Dialectique de L’Agir by André Marc, S. J. (review)

124 BOOK REVIEWS Dialectique de L'Agir. By ANDRE MARc, S. J. Lyons: E. Vitte, 1954. Pp. 588 wih index. Fr. ~.400. Those who are acquainted with the other works of Fr. Marc will welcome this third volume of the series which began with Psychologie Reflexive, and Dialectique de L'Affirmation. The present volume treats of the moral life, and follows the study of man and his activity, and the examination of epistemology and metaphysics contained in the other volumes. The conclusion of the series is to appear under the title: L'Etre et L'Esprit. This work on ethics deserves careful study and serious thought from all who are sincerely interested in the problems of human life and moral behavior. The author has brought to his task, as to the preceding ones, a vast and penetrating knowledge of not only Scholastic thought but also that of other philosophies, of Kant and Hegel, and above all of French philosophy, both " classical " and modem. He has devoted to this series almost thirty years of study and reflection. The author's analytical powers are displayed in the dialectic carried on between these different systems on all points of major philosophic interest. While some may -feel that this process is unconvincing and lacks scientific precision, it does have real advantages. The Thomistic position appears in a much more telling light by virtue of the contrast of opinions; its truth can be much more clearly seen and more profoundly appreciated by making its merit stand out in this way. The richness and "virtuality" of Thomistic doctrine, much of which is lost to those unaware of other systems, is shown in a new light. Not the least virtue of this method is that the reader, who is used to the cavalier treatment meted out to nonscholastics in most history of philosophy courses in Catholic schools and in many manuals will be pleased to see that such serious thinkers as Kant, Fichte, Hegel, Bergson, Le Senne, Hamelin and others are treated as such; and not as misguided, immature dabblers in the world of thought. This last point alone is sufficient to recommend the reading of Marc to the student of scholastic philosophy, for it will help him to realize the need of intelligent, not to say courteous, consideration for other philosophers, and will show the advantages for the causes of scl:jolasticism and truth which are to be gained by a knowledge of these philosophers. Perhaps one of the reasons for the lack of influence of scholastic thought on nonCatholic circles is due precisely to the scholastics' lack of knowledge of other systems and an inability to present their position in terms and in a manner acceptable to and understandable by the modern thinkers. The synthetic presentations of ThomistiC' teaching with which ·Marc concludes his various " conversations " with other philosophers are generally very well done, and stress the fundamental principles and their rich mean·· ing in a way which few modern Thomists can equal. Marc himself i~ not quite the equal of Pere Sertillanges, but there are times when he succeeds BOOK REVIEWS 125 as well. The arrangement and style of the volume are such as not to allow any full, detailed discussion of each point that some may expect, but what is gained is a firmer, more coherent insight into principles. The mere fact of treating philosophical questions as problems to be settled, and of working towards their solution in the dialectical process gives this volume a great advantage over the normal manual presentation of the scholastic position-a presentation often so trite, self-assured and unquestioning as to stimulate little interest in philosophic thought. Marc situates ethics in its proper order, as the study of human behavior which follows upon investigation of the intellect and will, and the con-· struction of a metaphysics. Thus, in harmony with the Thomistic tradition, ethics is rooted in metaphysics and psychology; however, he does not·:mention the technical point of the traditional subalternation of ethics to rational psychology. It may be well to attempt a statement of the author's general inspiration in his philosophic work. The study of philosophy centers upon the relations of spirit and being...