Jacques Maritain
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Jacques Maritain (; 18 November 1882 â€“ 28 April 1973) was a French
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
philosopher. Raised as a
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
, he was
agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...
before converting to Catholicism in 1906. An author of more than 60 books, he helped to revive
Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...
for modern times, and was influential in the development and drafting of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal D ...
.
Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...
presented his "Message to Men of Thought and of Science" at the close of
Vatican II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilic ...
to Maritain, his long-time friend and mentor. The same pope had seriously considered making him a
lay cardinal In the historical practice of the Catholic Church, a lay cardinal was a man whom the pope appointed to the College of Cardinals while still a layman. This appointment carried with it the obligation to be ordained to a clerical order, meaning tha ...
, but Maritain rejected it. Maritain's interest and works spanned many aspects of philosophy, including
aesthetics Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Ph ...
,
political theory Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and legitimacy of political institutions, such as states. This field investigates different forms of government, ranging from d ...
,
philosophy of science Philosophy of science is the branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. Amongst its central questions are the difference between science and non-science, the reliability of scientific theories, ...
,
metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...
, the nature of education,
liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...
and
ecclesiology In Christian theology, ecclesiology is the study of the Church, the origins of Christianity, its relationship to Jesus, its role in salvation, its polity, its discipline, its eschatology, and its leadership. In its early history, one of th ...
.


