Truth and Freedom by Louis de Raeymaker and Others, and: Academic Freedom by Russell Kirk (review)

BOOK REVIKWS Truth and Freedom. By Lours DE RAEYMAKER and Others. Edited by ANDREW G. VAN MELSEN and HENRY J. KoREN, C. S. Sp. Duquesne Studies, Philosophical Series, Vol. 5. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press, 1954. Pp. 140 with index. $3.00, cloth. $S!.25, paper. Academic Freedom. By RussELL KIRK. Chicago: Regnery, 1955. Pp. S!lO with index. $3.75. Truth and Freedom is the fifth work in the philosophical series titled Duquesne Studies, edited by Andrew G. Van Melsen, D. Sc., D. Ed., and Henry J. Koren, C. S. Sp., S. T. D. At the request of the authors, Father Koren translated the seven essays in this collection directly from the manuscripts . The original French edition and the English translation appeared at about the same time in 1954 as a contribution of the University of Louvain to the bicentennial celebration of the founding of Columbia University . In a brief dedication to Columbia, Msgr. Honore von Waeyenbergh , Rector of Louvain, explains that these essays by outstanding professors of the Higher Institute of Philosophy at Louvain are in response to the invitation to take part in Columbia's bicentennial by discussion of "the ideal of full freedom of scholarly inquiry and expression, the right of mankind to knowledge and to the free use thereof." In the first essay, " Truth and Freedom according to Cardinal Mercier," Louis de Raeymaker, President of the Institute, provides an illuminating resume of the Cardinal's work at Louvain. Stressing the distinction between " science-in-the-making" and " established science," the author points out that the organization of research for " science-in-the-making " is one of the chief functions of the modern university and Mercier founded the Institute in an effort to apply the concept to philosophy. This research was to be under the guidance of St. Thomas, whose philosophy, Mercier said, is not a kind of mummy but " an organism which is always rejuvenated and always active and which by personal effort must be maintained and nourished to secure its perpetual growth." (p. QO) The contact with the physical sciences and other philosophies required for the development of this organism could be ensured by the team-work of an institute. Cardinal Mercier regarded truth and freedom as central to research in every field and held that " the best service which researchers could render to religious truth in the realm of science was to surrender themselves to their research with all their powers." (p. 15) In a religious man fear of scientific, historical or philosophical truth does not spring from faith, but from a lack of faith. 8 264 BOOK REVIEWS " Truth and Freedom, A Philosophical Study " is a well-done summary of traditional doctrine by Albert Dondeyne. The essence and structure of human freedom and human truth are expounded before their relationship is discussed. Freedom has three meanings, all closely connected. It means " a certain ideal of existential perfection ... a certain maturity of mind and personality arising from the fact that one has become a master in one or other domain of life." (p. 80) It also means "free choice." And in its sociological and political sense it means " the sum total of the economical, social and political conditions that are necessary for the concrete exercise of freedom and effective liberation of man's personality." (p. 88) The complexity of human truth is evident from: the fact that it exists on four levels: " There is the truth of the familiar world around us; there is also the distinct truth of positive science; there is the truth pursued by philosophy, and, again, the distinct truth that religious Faith allows us to touch and cherish." (p. 85) In explaining how freedom, in all three senses, is based on truth, the author suggests that the principal cause for the decline of freedom today is ignoring its foundation in reason. " It is characteristic of our times that even philosophers labor under an ill-advised irrationalism and tend to separate freedom and truth." (p. 89) Nietzsche, Gide, Sartre, and the Marxists serve as examples. Jacques Leclercq, President of the School of Political and Social Sciences, treats "Freedom as a Moral and Social Value." He uses an abundance of helpful illustrations...