The Wisdom of Our Ancestors

Graham James McAleer is professor of philosophy at Loyola University Maryland and the author of a number of books, including Erich Przywara and Postmodern Natural Law: A History of the Metaphysics of Morals (University of Notre Dame Press, 2019). Alexander S. Rosenthal-Pubul is lecturer at Johns Hopkins University's Center for Advanced Governmental Studies and director of the Petrarch Centre, LTD. He is author of The Theoretic Life: A Classical Ideal and Its Modern Fate.

Opening Remarks Introduction: Conservatism: Quest for a Quiddity 1. Humanism: The Master Idea of Western Civilization 2. The Metaphysics of Conservatism 3. Establishment 4. Law 5. Humanistic Enterprise 6. The Conservative Via Media: Between Nationalism and the Dream of Cosmopolis 7. Liberty 8. Conservatism without Reprimitivism Concluding Remarks Bibliography Index

"This book offers an extended and interesting argument concerning one of the major ideological perspectives in contemporary politics-conservatism. It is a well-argued, well-wrought, thoroughly engaging work to which, when I have a copy on my shelf, I will return frequently for reference." -Thomas Heilke, co-author of From Ideologies to Public Philosophies "McAleer and Rosenthal-Pubul navigate a wide field of thought in their survey of the modern political landscape, ranging from Francis Fukuyuma on one end to the Russian philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, dubbed 'Putin's brain,' on the other. The authors take Roger Scruton as their guide, but along the way they encounter such thinkers as Dostoevsky, Leo Strauss, Pierre Manent, and Nikolai Berdyaev. Here, as Daniel J. Mahoney notes in his foreword, is a book 'rich, learned, and invigorating.'"-The New Criterion "In their learned book, The Wisdom of Our Ancestors: Conservative Humanism and the Western Tradition, Graham James McAleer and Alexander S. Rosenthal-Pubul...argue for a conservative humanism that, when understood in the full light of Western thought, is built on the trinity of religion, family, and education."-Religion & Liberty "McAleer and Rosenthal-Pubul excel at unveiling the civilizational core of the conservative project." -Chronicles Magazine "McAleer and Rosenthal-Pubul make a strong case for the tie between conservatism and humanism. They also make a strong case for the value of Western civilization at a time when it needs ardent defenders. And they also make a strong case that the recognition of the transcendent dignity of every person is necessary to preserve Western civilization from reprimitivism." -The Federalist Society "In brief, McAleer and Rosenthal-Pubul's The Wisdom of Our Ancestors is a welcome contribution to moral philosophy that wishes to ground a more conservative viewpoint. It draws on a vast wealth of sources and attempts to answer real problems we are presently finding in our lives, at least for those in the West." -Cosmos + Taxis "The Wisdom of Our Ancestors: Conservative Humanism and the Western Tradition is a triumph of political theory." -The University Bookman