Life

Maritain was born in Paris, the son of Paul Maritain, who was a lawyer, and his wife Geneviève Favre, the daughter of philosopher and educator Julie Favre and statesman and lawyer Jules Favre. His niece was librarian and Resistance member Éveline Garnier, who he later made his principal legatee and introduced to her life partner Andrée Jacob. Maritain was reared in a liberal Protestant milieu. He was sent to the
Lycée Henri-IV The Lycée Henri-IV () is a public secondary school located in Paris. Along with the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, it is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious and demanding sixth-form colleges ('' lycées'') in France. The school educates more ...
. Later, he attended the Sorbonne, studying the natural sciences: chemistry, biology and physics. At the Sorbonne, he met Raïssa Oumançoff, a Russian Jewish émigré. They married in 1904, but they made a private vow to abstain from sex. A noted poet and mystic, Raïssa participated as his intellectual partner in his search for truth. Raïssa's sister, Vera Oumançoff, lived with Jacques and Raïssa for almost all their married life. At the Sorbonne, Jacques and Raïssa soon became disenchanted with
scientism Scientism is the belief that science and the scientific method are the best or only way to render truth about the world and reality. While the term was defined originally to mean "methods and attitudes typical of or attributed to natural scientis ...
, which could not, in their view, address the larger existential issues of life. In 1901, in light of this disillusionment, they made a pact to commit suicide together if they could not discover some deeper meaning to life within a year. They were spared from following through on this because, at the urging of Charles Péguy, they attended the lectures of
Henri Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; ; 18 October 1859 â€“ 4 January 1941) was a French philosopher who was influential in the traditions of analytic philosophy and continental philosophy, especially during the first half of the 20th century until the S ...
at the
Collège de France The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...
. Bergson's critique of scientism dissolved their intellectual despair and instilled in them "the sense of the absolute." Then, through the influence of
Léon Bloy Léon Bloy (; 11 July 1846 – 3 November 1917) was a French Catholic novelist, essayist, pamphleteer (or lampoonist), and satirist, known additionally for his eventual (and passionate) defense of Catholicism and for his influence within Frenc ...
, they converted to the
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
faith in 1906. In the fall of 1907, the Maritains moved to
Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...
, where Jacques studied biology under
Hans Driesch Hans Adolf Eduard Driesch (28 October 1867 – 17 April 1941) was a German biologist and philosopher from Bad Kreuznach. He is most noted for his early experimental work in embryology and for his neo-vitalist philosophy of entelechy. He has also ...
. Hans Driesch's theory of neo-vitalism attracted Jacques because of its affinity with Henri Bergson. During this time, Raïssa fell ill, and during her convalescence, their spiritual advisor, a
Dominican friar The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilian priest named Dominic de Guzmán. It was approved by Pope Honorius ...
named Humbert Clérissac, introduced her to the writings of Thomas Aquinas. She read them with enthusiasm and, in turn, exhorted her husband to examine the saint's writings. In Thomas, Maritain found a number of insights and ideas that he had believed all along. He wrote:
Thenceforth, in affirming to myself, without chicanery or diminution, the authentic value of the reality of our human instruments of knowledge, I was already a Thomist without knowing it ... When several months later I came to the '' Summa Theologiae'', I would construct no impediment to its luminous flood.
From the Angelic Doctor (the honorary title of Aquinas), he was led to "The Philosopher", as Aquinas called
Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...
. Still later, to further his intellectual development, he read the neo-Thomists. Beginning in 1912, Maritain taught at the Collège Stanislas. He later moved to the
Institut Catholique de Paris The Institut catholique de Paris (, abbr. ICP), known in English as the Catholic University of Paris (and in Latin as ''Universitas catholica Parisiensis''), is a private university located in Paris, France. History: 1875–present The Institut ...
. For the 1916–1917 academic year, he taught at the Petit Séminaire de Versailles. In 1930 Maritain and
Étienne Gilson Étienne Henri Gilson (; 13 June 1884 – 19 September 1978) was a French philosopher and historian of philosophy. A scholar of medieval philosophy, he originally specialised in the thought of Descartes; he also philosophized in the tradition ...
received honorary doctorates in philosophy from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum''. In 1933, Maritain gave his first lectures in North America in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
at the
Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies The Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (PIMS) is a research institute in the University of Toronto that is dedicated to advanced studies in the culture of the Middle Ages. Governance The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Toronto, currently F ...
. He also taught at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
; at the Committee on Social Thought,
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
; at the
University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...
, and at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
. From 1945 to 1948, he was the French ambassador to the Holy See. Afterwards, Maritain returned to Princeton University. In 1952, he gave the inaugural A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts. Four years later, he achieved the "Elysian status" (as he put it) of a professor emeritus. Raïssa Maritain died in 1960. After her death, Jacques published her journal under the title "Raïssa's Journal." For several years Maritain was an honorary chairman of the
Congress for Cultural Freedom The Congress for Cultural Freedom (CCF) was an anti-communist cultural organization founded on 26 June 1950 in West Berlin. At its height, the CCF was active in thirty-five countries. In 1966 it was revealed that the Central Intelligence Agency w ...
, appearing as a keynote speaker at its 1960 conference in Berlin. From 1961, Maritain lived with the Little Brothers of Jesus in Toulouse, France. He had an influence on the order since its foundation in 1933 and became a Little Brother in 1970. Maritain was also an oblate for the
Order of Saint Benedict The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
. In a 1938 interview published by the '' Commonweal'' magazine, they asked if he was a freemason. Maritain replied:
That question offends me, for I should have a horror of belonging to Freemasonry. So much the worse for well-intentioned people whose anxiety and need for explanations would have been satisfied by believing me to be one.
Jacques and Raïssa Maritain are buried in the cemetery of Kolbsheim, a little French village in
Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...
where he had spent many summers at the estate of his friends, Antoinette and Alexander Grunelius.


