Clear Philosophy
The Unity of Philosophical Experience
by Etienne Gilson
San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1999
(269 pages; $17.95, paper)
by Eric Scheske
In his story, “The Gifts of the Child Christ,” George MacDonald describes the quietly unhappy marriage of a serious middle-aged man and his frivolous young wife. The man was discouraged by his wife’s simple-minded joys. He wanted her to take an interest in serious topics, like poetry and science, but his efforts to instruct her always failed because he didn’t approach the task properly. Instead of trying to teach her poetry from Milton, the narrator points out, “He ought to have read with her the books she did like, for by them only could he make her think, and from them alone could he lead her to better.”
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