The Life of the Mind

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.

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.