Work

The foundation of Maritain's thought is Aristotle, Aquinas, and the
Thomistic Thomism is the philosophical and theological school which arose as a legacy of the work and thought of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), the Dominican philosopher, theologian, and Doctor of the Church. In philosophy, Thomas's disputed questions ...
commentators, especially John of St. Thomas. He is eclectic in his use of these sources. Maritain's philosophy is based on evidence accrued by the senses and acquired by an understanding of first principles. Maritain defended philosophy as a science against those who would degrade it, and promoted philosophy as the "queen of sciences". In 1910, Jacques Maritain completed his first contribution to modern philosophy, a 28-page article titled, "Reason and Modern Science" published in ''Revue de Philosophie'' (June issue). In it, he warned that science was becoming a divinity, its methodology usurping the role of reason and philosophy, supplanting the humanities. In 1917, a committee of French bishops commissioned Jacques to write a series of textbooks to be used in Catholic colleges and seminaries. He wrote and completed only one of these projects, titled ''Elements de Philosophie'' (Introduction of Philosophy) in 1920. It has been a standard text ever since in many Catholic seminaries. He wrote in his introduction:
If the philosophy of Aristotle, as revived and enriched by
Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...
and his school, may rightly be called the
Christian philosophy Christian philosophy includes all philosophy carried out by Christians, or in relation to the religion of Christianity. Christian philosophy emerged with the aim of reconciling science and faith, starting from natural rational explanations wit ...
, both because the church is never weary of putting it forward as the only true philosophy and because it harmonizes perfectly with the truths of faith, nevertheless it is proposed here for the reader's acceptance not because it is Christian, but because it is demonstrably true. This agreement between a philosophic system founded by a pagan and the dogmas of revelation is no doubt an external sign, an extra-philosophic guarantee of its truth; but from its own rational evidence, it derives its authority as a philosophy.
During the Second World War, Jacques Maritain protested the policies of the
Vichy Vichy (, ; ) is a city in the central French department of Allier. Located on the Allier river, it is a major spa and resort town and during World War II was the capital of Vichy France. As of 2021, Vichy has a population of 25,789. Known f ...
government while teaching at the Pontifical Institute for Medieval Studies in Canada. "Moving to New York, Maritain became deeply involved in rescue activities, seeking to bring persecuted and threatened academics, many of them Jews, to America. He was instrumental in founding the École Libre des Hautes Études, a kind of university in exile that was, at the same time, the centre of Gaullist resistance in the United States". After the war, in a papal audience on 16 July 1946, he tried unsuccessfully to have
Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...
officially denounce
antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
. Many of his American papers are held by the
University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...
, which established The Jacques Maritain Center in 1957. The Cercle d'Etudes Jacques & Raïssa Maritain is an association founded by the philosopher himself in 1962 in Kolbsheim (near
Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
, France), where the couple is also buried. The purpose of these centres is to encourage study and research of Maritain's thoughts and expand upon them. It is also absorbed in translating and editing his writings.


Metaphysics and epistemology

Maritain's philosophy is based on the view that
metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...
is prior to
epistemology Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that examines the nature, origin, and limits of knowledge. Also called "the theory of knowledge", it explores different types of knowledge, such as propositional knowledge about facts, practical knowle ...
. Being is first apprehended implicitly in sense experience, and is known in two ways. First, being is known reflexively by abstraction from sense experience. One experiences a particular being, e.g. a cup, a dog, etc. and through reflection ("bending back") on the judgement, e.g. "this is a dog", one recognizes that the object in question is an existent. Second, in light of attaining being reflexively through apprehension of sense experience, one may arrive at what Maritain calls "an Intuition of Being". For Maritain this is the point of departure for metaphysics; without the intuition of being one cannot be a metaphysician at all. The intuition of being involves rising to the apprehension of ''ens secundum quod est ens'' (being insofar as it is a being). In ''Existence and the Existent'', he explains:
"It is being, attained or perceived at the summit of an abstractive intellection, of an eidetic or intensive visualization which owes its purity and power of illumination only to the fact that the intellect, one day, was stirred to its depths and trans-illuminated by the impact of the act of existing apprehended in things, and because it was quickened to the point of receiving this act, or hearkening to it, within itself, in the intelligible and super-intelligible integrity of the tone particular to it." (p. 20)
In view of this priority given to metaphysics, Maritain advocates an epistemology he calls "Critical Realism". Maritain's epistemology is not "critical" in Kant's sense, which held that one could only know anything after undertaking a thorough critique of one's cognitive abilities. Rather, it is critical in the sense that it is not a naive or non-philosophical realism, but one that is defended by way of reason. Against Kant's critical project, Maritain argues that epistemology is reflexive; you can only defend a theory of knowledge in light of knowledge you have already attained. Consequently, the critical question is not the question of modern philosophyhow do we pass from what is perceived to what is? Rather, "Since the mind, from the very start, reveals itself as warranted in its certitude by things and measured by an esse he Latin verb 'to be', Aquinas' preferred term for 'existence' independent of itself, how are we to judge if, how, on what conditions, and to what extent it is so both in principle and in the various moments of knowledge?" In contrast, idealism inevitably ends up in contradiction, since it does not recognize the universal scope of the first principles of identity, contradiction, and finality. These become merely laws of thought or language, but not of being, which opens the way to contradictions being instantiated in reality. Maritain's metaphysics ascends from this account of being to a critique of the philosophical aspects of modern science, through analogy to an account of the existence and nature of God as it is known philosophically and through mystical experience.


