The Order of Things (Paperback)

~ Father James V. Schall (Author)
Key Phrases: first mover, disordered regimes, best regime, New York, Ignatius Press, San Francisco (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"After reading James V. Schall's The Order of Things, I have been sorely tempted to give up teaching and simply tell my students to read Schall. This little work is a virtual ratio studiorum of higher education in the finest sense. Its wisdom towers over the current intellectual scene with a common sense sanity that is intoxicating. It is Schall at his best." -- -- Peter A. Redpath, Professor of Philosophy, St. John's University

"Father James V. Schall is one of the few renaissance men still among us. His knowledge of various areas of reality and human endeavor is encyclopedic. Dealing with important abstract ideas, he is able to put flesh on them so that the ordinary reader can grasp easily what he is getting at. Schall is the apostle of truth and reality, since he is always reminding the reader to consult that which is." -- -- Kenneth Baker, S.J., Editor, Homiletic & Pastoral Review

"Here is a book about everything, the subject which just happens to be the most neglected in our narrow-minded, short-sighted world. Fr. Schall takes on heaven and hell and everything in between. And his clear-thinking sparkles in his clear-writing. A painless and praiseworthy way to sweep out any confusion and muddled ideas that may be lurking in your head." -- -- Dale Ahlquist, Author, Common Sense 101: Lessons from G .K. Chesterton

"After reading James V. Schall's The Order of Things, I have been sorely tempted to give up teaching and simply tell my students to read Schall. This little work is a virtual ratio studiorum of higher education in the finest sense. Its wisdom towers over the current intellectual scene with a common sense sanity that is intoxicating. It is Schall at his best." -- -- Peter A. Redpath, Professor of Philosophy, St. John's University<br /><br />"Father James V. Schall is one of the few renaissance men still among us. His knowledge of various areas of reality and human endeavor is encyclopedic. Dealing with important abstract ideas, he is able to put flesh on them so that the ordinary reader can grasp easily what he is getting at. Schall is the apostle of truth and reality, since he is always reminding the reader to consult that which is." -- -- Kenneth Baker, S.J., Editor, Homiletic & Pastoral Review<br /><br />"Here is a book about everything, the subject which just happens to be the most neglected in our narrow-minded, short-sighted world. Fr. Schall takes on heaven and hell and everything in between. And his clear-thinking sparkles in his clear-writing. A painless and praiseworthy way to sweep out any confusion and muddled ideas that may be lurking in your head." -- --Dale Ahlquist, Author, Common Sense 101: Lessons from G .K. Chesterton

Product Description

Father James Schall, the well-known author and professor of philosophy at Georgetown University, inquires about the various orders found in the cosmos, the human mind, the human body, the city, and he seeks to reflect upon the unity of these orders.

In a world in which the presence of reason and order are denied - presumably in the name of science - in favor of chance explanations of why things are as they are, it is surprising to find that, in the various realms open to the human intellect, we find a persistent order revealed. At first sight, it may seem that this reality can be explained by chance occurrence, but after a point, there is a growing sense that behind things there is, in fact, an order. This order can be traced in the many areas that are open to the human mind. As Aquinas has noted, the order within the cosmos points to an order outside of it, since the cosmos cannot be the cause of its own internal order.

Philosophers have long inquired about the curious fact that the order of things implies not a mere relationship of one thing to another, but a hint that the universe is created with a certain superabundance. Why is the universe, and the things within it, not only ordered but, ordered with a sense of beauty?

Not only is there an order in things, but also the human mind seems attuned to this order as something it delights in discovering. This relationship implies that there is some correspondence between mind and reality. What is the relationship between the mind and reality? The Order of Things explores this question. Relying on common sense and the experience available to everyone, Schall concludes that it requires more credulity to disbelieve in order than to experience it. Finally, Schall explores the fundamental cause of order, what it is like? Having looked at the order of the created universe, it is not surprising that the revelation of the Godhead is itself ordered in terms of an inner relationship of Persons.

Product Details

• Paperback: 225 pages
• Publisher: Ignatius Press (October 31, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586171976
• ISBN-13: 978-1586171971
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #87,598 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Challenging, thought provoking, and relevant, December 13, 2007

By	Nick Palmer (Needham, MA) - See all my reviews

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First, full disclosure: I have long been a fan of Reverend Schall.

This ambitious book, in under 250 pages, tackles many of the biggest questions surrounding our existence and our obligations. In a time of atheist chic, Rev. Schall takes a serious look at why things are the way they are. He weaves together many classic ideas from Plato to Aquinas to Tolkien and Lewis. And, his writing is accessible to someone without a philosophy degree, but merely a deep curiosity about existence and reality.

Counterintuitively, the author starts with the macro perspective -- The Orderly and Divine -rather than starting, like Lewis' "Mere Christianity" at the personal level. As his focus narrows, the higher-order ideas and lessons wrap neatly around the more personal.

An absolutely delightful read. The material is not easy, but is presented in clear and enjoyable prose. The greatest challenge, however, is less in the understanding of Rev. Schall's points than in the acceptance of them in one's life.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just A Book But A Meditation On Order, January 3, 2008

By	Rick Poce (Philadelphia, Pa) - See all my reviews

Like the previous reviewer, I am a fan of Fr. Schall. He is the wise type of professor I always enjoyed but rarely found. This book is not an easy read, but it certainly is well worth reading because of its wisdom encompassing subjects ranging from political philosophy to aesthetics, in terms of both faith and reason. Fr. Schall is equally comfortable quoting both Plato and Peanuts and many of the great minds of the Western tradition to show that reality has an objective order that is divinely ordained. This order begins with God and extends to creation and all its aspects-angels, humans, plants and matter, law, ethics, science, knowledge, beauty, etc. The ascent of the order leads to God via the mind knowing and contemplating truth, goodness and beauty in all their varying aspects of being. The book is also a profound meditation of philosophical anthropology discussing the human being in all his relationships-self, others, city and state, good and evil-to explain how goodness and love enhance the order of reality while evil alienates and creates disorder. Ultimately, he shows that that both the material and immaterial orders of realty point to God's love for humans and that our ultimate destiny and happiness is the origin of all order, God himself.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Veritable Smorgasbord of Unified Reflections on Order, March 1, 2008

By	Matthew K. Minerd "The Coding Catholic" (Herdon, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fr. Schall's text is quite a distillation of the central idea that there is an order to things and that this order is part of a unified whole when viewed from the foundational building blocks of the Godhead. I picked this text up because it seemed to providentially be placed in my path in several different locations in my local bookstore which I had visited only with the desire to find books to later purchase online more cheaply. I am glad that I picked this book up immediately.

Although it is merely 234 pages, "The Order of Things" is a dense, but approachable, read which takes on a panoply of considerations in order to see the overall direction of the Creator, His cosmos, and the parts therein (particularly man). It is difficult to lay out the fullness of Schall's presentation in a short review since he pulls from many philosophical, theological, and cultural sources to address and consider a great variety of topics related to order. However, in short, it can be said to be an arrow which strikes the heart, having passed through the Godhead into the world and then into humanity. Schall's considerations are centered on that order which is the dynamic ordering of love in the Trinity, even if that is only implicit in much of the text. His exposition of order (and its contrast to disorder) is not one of a static nature but one which draws its unity from the initial consideration of the Triune God.

This is a book that one can revisit many times (and I intend to do such over time). I highly recommend it as a veritable smorgasbord which touches the depths of the soul.