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Means to Message: A Treatise on Truth

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This book contains fourteen chapters, each of which deals with a specific philosophical theme such as science, free will, purpose, and God. Stanley Jaki writes from the Thomistic/Aristotelean perspective. To him, philosophy is not idle speculation, or "talk about talk," but is "about something and inevitably also about the thing too that delivered something (message) to philosophers and lesser mortals." [p. 5.]

The central problem with this work (like some other works by the author) is its incredibly dense nature. Almost every topic is introduced by what someone else said, and it's hard to decipher exactly what Jaki's position is. For example, the chapter entitled "Universe" contains fourteen pages. In it Jaki mentions Whitehead, Plato, Socrates, Chesterton, W. James, Spencer, Wells, Locke, Hume, Descartes, Kant, Herschel, Cassirer, Dewey, Sagan, Riemann, Zollner, Schwarzschild, Einstein, De Sitter, R. L. Stevenson, Newton, Bentley, Euclid, Clifford, Boscovich, Godel, M. Fuller, J. H. Newman, Carlyle, Hegel, Laplace, Poincare, in addition to some others mentioned in the footnotes. [pp. 139-52.] Yet hidden in this chapter is an enjoyable discussion of central questions that many of us haven't thought of: how can scientists and cosmologists contend that the universe is everything? How can scientists go outside the universe and make judgments about it, including that it is infinite?

This book will reward the reader who is willing to spend a little extra time.

As with most of Fr. Jaki's works, one must be ready for an in depth reading. But, the reward is certainly worth it. The book is a tour de force of metaphysical and epistemological realism against the skepticism that often results from thinking that science is the only valid form of knowledge. The "means" are the objects of reality to which act upon the knowing mind which receives and forms the "message" since reality and the cosmos as whole are rational, that is can be known. Fr. Jaki shows that even science itself must begin with objects that exist apart from our minds otherwise science and philosophy becomes just "talk about talk" thereby confusing both means and message. When the means and message are confused, the human mind alone becomes the sole arbiter of reality plunging humanity into all sorts of metaphysical and epistemological problems.
After showing the reality of objects and arguing for their metaphysical clarity as real things that can be expressed in metaphysical language, he goes onto demonstrate the "reality" of free will, change, purpose, God, causality and mind, etc. against the rational and idealistic philosophies from Descartes and Kant to the present day. Without these realities, science itself would not be possible. The book is highly recommended for those seeking a proper orientation to "seeing" reality from an objective perspective and correcting the myopia caused by the subjective turn of Enlightenment philosophies.

Father Stanley Jaki (1924-2009), O.S.B., was a dedicated Benedictine Catholic priest and one of the foremost physicists of the 20th. and early 21st. centuries. He solved a problem posed by Einstein (1879-1955) which had not been solved for 80 years. Father Jaki wrote several books re Catholicism, physics, mathematics, etc. Yet, contrary to prevailing shallow labels, Jaki was a brillinat scientist and a deeply religious man. His book titled MEANS TO MESSAGE:A TREATISE ON TRUTH may help explain science and religion plus Father Jaki's intelligence and religious convictions.

Father Jaki began this book with comments about the bona fide quest for truth and wisdom vs. useless "talk about talk." Father Jaki critisized contemporary philosophy as avoding reality and the physical world by futile attempts to deny physical reality in favor of vague abuse of language and "thought." Father Jake had choice expressions for some contemporary philosphers who communicate and praise each other while avoiding honest discourse and debate with critics. Father Jaki compared them to fighters who boast of their prowess while refusing to accept any bona fide challenge. Father Jaki also chided many contemporary philoslphers for their ignorance of history.

Father Jaki made an interesting observation in that many philosophers want mathematical equations and philosphy to correspond with their idealism rather than develop concepts from careful study. Jaki was also clear that contemporary opinion, mathematics, science, literature, theology, etc. are rooted in philosophy. In other words, the notion that philosphy no longer has meaning is undermined by the fact that philosophy is the root of knowledge and wisdom. All learning reflects philosophy. Father Jaki knew extentialist thought and had an interesting comment about Heidegger (1889-1976)whom Jaki stated suggested much but proved little.

