Healing the Culture: A Commonsense Philosophy of Happiness, Freedom, and the Life Issues

by Robert J. Spitzer, Robin A. Bernhoft, Camille E. De Blasi

Book Overview

Father Spitzer, President of the Magis Institute and former President of Gonzaga University, has been using the principles in this book to educate people of all backgrounds in the philosophy of the pro-life movement. The tremendous positive response he has received inspired him to start the Life Principles Institute. This book is one of the key resources used for this program.

This work effectively draws out the connections between personal...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0898707862
• ISBN13: 9780898707861
• Release Date: October 2000
• Publisher: Ignatius Press
• Length: 325 Pages
• Weight: 1.31 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Excellent and desperately needed!

Fr. Spitzer uses ancient wisdom of the Greek Philosophers to remind contemporary society what happiness is truly about. Our society has become increasingly shallow and selfish. Please, read this book!

Ignore the negative reviews

This is an easy to read, enlightening book dealing with the root causes of our cultural attitudes. Refreshing, well thought out arguments that educate the reader and inspire all of us to be more thoughtful and caring in our decisions. Ignore the negative review--he misses the point.

Most important book I've ever read

Extremely well written and easy to read. Very enjoyable but with sufficient depth to challange any serious thinker. A well thought out elaboration of the philosophy that lies behind legitimate constitutional government and a pro-life (in the broadest sense of the word) culture.This book is exactly what I would like have written if I had the knowledge, understanding and talent to pull it off.It presents the concepts and explanations that prove that the pro-choice and euthanasia movements are essentially anti-liberty, anti-freedom and the ultimate source of much that is wrong with our culture today.

Ethics for all times in every day language

I have been quoting the book since I opened it. There is help for the religious, non-religious, or even anti-religious reader who would like to find a higher level of happiness in his life. There is no preaching. You will not feel as though the author is trying to convert or convince you of anything. He is explaining and teaching.Who doesn't want to understand their world and be happier at the same time?It is easy to understand, complete as far as I can tell, and compelling. There are no greek letters, polysyllabic-for-effect words, and yet you don't feel as though you are reading "Ethics for dummies." But, you will be educated and uplifted.The introduction tells us how we ended up discussing abortion and euthanasia as a legal option in the first place. He does not use a "slippery slope" analogy, but describes the process that has made some women feel that society expects them to have an abortion.The first chapter is a crash course in logic and basic ethics, with explanations that have stuck in my mind as both familiar and novel ways of saying what I have been reading in other much more difficult to read books.And it just gets better from there.

A Welcome Diagnosis and Proposal

With the keen eye of a philosopher Father Robert Spitzer slices to the heart of our culture and proposes a renewal based on a foundational understanding of what it means to be a person. He identifies the sources of human happiness as having four levels ~ all good, so long as they are not distorted in their importance. Spitzer claims that the happiness we find in our relationships, for example, is superior to the happiness we find in a tasty dinner or in achieving a promotion. Building on this notion of personhood, Spitzer examines the concepts of rights, the Common Good, and other cultural categories and then turns to examining specific social problems like abortion and euthanasia. He shows how in a culture that over-values individual choices, we have come to undervalue the human person. And best of all he shows us how to build a society that is true to the best of who we are. Most highly recommended.