Peter Kreeft
Scrambling at the last minute to get all the data required to submit a book proposal to an editor. They all want to know how your book compares with similar books on the market. You think you know the “competition,” but just to see if anything has appeared recently, go to amazon. Type in “truth, beauty, goodness.” Discover C. S. Lewis as Philosopher: Truth, Goodness, and Beauty (2008).
C. S. Lewis is known as a teacher of English literature, an author of fantasy, and Christian thinker; but his involvement in philosophy is little known. In his introduction to this excellent volume of essays, co-editor Jerry Walls tells the story. But his first job at Oxford was teaching philosophy; while at Oxford he was the first president (1941-54) of the Oxford Socratic Club, which debated issues dividing Christians and non-Christians, where he debated some of the leading atheists on the planet, holding his own fearlessly and superbly. “Before his conversion, Lewis sought truth, was enchanted by beauty, and aspired to goodness,” but he was torn: “The two hemispheres of my mind were in the sharpest conflict. On the one side a many-islanded sea of poetry and myth; on the other a glib and shallow ‘rationalism.’ Nearly all that I loved I believed to be imaginary; nearly all that I believed to be real I thought to be grim and meaningless.” After his conversion, it was a different story indeed, expressed in his writings some of which may be described as popular philosophy. In the first essay of the book, Boston College philosopher Peter Kreeft tells of Lewis’s wisdom about truth, goodness, and beauty. “In all three, Lewis shows us seven things: first, their logic, or definition; second, their metaphysics, their objective reality; third, their theology, their divine source; fourth, their epistemology, how we know them; fifth, their practical psychology; sixth, their axiology, the ordered relationship of these values; and seventh, their mystical eschatology, their fulfillment in heaven.”
Kreeft’s essay, “Lewis’s Philosophy of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty,” I found to be breaktaking. What a delight! Here is a scholar who cares as much about living these realities as I do. One of the quirky things that philosophers can fuss over is the sequence of these values. I work with the sequence truth, beauty, and goodness; the Catholic intellectual tradition uses the sequence truth, goodness, and beauty. Kreeft has lived deeply with this sequence and has formed paths of thought and contemplation in the wake of this sequence. I understand. I have done the same with my sequence. This essay offers an outstanding opportunity to feel and understand what this sequence can mean.
We can learn from different sequences. Here are some things I enjoyed in Kreeft’s essay (I do not limit myself to sequence-related thoughts).
Truth, goodness, and beauty, he writes, “are the three things we all need, and need absolutely, and know we need”; truth relates to the mind, goodness to the will, and beauty to the heart, feelings, desires, or imagination. “These are the only three things that we never get bored with, and never will, for all eternity, because they are attributes of God, and therefore of all God’s creation: three transcendental or absolutely universal properties of all reality.” Truth, goodness and beauty are called transcendentals because everything in every category participates in them to some degree.
There is a foundation in Being for the order, or sequence, of these three. “Truth is defined by Being, for truth is the effulgence of Being, the revelation of Being, the word of Being. Truth is not defined by consciousness, which conforms to Being in knowing it. Goodness is defined by truth, not by will, which is good only when it conforms to the truth of Being. And beauty is defined by goodness, objectively real goodness, not by subjective desire or pleasure or feeling or imagination, all of which should conform to it.” “Truth is good and beautiful; goodness is true and beautiful; beauty is true and good. But there is an ontological (not temporal) order: it flows from Being to truth, truth to goodness, and goodness to beauty. Truth is judged by Being, goodness by truth, and beauty by goodness.” “The most fundamental and universal of all moral principles is . . . Right Response to Reality.”
“We know all three . . . immediately and intuitively.” Authority, reason, and experience help us avoid error. According to C. S. Lewis, “all argument depends on rational intuition” . . . indubitable, or self-evident.” Lewis quotes John 7:17: “‘Anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know whether the teaching is from God.’ That is, there are personal and moral qualifications for knowing the truth.”
“Truth is good and beautiful; goodness is true and beautiful; beauty is true and good. But there is an ontological (not temporal) order: it flows from Being to truth, truth to goodness, and goodness to beauty. Truth is judged by Being, goodness by truth, and beauty by goodness.”
Moral duty is not duty for duty’s sake. It leads yonder, taking beauty and joy with it. So all the saints are full of joy, not of dour duty. . . . When goodness flourishes, so does beauty. . . . Lewis once wrote that holiness is irresistible; that if even 10 percent of the world population had it, the whole world would be converted and happy before the year’s end.
Here’s Kreeft’s conclusion.
Truth, goodness and beauty are “patches of Godlight” here in “Shadowlands.” Their home is Yonder. The form they will take there will dazzle us forever, for they are what God is made of. Far from being “escapism,” this gives each of us the ultimate meaning of our individual existence in this world, for (as Lewis says in that little mystical masterpiece called the “heaven” chapter in The Problem of Pain)
Each of the redeemed shall forever know and praise some one aspect of the divine beauty better than any other creature can. Why else were individuals created, but that God, loving all infinitely, should love each differently? . . . For doubtless the continually successful, yet never completed, attempt by each soul to communicate its unique vision of God to all others (and that by means whereof earthly art and philosophy are but clumsy imitations) is also among the ends for which the individual was created.
Perhaps the best news of all is the evidence that Kreeft has found in truth, goodness, and beauty a magnificent path to realize God’s love. Go to this man’s website. On the landing page you will read, “This site’s Featured Writings and Featured Audio about the ocean of God’s love are only a few thimblefuls. No—less. For God’s love is literally infinite. It is the shoreless sea we are destined to swim in, surf in, and grow in forever.”