Ethics

Maritain was a strong defender of a
natural law Natural law (, ) is a Philosophy, philosophical and legal theory that posits the existence of a set of inherent laws derived from nature and universal moral principles, which are discoverable through reason. In ethics, natural law theory asserts ...
ethics. He viewed ethical norms as being rooted in
human nature Human nature comprises the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of Thought, thinking, feeling, and agency (philosophy), acting—that humans are said to have nature (philosophy), naturally. The term is often used to denote ...
. For Maritain, the natural law is known primarily, not through philosophical argument and demonstration, but rather through "Connaturality". Connatural knowledge is a kind of knowledge by acquaintance. We know the natural law through our direct acquaintance with it in our human experience. Of central importance, is Maritain's argument that natural rights are rooted in the natural law. This was key to his involvement in the drafting of the UN's
Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal D ...
. Another important aspect of his ethics was his insistence upon the need for moral philosophy to be conducted in a theological context. While a Christian could engage in speculative thought about nature or metaphysics in a purely rational manner and develop an adequate philosophy of nature of metaphysics, this is not possible with ethics. Moral philosophy must address the actual state of the human person, and this is a person in a state of grace. Thus, "moral philosophy adequately considered" must take into account properly theological truths. It would be impossible, for instance, to develop an adequate moral philosophy without giving consideration to proper theological facts such as original sin and the supernatural end of the human person in beatitude. Any moral philosophy that does not take into account these realities that are only known through faith would be fundamentally incomplete.


Political theory

Maritain corresponded with, and was a friend of, the American radical
community organizer Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other or share some common problem come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest. Unlike those who promote more-consensual community buil ...
Saul Alinsky Saul David Alinsky (January 30, 1909 – June 12, 1972) was an American community activist and political theorist. His work through the Chicago-based Industrial Areas Foundation helping poor communities organize to press demands upon landlord ...
, as well as French Prime Minister
Robert Schuman Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Robert Schuman (; 29 June 1886 – 4 September 1963) was a Luxembourg-born France, French statesman. Schuman was a Christian democrat, Christian democratic (Popular Republican Movement) political thinker and activist. ...
. In the study ''The Radical Vision of Saul Alinsky'', author P. David Finks noted that "For years Jacques Maritain had spoken approvingly to Montini of the democratic community organizations built by Saul Alinsky". Accordingly, in 1958 Maritain arranged for a series of meetings between Alinsky and Archbishop Montini in Milan. Before the meetings, Maritain had written to Alinsky: "the new cardinal was reading Saul’s books and would contact him soon".


Integral Humanism

Maritain advocated what he called "Integral Humanism" (or "Integral Christian Humanism"). He argued that
secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...
forms of
humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and Agency (philosophy), agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The me ...
were inevitably anti-human in that they refused to recognize the whole person. Once the spiritual dimension of human nature is rejected, we no longer have an integral, but merely partial humanism, one which rejects a fundamental aspect of the human person. Accordingly, in ''Integral Humanism'' he explores the prospects for a new
Christendom The terms Christendom or Christian world commonly refer to the global Christian community, Christian states, Christian-majority countries or countries in which Christianity is dominant or prevails.SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christen ...
, rooted in his philosophical pluralism, in order to find ways Christianity could inform political discourse and policy in a pluralistic age. In this account he develops a theory of cooperation, to show how people of different intellectual positions can nevertheless cooperate to achieve common practical aims. Maritain's political theory was extremely influential and was a primary source behind the
Christian Democratic movement The Christian Democratic Movement (, KDH) is a Christian democratic political party in Slovakia that is a member of the European People's Party (EPP) and an observer of the Centrist Democrat International The Centrist Democrat International ...
.


Global policy

Along with
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
, Maritain was one of the sponsors of the Peoples' World Convention (PWC), also known as Peoples' World Constituent Assembly (PWCA), which took place in 1950–51 at Palais Electoral,
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
, Switzerland.


