A Moral Enterprise: Essays in Honor of Francis Canavan [Hardcover]

Kenneth L. Grasso (Editor), Robert P. Hunt (Editor), Francis Canavan (Editor)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 401 pages
• Publisher: Isi Books (February 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1882926803
• ISBN-13: 978-1882926800
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,701,076 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Collection of Political Philosophy, June 24, 2004

By 

Michael Coulter (Grove City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Moral Enterprise: Essays in Honor of Francis Canavan (Hardcover)

This festshrift for Father Francis Canavan is an excellent book filled with substantive essays and, as such, is a deserving honor to Father Canavan, a political philosopher who inspired, informed and encouraged many students at Fordham University as well as those who read his carefully reasoned books and articles.
Festschrifts should not be encomiums or even biographies; however, in such collections it is appropriate to speak about the life and work of the honoree, and it is natural for a reader of such a work to want to learn more about the honoree. The introduction by the editors, Kenneth L. Grasso and Robert P. Hunt, briefly describes Canavan's life and work, his academic degrees, his position as an editor at America Magazine in the early 1960s and his academic career that included over 20 years of teaching at Fordham University.
The introduction describes some of Canavan's major works and comments on the themes of those books and other writings. Grasso and Hunt argue that "for more than thirty years, Canavan argued - perhaps more cogently than John Courtney Murray himself - for a different view of the relationship between Catholicism and liberalism." According to Grasso and Hunt, Canavan rejected both secular liberalism and a narrow sectarian pre-Vatican II approach to politics; instead he argued for the legitimacy of what "George Weigel has called `the Catholic human rights revolution' and its defense of constitutional democracy and religious freedom."

Some of the chapters comment on essays or books by Father Canavan. These discussions demonstrate that Father Canavan has certainly contributed to our understanding of liberalism, Catholic social teaching, and the political philosophy of Edmund Burke. This collection also includes an essay by fellow Jesuit and political philosopher, James V. Schall, wherein Father Schall considers the wit and wisdom of Father Canavan as presented in his many book reviews. There is also an excellent appendix to the book, which has a year-by-year list of books, articles and reviews written by Father Canavan. It shows the breadth and quantity of Father Canavan's work.
The book itself has seventeen essays that can roughly be divided into three main areas: Edmund Burke, Catholic social teaching, and liberalism. These subjects were the primary concerns of Father Canavan's intellectual work. The book begins with a few essays on Edmund Burke. Three established Burke scholars offer essays on the famed critic of the French revolution. Peter Stanlis, long-time editor of publications devoted to Burke and author of two books on Burke, characterizes Burke as employing morality and prudence when arguing on behalf of American independence. F. P. Lock, the author of a significant scholarly biography of Burke, persuasively argues that Burke's political philosophy has an important place for human rights. Lock notes that those who simplify Burke and fail to read him carefully ignore his complete account of rights. Drawing in part on the work of Father Canavan, Joseph Pappin III, current president of the Edmund Burke Society of America, argues for the importance of Christianity in the political philosophy of Burke.
There follows several essays that consider the relationship between Catholicism and politics. Gerald McCool examines the evolution of Catholic social teaching from the time of pre-modern politics to the development of social teaching beginning with Leo XIII to the contribution of John Paul II. Keith Pavlischek writes a provocative essay examining potential difficulties in the natural law theory developed in the work of Robert P. George, John Finnis, and Germain Grisez because those thinkers present religion - any religion - as a general good when defending separation of church and state. Robert Hunt's essay demonstrates how Catholic social teaching properly understood presents an understanding of the separation of church and state that is distinct from liberal neutrality.
A third group of essays in the book considers the meaning and practice of liberalism. Father Canavan wrote much about liberalism, both regarding its theoretical understanding and political life in a liberal state. There is a fine essay by Duke political theorist Thomas Spragens, author of Civic Liberalism, examining the role of church and state in the works of John Locke and Alexis de Tocqueville. There is also an essay of more practical concern - and certainly timely - by Gerard Bradley of the Notre Dame Law School on the relation between political liberalism and marriage policy.
There are some essays which don't fit directly into on of these three categories. For example, there is a very fine essay on the meaning of authority within politics as well as an excellent essay by Germane Paulo Walsh on the relationship between theoretical and practical reason in Aristotle.
For students of political philosophy, the book is certainly worth obtaining, and it should certainly would merit being placed in college libraries. Grasso, Hunt and all the contributors have provided a fine work that adds to our understanding - and one that is a fitting honor to Father Canavan.