Quotations come from Walls’s intro on pages 15 and 18, and nearly every page of Kreeft’s gem, 23–31.
Photo credit: http://www.thomasmorecollege.edu/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/PB0400452.jpg
Might we consider these three values together as one house where each alone is a door thereinto? I am reminded of the yogas in Hinduism; some are based in devotion, some in intellectual activity, some in charity, some in physical exercise, and so on. My understanding is that there is no one better yoga, but there are better yogas for one. These correspond to different dispositions and the most expedient means of attaining deep wisdom.
In many ways I came to philosophy through the beauty of art, and not surprisingly I have been drawn to Plato’s Symposium. It is one of my staple books of the Western canon. While I don’t believe as Plato seems to that the desire of beauty will certainly lead to Being/The Good, I do believe that it at least promises to do so, and I might analogize this promise as the aforementioned house of Truth, Beauty, Goodness, however construed.
I see each of these values as desirable, but separated from the others, any single one may not yield the full power of all three.
I haven’t thought this through wholly, but perhaps you may address my confusion. Good thoughts in this blog, by the way. I enjoyed this.
Thanks for the comparison with the various ways of Hinduism. I do think people may naturally tend to one of the trio of truth, beauty, and goodness rather than another, but that maturity involves balance (which doesn’t bury particular gifts and duties to develop those gifts and share the fruits with others). When I think of living the truth, walking in beauty, or living for the good of the whole, I emphasize one or another of the three; but I regard these phrases as denoting the same quality of living. In my opinion, it is impossible to achieve either one in isolation from the others (after 42 years of working pretty consistently and passionately at it). I remember the honor and privilege of working with you in your Masters thesis on the philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre’s Critique of Dialectical Reason. You brought such a depth of expertise to the project and such eloquence of expression to your writing that it was a joy to work together. One of the things that fascinates me about philosophy is that when a philosophy is well done, even if it disagrees significantly with one’s own, there is a pleasure in learning from it.
Without the experience of truth, beauty, and goodness, life is morally and spiritually
meaningless, and nothing but good can result from our intellectual efforts to understand these
basic qualities.
Dr. Perry
Amen.
The Transcendentals – Truth, Goodness, and Beauty (excellence) are one of the best approaches to life, work, decision making etc etc. Truth should come first in order to have an accurate platform. It cannot be compromised for the other two. Second is goodness so that we do what is right, regardless of beauty. Finally, we should aim to be the best at it (beauty). There is a fantastic article here that you may enjoy: https://www.facebook.com/notes/top100wonderscom/wisdom-begins-in-wonder/1267724086622433
Welcome also to follow: https://top100wonders.com
It is a site that combines world awareness with philosophy and history. All books and guides are published according to the concept of the Transcendentals.
Glad you found my site! I enjoyed your site, too. Very attractive, and a nice way to extend the appeal of truth, goodness, and beauty. You might like to peek at my new book, Living in Truth, Beauty, and Goodness (especially ch. 4 on the beauties of nature).
Overwhelmed with joy after reading this. I questioned if my love of beautiful things, a beautiful home, was somehow not right. I’ve always looked at it through the God’s eyes, not the world. I’m about to start my own lifestyle & decor blog, but I knew my faith would be a huge part of everything. The wisdom of the three transcendentals has tied it all together completely! I am currently sitting in the chapel at my parish. I ask God for direction & guidance and this is where I landed! Do you recommend I read Kreeft’s book first? What others might you recommend? Thanks to Jesus for finding this article and thanks to you for writing it!
What a blessing, Michelle, to receive this comment. I’m giving thanks, too.
I would mention my new book, Living in Truth, Beauty, and Goodness; In Part II, Walking in Beauty, the chapter on artistic living would be most directly relevant to your work.
These days, I blog at http://UniversalFamily.org. If you’d like to stay in conversation, please email me at jwattles@kent.edu.
I regard truth, beauty, and goodness as qualities of God and values that we can live. I look forward to your future in these divine values and more!
Thank you for the article. An artist, I have been studying and writing on Aquinas’ three conditions of beauty, translating them as : Integrity, Clarity, and Composition. My discussion naturally connects with these transcendentals, correlating mind, body, spirit with truth, beauty, goodness. It is with the mind we comprehend truth, the body we perceive beauty, and the spirit we apprehend goodness. The Three Conditions have an interesting correlation – clarity, the mind of an artwork, communicates the idea; integrity, the body of the work, refers to it’s materials and construction; and composition, the spirit of an artwork, deals with relationships of formal elements, harmonies, balance, etc. I am intrigued by your sequencing. I have not considered it’s significance. Do you feel this sequence is necessary and universal? – a learning/ maturation process? or inherent in St Thomas’ “dilation of the mind?” I am grateful for any additional evidence or resources. Thank you!
Dear Cameron, thank you for sharing your careful thought and important questions. I apologize for coming to discover this comment only today, but I’m sending you and email inviting further conversation if you are still interested. The quick answer to your question is that I find that there is no canonical sequence in the transcendentals. There are lessons to be learned with other sequences (and lists). My experience is that working with a particular sequence over time shapes one’s way of thinking. All good to you! Jeff
Thank you for this link to work that I would like to spend more time with. I pray for your spiritual success during these difficult times.
Dear Ignited by Truth, I regret not having seen your comment until today. I apologize. And I wish you all the best as you help others to catch fire with divine values! Jeff