Legacy


Praise

Citing the Integral humanism of Jacques Maritain's ''L'humanisme intégral'',
Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...
declared in '' Populorum progressio'' that the "ultimate goal is a full-bodied humanism". Senator
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
(later
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
), once quoted Maritain in a 1955 address to Assumption College. In an interview from 2016,
Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
praised Maritain among a small list of French liberal thinkers.


Criticism

Major criticisms of Maritain have included: #Spanish Dominican theologian Santiago Ramírez argued that Maritain's moral philosophy, adequately considered, could not be distinguished in any meaningful way from moral theology as such. #Tracey Rowland, a theologian at the University of Notre Dame (Australia), has argued that the lack of a fully developed philosophy of culture in Maritain and others (notably Rahner) was responsible for an inadequate notion of culture in the documents of Vatican II and thereby for much of the misapplication of the conciliar texts in the life of the church following the council. #Maritain's political theory has been criticized for a democratic pluralism that appeals to something very similar to the later liberal philosopher
John Rawls John Bordley Rawls (; February 21, 1921 – November 24, 2002) was an American moral philosophy, moral, legal philosophy, legal and Political philosophy, political philosopher in the Modern liberalism in the United States, modern liberal tradit ...
' conception of an overlapping consensus of reasonable views. It is argued that such a view illegitimately presupposes the necessity of pluralistic conceptions of the human good. Catholic philosopher and historian
Thomas Molnar Thomas Steven Molnar (; ; 26 July 1921, in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Hungary – 20 July 2010, in Richmond, Virginia) was a Catholic philosopher, historian and political theorist. Life Molnar completed his undergraduate studi ...
, who praised Maritain as "a man of charity", also wrote that Maritain's work contained "baffling paradoxes". Molnar said that while Maritain's philosophy was "Orthodox and Thomist", he nonetheless unfortunately had "occasional excursions into strange semi-spiritual lands." Catholic political theorist
Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn Erik Maria Ritter von Kuehnelt-Leddihn (31 July 1909 – 26 May 1999) was an Austrian-American nobleman and polymath, whose areas of interest included philosophy, history, political science, economics, linguistics, art and theology. He oppose ...
wrote that "Maritain knew a lot about theology, he was a philosopher, and he knew something about biology, but he knew next to nothing about politics and economics." Catholic philosopher Alice von Hildebrand referred to Maritain as "treasonous" and criticized his negative views on
Engelbert Dollfuss Engelbert Dollfuss (alternatively Dollfuß; 4 October 1892 – 25 July 1934) was an Austrian politician and dictator who served as chancellor of Federal State of Austria, Austria between 1932 and 1934. Having served as Minister for Forests and ...
, whom Maritain had spoken of positively in the past, but later became critical of.


Veneration

A cause for
beatification Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the p ...
of him and his wife Raïssa was being planned in 2011. Since then, there have been no advancements in the case.


Sayings

* "Vae mihi si non Thomistizavero" oe to me if I do not Thomisticize * "Je n'adore que Dieu" adore only God * "The artist pours out his creative spirit into a work; the philosopher measures his knowing spirit by the real." * "I do not know if
Saul Alinsky Saul David Alinsky (January 30, 1909 – June 12, 1972) was an American community activist and political theorist. His work through the Chicago-based Industrial Areas Foundation helping poor communities organize to press demands upon landlord ...
knows God. But I assure you that God knows Saul Alinsky." * "We do not need a truth to serve us, we need a truth that we can serve"