Father Jaki was obviously knowledgable about mathematics. He was clear that mathematics is a useful tool for discovery. However, Jake made a good point that mathematical equations and scientific formulas must be explained in language. Using Godel (1906-1978)as an example, Jaki said that there is an incompleteness to mathematics. Metaphysical concepts such as love, truth, good, evil, etc. CANNOT be assigned numbers and measured by equations. Metaphysical concepts can be compared to some ideal but never exactly measured of which Aristotle (384-322 BC)agreed. Father Jaki argued that science and mathematics should never be revered at the expense of ideals and values. As Jaki noted, Albert Einstein was a brilliant physicist who could be very philosophical. Father Jaki liked symmetry and cited Faraday's (1791-1867)work in electomagnetic physics as an example of symmetry.

Father Jaki focused on clarity and free will. Jaki critisized Voltaire (1694-1778)who thought men should not take pride in their God given freedom. As Jaki noted, thinking is an act of free will, and the refusal to think is also a choice of free will. Jaki showed the inherent contradiction of modern philosophers who claim life has no purpose while purposefully writing books that claim there is no purpose to life. Men make purposeful tools for some useful purpose. An interesting anecdote that Jaki noted is that men make tools and do "neutral actions" which may have unintended destructive consequences. What is neglected is that currently too many men do not know and do not want to know the connection between cause and effect and acts and consequences.

Father Jaki wrote an interesing section on change- planned or unintended. Some change is unexplained but can be understood. Jaki also noted that books and concepts can be distorted such as Darwin's (1809-1881) work and the concept of Social Darwinism. Jaki wrote that Darwin did his work as science and not as philosphy. Father Jaki critisized the empiricists for being too narrow and not realizing that the cosmos and wisdom are much more than the empiricits's narrow view of reality. Father Jaki agreed with Plato that philosphy should be expanded to a quest for truth and wisdom and not "lgic chopping."

Father Jaki write an interesting section on the comcept and the reality of God. He critisized modern Christian theologicans (Catholic and Protestant) for their loss of nerve and forgetting what inspired them in the first place. Jaki listed some fameous Catholics who were imminent intellectuals such as Origen (185-254 AD), St. Augustine (354-430), John Henry Newman (1801-1891), Jacques Maritain (1882-1973), etc. who were intellectually prominent and showed high moral qualities and purpose.

Father Jaki's views re miracles needs careful attention. Jaki scorned bible waving televangeliss as simply hand waving hucksters. He also condemned the notion that miracles are for entertainment when they are supposed to teach moral concepts. He made an interesting comment that the Early Church's survival in spite of ferocious persection was a miracle.

The last sections of the book were thoughtful. Father Jaki in effect stated that God is an a priori reality and not just a custom or false piety. Jaki viewed history as a study of hope vs. conflict and warned that men should not be too optimistic. He condemned the notion that God was the opiate of the masses when God and religion are often the only hope for the distressed and poor who can have meaning in their lives.

The conclusion of the book was amusing and interesting. Father Jaki critisized the search for extraterrestials when we do not even understand the cosmos or even ourselves. Jaki wrote that we must learn about wisdom, truth and our true selves rather than waste money and resources on futile searches. This book is complex and takes careful reading and thought. The undersigned may have understated the thesis of the book and welcomes any constructive comments.

James E. Egolf
September 5, 2010

What a wonderful book. The first two reviews capture the essence of the work. Fr. Jaki is simply brilliant and quite a tonic against the blind confusion that usually accompanies anyone's attempts to discover ultimate answers to the big questions. What is truth? Is it just a matter of subjective experience? No. What of mind? Just chemical reactions of the organism fooling us? No. What of cause? Is the modern notion of quantum "weirdness" necessary, or maybe just a little weird, a failure to draw critical distinctons between uncertainty in measurement and uncertainty in reality? And what of God? Is such a belief unreasonable, or is God the reason that there is reasoning?

Father Jaki, physicist and historian of science, famous for having awakened the world comunity of physicists to the implications of Godel's incompleteness theorem for people hoping that mere math can answer the ultimate questions, has written a book of wondrous insight and affirmation of both the possibility of objective knowledge and of treating cogently the most fundamental dimensions and questions of life. I will be re-reading this book for years and years. It's brilliant...and highly engaging.