Personalist Papers

In Personalist Papers, John F. Crosby continues the discussion of Christian personalism begun in his highly acclaimed book, The Selfhood of the Human Person. Trained in phenomenology, Crosby stays close to our experience of persons, so that what he says finds a deep resonance in the personal existence of the reader. In his exceptionally clear style, he explores the unrepeatability of persons, drawing out the unique worth and dignity of each individual person. Crosby also explores interpersonal relation, giving an original account of how persons can achieve empathic understanding of others, and where the limit of empathy is reached. He sketches out a personalist philosophy of religion, defending against Freud the encounter with God that occurs in conscience when we acknowledge some serious obligation and awaken in our personal existence. Crosby discusses as well the embodiment of persons, sharply criticizing the dualism of person and body that is found in much personalist thought. And he discusses the place of consciousness in the makeup of the human person, showing against Locke and others that, fundamental as consciousness is for personal existence, there is more to a person than consciousness. Crosby also discusses the solidarity in which all persons are established, the fundamental freedom of persons, giving and receiving personal influence, and the man-woman difference. In these investigations Crosby draws especially on the work of Max Scheler, Dietrich von Hildebrand, John Henry Newman, and Karol Wojtyla. What emerges is an enhanced understanding of, and reverence for, the mystery of the human person.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

John F. Crosby is Professor of Philosophy at the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio. He has taught at the University of Dallas, the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family in Rome, and at the International Academy of Philosophy in Liechtenstein.

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK:

"Crosby's book is critically important, being especially well-timed with the world still at the beginning of its long haul through the 21st century...Crosby reflects on a century of struggle over the human person, using his considerable gifts to shape the debate in favor of a proper anthropology for the 21st century." — Bradley J. Birzer,
Crisis Magazine

"These collected papers, by an eminent philosopher at Franciscan University of Steubenville, are recommended as perhaps the best introduction to personalism in any language. . . . Crosby is painstakingly clear and, in a personalist style that takes the reader as an interlocutor, he anticipates objections with patience, always seeking what is right about alternative views and aiming to take this appropriately into account."—Michael Pakaluk, Christian Social Thought

"The nature of persons is one of the most important yet neglected topics in American philosophy. Crosby is one of the few philosophers whose work presents a unified vision of the mystical basis for the value of persons. I highly recommend this collection."—Professor Linda Zagzebski, Kingfisher College Chair of the Philosophy of Religion and Ethics, University of Oklahoma

"As one of the leading and original contemporary philosophers of the person, John Crosby shows throughout his work great openness and faithfulness to a rich experience of the person, always following the phenomenological maxim 'back to things themselves,' in its realist and metaphysical understanding. I recommend this new book to any reader interested in the topic not only because of its rich philosophical content and genuinely philosophical spirit but also because of its elegant and accesible prose."—Professor Josef Seifert, President of the International Academy of Philosophy, Liechtenstein

"John Crosby's books, The Selfhood of the Human Person and the more recent Personalist Papers, deal with