Writings


Significant works in English

* ''Introduction to Philosophy'', Christian Classics, Inc., Westminster, Md., 1st. 1930, 1991 * ''
The Degrees of Knowledge ''The Degrees of Knowledge'' is a 1932 book by the French philosopher Jacques Maritain, in which the author adopts St. Thomas Aquinas’s view called critical realism and applies it to his own epistemological positions. According to ''critical rea ...
'', orig. 1932 * ''Integral Humanism'', orig. 1936 *''An Introduction to Logic'' (1937) *''A Preface To Metaphysics (1939)'' (1939) * ''Education at the Crossroads'', engl. 1942 * ''Redeeming the Time'' 1943 * '' The Person and the Common Good'', fr. 1947 * '' Art and Scholasticism with other essays'', Sheed and Ward, London, 1947 * ''Existence and the Existent'', (fr. 1947) trans. by Lewis Galantiere and Gerald B. Phelan, Image Books division of Doubleday & Co., Inc., Garden City, N.Y., 1948, Image book, 1956. *''Philosophy of Nature'' (1951) * '' The Range of Reason'', engl. 1952 * ''Approaches to God'', engl. 1954 * ''Creative Intuition in Art and Poetry'', engl. 1953 * ''Man and The State'', (orig.) University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Ill., 1951 * ''A Preface to Metaphysics'', engl. 1962 * ''God and the Permission of Evil'', trans. Joseph W. Evans, The Bruce Publishing Company, Milwaukee, Wisc., 1966 (orig. 1963) * ''Moral Philosophy'', 1964 * ''The Peasant of the Garonne, An Old Layman Questions Himself about the Present Time'', trans. Michael Cuddihy and Elizabeth Hughes, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, N.Y., 1968; orig. 1966 * ''The Education of Man, The Educational Philosophy of Jacques Maritain.'', ed. D./I. Gallagher, Notre Dame/Ind. 1967


Other works in English

*''Religion and Culture'' (1931) *''The Things that are Not Caesar's'' (1931) *''Theonas; Conversations of a Sage'' (1933) *''Freedom in the Modern World'' (1935) *''True Humanism'' (1938) (Integral Humanism, 1968) *''A Christian Looks at the Jewish Question'' (1939) *''The Twilight of Civilization'' (1939) *''Scholasticism and Politics'', New York (1940) *''Science and Wisdom'' (1940) *''Religion and the Modern World'' (1941) *''France, My Country Through the Disaster'' (1941) *''The Living Thoughts of St. Paul'' (1941) *''France, My Country, Through the Disaster'' (1941) *''Ransoming the Time'' (1941) *''Christian Humanism'' (1942) *''Saint Thomas and the problem of evil'', Milwaukee (1942) *''Essays in Thomism'', New York (1942) *''The Rights of Man and Natural Law'' (1943) *''Prayer and Intelligence'' (1943) *''Give John a Sword'' (1944) *''The Dream of Descartes'' (1944) *''Christianity and Democracy'' (1944) *''Messages 1941–1944'', New York 1945 *''A Faith to Live by'' (1947) *''The Person and the Common Good'' (1947) *''Art & Faith'' (with Jean Cocteau 1951) *''The Pluralist Principle in Democracy'' (1952) *''Creative Intuition in Art and History'' (1953) *''An Essay on Christian Philosophy'' (1955) *''The Situation of Poetry'' with Raïssa Maritain, 1955) *''Bergsonian Philosophy'' (1955) *''Reflections on America'' (1958) *''St. Thomas Aquinas'' (1958) *''The Degrees of Knowledge'' (1959) *''The Sin of the Angel: An Essay on a Re-interpretation of some Thomistic Positions'' (1959) *''Liturgy and Contemplation'' (1960) *''The Responsibility of the Artist'' (1960) *''On the Use of Philosophy'' (1961) *''God and the Permission of Evil'' (1966) * ''Challenges and Renewals'', ed. J.W. Evans/L.R. Ward, Notre Dame/Ind. (1966) *''On the Grace and Humanity of Jesus'' (1969) *''On the Church of Christ: The Person of the Church and her Personnel'' (1973) *''Notebooks'' (1984) * ''Natural Law: reflections on theory and practice'' (ed. with Introductions and notes, by William Sweet), St. Augustine's Press istributed by University of Chicago Press(2001; Second printing, corrected, 2003)


