Book Review - Real Philosophy for Real People: Tools for Truthful Living

The younger generation is not composed of fools. The majority of the time, it is given porridge instead of philosophical meat to digest, but that does not mean we are cultural idiots or people easily satisfied. All meaning, as someone with a background in intelligence and war studies, not to mention the philosophy of education, as well as being a fledgling author myself, well-written books trying to struggle with real intellectual content are appreciated, although increasingly difficult to find. So said, the majority of authors seem perfectly willing to speak down to the next generation, even though this is clearly not the intention of Fr. Robert McTeigue, S.J., in his well-researched and thought-provoking book, Real Philosophy for Real People: Tools for Truthful Living. A weighty volume clearly blazing a trail beyond McTeigue's initial collection of homilies and essays, I Have Someone to Tell You: A Jesuit Heralds the Gospel.

In which case, any opportunity to reach past competing paradigms and their dreary attempts to brainwash us about who we are, where we have arrived, and what we are as people is a breath of fresh air. Indeed, in this remarkable manuscript, McTeigue delights his readers with a funny, anecdotal and energising mini-marathon whereby he takes us through the realms of metaphysics, humanistic anthropology, and his apparent speciality, ethical theology, which is why we read on the back cover of this intriguingly designed text: "In McTeigue, classical philosophy finds a contemporary voice, accessible to the layman and engaging to the scholar". Hence, in an endeavour to bless his audience with a metaphorical tool kit to examine, deconstruct and then re-evaluate the thought systems that blow like a whirlwind throughout our current society, reading this work is something of a shock to the system.

Certainly, there are echoes of Aristotle all the way through this small, but mighty book, whereby many philosophers of previous ages find modern expression, in a manner accessible to contemporaries without any academic training in this field. As such, Real Philosophy for Real People could be seen as a challenge to those continental thinkers that appear to place theory above evidence or truth, while ignoring the limits as well as the strengths of rational schemes of perception inherent in the so-called Anglo-American School.

Overall, McTeigue openly opposes any system of thought or moral thinking, which degrades the dignity and eventual destination of humanity. As he states, "We have a problem. We are surrounded by people who do not understand what they are doing or why they do what they do. We are surrounded by people and by the panoply of media making claims about what is true or false or praiseworthy or blameworthy; at the same time, we are surrounded by (often the same) people and various media making claims that nothing could be true or false or praiseworthy or blameworthy. There are people who seem unduly confident in their assertions". This may be why, McTeigue defies so much of present academic debate in claiming that the litmus test of any "real" philosophy is discovered in someone's ability to live it, and not merely speak about its ideas. It goes without saying, a radical assertion, but one which cannot be ignored or disrespected. All in all, this book speaks the language of saints, by telling its readers what the truth could be and how we can possibly live it in our daily lives.

With this in mind, I highly recommend it to a new generation of thinkers seeking answers and not merely clever questions. After all, we need substantial victuals, and not the oatmeal that is so often given to intellectual infants nowadays.