Maverick Philosopher

Footnotes to Plato from the foothills of the Superstition Mountains

Category: Garrigou-Lagrange

  • Lifestyle Rightism

    Sohrab Ahmari is against it. Clean living and self-improvement are no substitute for political action. One form of Lifestyle Rightism is Rod Dreher's Benedict Option which Ahmari dubs "the New Frontierism" and criticizes for its ahistoricity. Ahmari's article rehearses  one aspect of the old problem of activism versus quietism. Can one productively blend the two?…

  • What Sort of Prayer is Needed by the Desiccated Intellectual?

    Which sort of prayer is appropriate for the proud intellectual?  Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life, vol. I (Catholic Way Publishing, 2013), p. 535: Some souls absolutely need prayer, intimate and profound prayer; another form of prayer will not suffice for them.  There are very intelligent people whose character is difficult, intellectuals who…