Original works in French

* ''La philosophie bergsonienne'', 1914 (1948) * ''Eléments de philosophie'', 2 volumes, Paris 1920/23 * ''Art et scolastique'', 1920 * ''Théonas ou les entretiens d’un sage et de deux philosophes sur diverses matières inégalement actuelles'', Paris, Nouvelle librairie nationale, 1921 * ''Antimoderne'', Paris, Édition de la Revue des Jeunes, 1922 * ''Réflexions sur l’intelligence et sur sa vie propre'', Paris, Nouvelle librairie nationale, 1924 * ''Trois réformateurs : Luther, Descartes,
Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher ('' philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects ...
, avec six portraits'', Paris
lon Lon or LON may refer to: People * Lon (photographer), pseudonym of Alonzo Hanagan, also known as "Lon of New York" * Lon (name), a list of people with the given name, nickname or surname Fictional characters * Nero Wolfe supporting characters#Lon ...
1925
English version
* ''Réponse à
Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau ( , ; ; 5 July 1889 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film director, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost avant-garde artists of the 20th-c ...
'', 1926 * ''Une opinion sur
Charles Maurras Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras (; ; 20 April 1868 – 16 November 1952) was a French author, politician, poet and critic. He was an organiser and principal philosopher of ''Action Française'', a political movement that was monarchist, corporatis ...
et le devoir des catholiques'', Paris
lon Lon or LON may refer to: People * Lon (photographer), pseudonym of Alonzo Hanagan, also known as "Lon of New York" * Lon (name), a list of people with the given name, nickname or surname Fictional characters * Nero Wolfe supporting characters#Lon ...
1926 * ''Primauté du spirituel'', 1927 * ''Pourquoi Rome a parlé'' (coll.), Paris, Spes, 1927 * ''Quelques pages sur Léon Bloy'', Paris 1927 * ''Clairvoyance de Rome'' (coll.), Paris, Spes, 1929 * ''Le docteur angélique'', Paris, Paul Hartmann, 1929 * ''Religion et culture'', Paris, Desclée de Brouwer, 1930 (1946) * ''Le thomisme et la civilisation'', 1932 * ''Distinguer pour unir ou Les degrés du savoir'', Paris 1932 * ''Le songe de Descartes, Suivi de quelques essais'', Paris 1932 * ''De la philosophie chrétienne'', Paris, Desclée de Brouwer, 1933 * ''Du régime temporel et de la liberté'', Paris, DDB, 1933 * ''Sept leçons sur l'être et les premiers principes de la raison spéculative'', Paris 1934 * ''Frontières de la poésie et autres essais'', Paris 1935 * ''La philosophie de la nature, Essai critique sur ses frontières et son objet'', Paris 1935 (1948) * ''Lettre sur l’indépendance'', Paris, Desclée de Brouwer, 1935. * ''Science et sagesse'', Paris 1935 * ''Humanisme intégral. Problèmes temporels et spirituels d'une nouvelle chrétienté''; zunächst spanisch 1935), Paris (Fernand Aubier), 1936 (1947) * ''Les Juifs parmi les nations'', Paris, Cerf, 1938 * ''Situation de la Poesie'', 1938 * ''Questions de conscience : essais et allocutions'', Paris, Desclée de Brouwer, 1938 * ''La personne humaine et la societé'', Paris 1939 * ''Le crépuscule de la civilisation'', Paris, Éd. Les Nouvelles Lettres, 1939 * ''Quattre essais sur l'ésprit dans sa condition charnelle'', Paris 1939 (1956) * ''De la justice politique, Notes sur le présente guerre'', Paris 1940 * ''A travers le désastre'', New York 1941 (1946) * ''Conféssion de foi'', New York 1941 * ''La pensée de St.Paul'', New York 1941 (Paris 1947) * ''Les Droits de l'Homme et la Loi naturelle'', New York 1942 (Paris 1947) * ''Christianisme et démocratie'', New York 1943 (Paris 1945) * ''Principes d'une politique humaniste'', New York 1944 (Paris 1945); * ''De Bergson à Thomas d'Aquin, Essais de Métaphysique et de Morale'', New York 1944 (Paris 1947) * ''A travers la victoire'', Paris 1945; * ''Pour la justice'', Articles et discours 1940–1945, New York 1945; * ''Le sort de l'homme'', Neuchâtel 1945; * ''Court traité de l'existence et de l'existant'', Paris 1947; * ''La personne et le bien commun'', Paris 1947; * ''Raison et raisons, Essais détachés'', Paris 1948 * ''La signification de l'athéisme contemporain'', Paris 1949 * ''Neuf leçons sur les notions premières de la philosophie morale'', Paris 1951 * ''Approaches de Dieu'', Paris 1953. * ''L'Homme et l'Etat'' (engl.: Man and State, 1951) Paris, PUF, 1953 * ''Pour une philosophie de l'éducation'', Paris 1959 * ''Le philosophe dans la Cité'', Paris 1960 * ''La philosophie morale'', Vol. I: Examen historique et critique des grands systèmes, Paris 1960 * ''Dieu et la permission du mal'', 1963 * ''Carnet de notes'', Paris, DDB, 1965 * ''L'intuition créatrice dans l'art et dans la poésie'', Paris, Desclée de Brouwer, 1966 (engl. 1953) * ''Le paysan de la Garonne. Un vieux laïc s’interroge à propos du temps présent'', Paris, DDB, 1966 * ''De la grâce et de l'humanité de Jésus'', 1967 * ''De l'Église du Christ. La personne de l'église et son personnel'', Paris 1970 * ''Approaches sans entraves'', posthum 1973 * ''La loi naturelle ou loi non écrite'', texte inédit, établi par Georges Brazzola. Fribourg, Suisse: Éditions universitaires, 1986. ectures on Natural Law. Tr. William Sweet. In The Collected Works of Jacques Maritain, Vol. VI, Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, (forthcoming)* ''Oeuvres complètes de Jacques et Raïssa Maritain'', 16 Bde., 1982–1999


