The Life of the Mind: On the Joys and Travails of Thinking (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In The Life of the Mind, Georgetown University’s James V. Schall takes up the task of reminding us that, as human beings, we naturally take a special delight and pleasure in simply knowing. Because we have not only bodies but also minds, we are built to know what is. In this volume, Schall, author of On the Unseriousness of Human Affairs (ISI Books), among many other volumes of philosophical and political reflection, discusses the various ways of approaching the delight of thinking and the way that this delight begins in seeing and hearing and even in making and walking. We must be attentive to and cultivate the needs of the mind, argues Schall, for it is through our intellect that all that is not ourselves is finally returned to us, allowing us to live in the light of truth.

About the Author

James V. Schall, S. J., is a professor in the Department of Government at Georgetown University. He is the author of some twenty-five books, including Another Sort of Learning and A Student’s Guide to Liberal Learning. He writes a column, “Sense and Nonsense,” for Crisis, and his writings also appear regularly in Gilbert! magazine, the Saint Austin Review, and the University Bookman.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: Intercollegiate Studies Institute; 1 edition (July 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932236899
• ISBN-13: 978-1932236897
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #862,895 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 In praise of thought, January 9, 2007

By	Bookworm "jcc" (Colorado Springs, CO USA) - See all my reviews

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Schall has become one of my favorite authors. He cuts through the trendy, the merely useful, and everything else we tend to think of as urgent and invites us to do what we were meant to do: seek truth. In the process, he reintroduces us to Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Boswell, Chesterton, and scores of other authors who can be our companions in this quest. It does no good to be busy unless one has chosen one's activity wisely. It does no good to hurry unless one has chosen the right way. Therefore, done rightly, thinking is the most "practical" of pursuits. I highly recommend this book, and Schall's other works.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Understand what is, June 2, 2008

By	John W. Jaeger (Honolulu, HI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Father Schall's book reads like a series of lectures given in one of his classrooms, in order to stimulate his students at Georgetown. He praises highly the pursuit of knowledge, and especially recommends Catholic authors in that pursuit. As with Eric Voegelin, Schall seeks to meld the life of reason with that of reveation, and he does not see as much conflict as, say, Leo Strauss.
He emphasizes the active pursuit of knowledge as the path to the Truth, or that which is. In this he reveals a fundamental flaw, in that all thought is essentially old and is constantly being brought into the active present. But thought obscures that which is, and veils the Truth of each moment. In active contemplation (or meditation) thought goes into abeyance and the mystery is frequently revealed.
All in all, a very enjoyable book. I particularly liked his"Reading for Clerics."

5 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Mental Progress, March 12, 2007

By	Leonard H. Beck (DE USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"The Life of the Mind" is devoted to revering our historical thinkers.
I expected an element of practical application.