Daniel Sullivan. An Introduction to Philosophy: Perennial Principles of the Classical Realist Tradition. TAN Books, 2009. (Paperback ISBN:0895554690); $18.89

Our most commonplace expressions of optimism or pessimism, selfishness or high-mindedness, idealism or cynicism, carry along with them unacknowledged assumptions about the nature of the universe as a whole and man’s place in it—Daniel Sullivan

Over the years, one of the best introductions to the field of philosophy, and a text that I have found to be among the most useful is Daniel Sullivan’s An Introduction to Philosophy: Perennial Principles of the Classical Realist Tradition. Daniel Sullivan was one of the great translators of Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologica.

Since one of the themes of this blog is the importance of realism and why its recovery is necessary for the flourishing of Western civilization, I thought a review of this introductory textbook is in order. First, a quick note about realism since Sullivan seeks to explain the big questions of philosophy from the standpoint of classical realism. Realism is the metaphysical doctrine that Forms, or essences, possess objective reality. In modern philosophy, realism is the concept (contrasted with idealism) that physical objects exist independently of perception, the mind, or theory of reality. For realists, theories of reality are logically separate from objective reality itself (that is, epistemological theories do not determine reality). The name itself was given to a certain philosophic way of thought first inaugurated by Plato and Aristotle, developed and refined in the Middle Ages, and still living at the present time. This view includes three basic theses: 1. The world is made up of substantial beings really related to one another, which exist independently of any human opinions or desires. 2. These substances and relations can be known by the human mind as they are in themselves. 3. Such knowledge can offer sound and immutable guidance (the law of nature) for individual and social action. Regarding the overall approach of a realist philosophy, Sullivan explains, “If you wish to emphasize the rock-solid foundation of our philosophy in the nature of things as they are, you can call it the Realist philosophy. Stressing the collective labor which has gone into its elaboration over the centuries, it may be termed the Common philosophy. Or, since metaphysics is the archstone of our philosophy, we can call it the philosophy of being” (279). Sullivan seeks to apply the classical realist tradition of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, and their best modern interpreters to the perennial questions of our day.

Originally published in 1957, TAN Books republished this textbook in 1992 and 2009. It is still in publication at the time of this writing. The endurance of this book speaks to the timeless questions of philosophy and the human condition. For the intellectually honest, the big questions of life never really go away, and Sullivan’s text brings wisdom, clarity, and insight. Sullivan does a great job with teaching one how to think carefully and rationally about such timeless questions as the nature of mankind, the way we know things, the life of virtue, the road to happiness, and the wonder of being or reality itself. The writing is clear, easy to understand, and is free of needless jargon and system building. Sullivan clearly explicates the great questions of life through an understanding of intellectual history (the development of ideas that impact society and culture) and a solid demonstration of the problems themselves. Mortimer Adler once said that “unless the philosopher solves problems by laying adequate analytical foundations for demonstration and, in the light thereof, by proving conclusions from self-evident premises, he does nothing” (189). In this text, Sullivan does just that. He does an excellent job of presenting and defending some of the great issues which impact everyone in some way, both through a historical analysis of the development of these ideas and a logical examination of them. His book is very accessible to non-philosophers and educated laypeople alike.

The book itself is divided into five sections. After explaining the inevitability of philosophy, because everyone, when pressed, has some ideas regarding the ultimate concerns of life, Sullivan lays out his text to address the historical rise of philosophy, the meaning of man, the making of man, the universe of man, and the universe of being. While these might sound like dated or abstract descriptors, Sullivan is really seeking to explain what it means to be human and have a particular nature (the meaning of man), what it takes for humans to flourish (the making of man), and the world in which we live in, the world of bodies and nature (the universe of man), and the realm of being which cannot be denied and has been a perennial source of wonder since man first began to philosophize. This is the world of metaphysics, the quest to understand the ultimate first causes of all reality both material and immaterial. The first philosophers in the historical record were, in fact, metaphysicians because they tried to understand all of reality, including such great questions as the intellectual nature of mankind, the nature of good, what it means to live a good life, and the source and cause of justice, mathematics, change and permanence, and the first principles which make these possible—and, finally, the ultimate question, why is there something rather than nothing? In short, Sullivan carefully helps one to understand that metaphysics—the philosophy of being—seeks to understand these ultimate “why” questions.

Sullivan, however, doe not do this in an overly technical way. When discussing the nature of man and the nature of knowledge, or how we know things, the author helps us to understand the unique gift of reason that everyone has. Besides being an animal, mankind has a power—the power of reason which in itself makes him different in kind from the rest of the animals. Reason, therefore, is the defining characteristic of human beings. We can choose whether or not we want to use our reason, and how we use it, but reason cannot be denied. Human flourishing requires us to use our reason well. After all, human beings are the only species that can reflect on their own thoughts and discover principles of truth and reality. Sullivan reminds us that human beings are not primarily material things. “In short, man is a being altogether unique as compared with the rest of the physical universe, because in knowing and judging he rises above the inexorable law and rigidity of the realm of matter” (64). Sullivan helpfully provides the metaphysical foundations for what it means to be human.

These great ideas of classical realism, the nature of man, and the ultimate metaphysical questions which have always been part of the enduring human quest are helpfully illuminated by Sullivan’s text. Although an introduction, it provides a solid foundation for further exploration. If one is interested in gaining wisdom and insight into the timeless conversations of what it means to exist as human beings and the ultimate nature of reality, this is a great book to start with.

Works Cited

Adler, Mortimer J. “The Demonstration of God’s Existence.” The Thomist, 1943, pp. 188 – 218.

Sullivan, Daniel J. An Introduction to Philosophy: Perennial Principles of the Classical Realist Tradition. TAN Books, 2009.