See also

*
Personalism Personalism is an intellectual stance that emphasizes the importance of human persons. Personalism exists in many different versions, and this makes it somewhat difficult to define as a philosophical and theological movement. Friedrich Schleie ...


Notes


References

* G. B. Phelan, ''Jacques Maritain'', NY, 1937. * J.W. Evans in ''Catholic Encyclopaedia'' Vol XVI Supplement 1967–1974. * Michael R. Marrus, "The Ambassador & The Pope; Pius XII, Jacques Maritain & the Jews", ''Commonweal'', 22 October 2004 * H. Bars, ''Maritain en notre temps'', Paris, 1959. * D. and I. Gallagher, ''The Achievement of Jacques and Raïssa Maritain: A Bibliography, 1906–1961'', NY, 1962. * J. W. Evans, ed., ''Jacques Maritain: The Man and His Achievement'', NY, 1963. * C. A. Fecher, ''The Philosophy of Jacques Maritain'', Westminster, MD, 1963. * Jude P. Dougherty, ''Jacques Maritain: An Intellectual Profile'', Catholic University of America Press, 2003 * Ralph McInerny, ''The Very Rich Hours of Jacques Maritain: A Spiritual Life'', University of Notre Dame Press, 2003 *


Further reading

*''The Social and Political Philosophy of Jacques Maritain'' (1955) *W. Herberg (ed.), ''Four Existentialist Theologians'' (1958) *''The Philosophy of Jacques Maritain'' (1953) *''Jacques Maritain, Antimodern or Ultramodern?: An Historical Analysis of His Critics, His Thought, and His Life'' (1974)


External links

*
Études maritainiennes-Maritain Studies

Maritain Center, Kolbsheim
(in French)
Cercle d'Etudes J. & R. Maritain
at Kolbsheim (France).
Jacques Maritain Center
at the
University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...
. *
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy The ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (''SEP'') is a freely available online philosophy resource published and maintained by Stanford University, encompassing both an online encyclopedia of philosophy and peer-reviewed original publication ...

Jacques Maritain
by William Sweet.
International Jacques Maritain Institute.


of the primary and secondary literatures on Jacques Maritain.

(1951)
Jacques Maritain Speaks Out Against Anti-Semitism Over WNYC in 1938
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maritain, Jacques 1882 births 1973 deaths 20th-century French male writers 20th-century French non-fiction writers 20th-century French philosophers 20th-century Roman Catholics Ambassadors of France to the Holy See Anti-Masonry in France Benedictine oblates Catholic feminists Catholic philosophers Christian existentialists Christian humanists Christian radicals Committee on Social Thought Conservatism in France Converts to Roman Catholicism from atheism or agnosticism Corresponding Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America Critics of atheism Critics of Marxism Ecofeminists Existentialists French anti-communists French economics writers French environmentalists French epistemologists French feminists French male non-fiction writers French medievalists French metaphysicians French nationalists French philosophers of education French political philosophers French Roman Catholic writers Lycée Henri-IV alumni Male feminists Political theologians Thomists University of Paris alumni Virtue ethicists Writers from Paris