The fact of pleasure is obvious to us, but its relation to reason is less understood. We are beings who laugh and run, sing and dance, but we too seldom reflect on why we do these things. Above all, we are beings who think and who want to know whether our lives make sense.In this thought-provoking study of the relationship between our reason and our experience of pleasure, popular professor and author Fr. James Schall shows how reason, religion and pleasure are not in conflict with one another. Religion has to do with how man relates to God. Catholicism is not so much a religion as a revelation. It records and recalls how God relates to man.
The popular mood of our time is that neither religion nor revelation has much to do with real life. Yet when we look at things as having meaning and order, they fit together in surprising ways. This coherence should bring us joy, and teach us how reason, religion and pleasure can work together for our benefit. Schall shows us in this book why we have many reasons to think that our lives make sense, that our pleasures can be reasonable, and our reason itself is a pleasure.
"A timely treatise when the sources of our being, and indeed of our culture, are challenged on a daily basis. Schall is one of the foremost Catholic intellectuals of our day."
-- Jude Dougherty, Dean Emeritus, Philosophy Department, Catholic University of America
"With the inspiration of Plato and other great sages, it is indisputable that the greatest contemporary guide of What Is is James V. Schall, as this book so beautifully, cogently, and accessibly demonstrates on every page."
-- Patrick J. Deneen, University of Notre Dame
"This is Schall at his best learned, witty, and profound. He reminds us that existence and our deepest selves have an underlying unity that can be discovered with reason and grace."
-- Gerald Russello, Editor, University Bookman
"The book s chapters on hell, eternal life, and dogma are worth the read in themselves."
-- Raymond Dennehy, Professor of Philosophy, University of San Francisco
