Although all the levels of happiness have some good in them, levels 3 and 4 are absolutely necessary for a person to become fully human. Furthermore, the level of happiness that you adopt as a goal in life will determine your concept of success, self-worth, love, suffering, ethics, freedom, person, rights and the common good. Last but not least, Spitzer challenges you to confront in a compassionate but thoughtful way two of the most controversial issues of our culture: abortion and euthanasia.
In conclusion, if you agree with Socrates that the unexamined life is not worth living, you will find this book an excellent, thorough and powerful invitation to examine yourself in order for you to lead a good and happy life. It is true: philosophy might not be enough, but it is certainly a great beginning.

Father Spitzer is a very brilliant priest. His skills are enhanced by the fact that his material is readable, practical and thoroughly researched by the highest theological, moral and philosophical standards. His work (and there are others) reflect the excellence of all, without exception of the quality of programmingof EWTN.

Although somewhat academic in style, this book is important for those wishing to explore the keys to being in the state of happiness. The author describes happiness in terms of four levels, with Level 3/4 being the ultimate goal. Along the way, he explains the difference between extrinsic and intrinsic rights and how the issues of abortion and euthanasia fit in.

An important book to read for those in the pro-life movement or on the fence, or those wishing to explore the philosophy of happiness further.

An ultramontanist friend gave me a copy of this to read, apparently in the hope that it would quell all the questions I have about the Magisterium's long, dreadful retreat from Vatican II.

It didn't. Frankly, I find it almost impossible to read.

I agree wholeheartedly with the reviewer who says the book shows a clear disconnect with reality.

A much better book, in my opinion, is Philip S. Kaufman's "Why You Can Disagree--And Remain a Faithful Catholic".