Love and friendship

Maritain and the tradition

Brown, Montague, ed. 2013. Love and friendship: Maritain and the tradition. Washington, D.C: American Maritain Association.

Love and friendship are at the heart of human and divine life. Without reference to them, it is impossible to explain the human being. Yet these terms are irreducibly ambiguous, with multiple meanings for our lives—from particular human relationships, to political communities, to one's relationship with God. This volume presents a broad collection of essays on love and friendship. It draws on the rich tradition handed down from Greek philosophers and the Holy Scriptures, illumined by the wisdom of the medieval theologians, and reflected upon by Jacques Maritain, his students, and other contemporary Catholic intellectuals.

The book illustrates the wide range of meanings with which love and friendship are imbued. After an introduction by Montague Brown, the first section introduces the topic by reflecting upon several historical friendships of Jacques Maritain and his marriage to Raïssa. Section two explores the roots of love in our sensual, emotive, and aesthetic responses to the world. In sections three and four, consideration is given to the freely intended, and hence responsible, choices of our moral and political lives. Section five considers the metaphysical place of love in our world. Finally, the essays of the last section examine the free revelation of God's love and friendship and the indispensable role such revelation plays in safeguarding and illuminating our human relationships.