Truth Matters

Book excerpt: Drawing upon the richness and breadth of Jacques Maritain's thought, the contributors to this volume engage readers with philosophical essays about the search for truth in human life and civic engagement. The essays examine a broad range of topics, from those that are more properly theoretical, such as God, science, natural law, practical reason, education, and democracy, to those that are more practical, such as capital punishment, eugenics, friendship, love, and art. In each essay, the author implicitly challenges the claims of relativism and postmodernism, specifically the idea that there is no "real" truth and that what matters is merely the perspective of one's own frame of reference. The essays argue instead that theoretical truth-claims have practical consequences, that truth matters to those who are affected by it. In addition to the editor, the contributors are: Gavin T. Colvert, John A. D. Cuddeback, Raymond Dennehy, Bernard E. Doering, Desmond J. FitzGerald, Sarah J. Fodor, William J. Fossati, W. Matthews Grant, James G. Hanink, Katie Hollenberg, Gregory Kerr, James P. Mesa, Peter Pagan, Matthew S. Pugh, James V. Schall, S.J., Michael D. Torre, John R. Traffas, Cornelia A. Tsakiridou, Timothy S. Valentine, S.J., A. Leo White, Anne M. Wiles, and Henk E. S. Woldring. John G. Trapani, Jr., is Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Humanities Division at Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio.