Plato and Chesterton and the totality of man

Main Article Content

Luis Felipe Lopes

Abstract

It is possible to unite Chesterton and Plato in their mutual desire to understand the human being in its totality, recognizing the methodological and theoretical difference of them both. Philosophy, in Plato’s reasoning, would be a posture of deep and non-manipulative questioning of objectively put data or that the use of reason could not be imposed secluded from an experience of life. Philosopher is a


man who is game in the pursuit and practice of virtue, of Good and of the One; search for unity as human integration, not content only with its multiplicity as a being. Chesterton, in spite of not being a philosopher, approaches to Plato by affirming that the integral man must perceive its transcendent reality and not merely material. An approximation to the notion of wholeness is, in fact, what is of great interest to the English author as to his anthropology and ethical notions: he seems to want to reclaim the category of the human being in his entire dimension - both in its natural and spiritual condition - and in its elements. Platonic heritage echoes in Chesterton through Christian heritage, and his intent seems to be a Christian apology for the recovery of the entirety of man, which had been fragmented by modern conquests.

Article Details

How to Cite
Lopes, L. F. (2018). Plato and Chesterton and the totality of man. Brasiliensis, 7(14), 99-116. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8128356
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Articles
Author Biography

Luis Felipe Lopes, Centro de Estudos Redemptoris Mater, Brasília

Doutor em Filosofia Moderna e da Religião pela Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Mestre em Filosofia da Religião pela Universidade de Brasília (UnB). Professor de Filosofia no Centro de Estudos Filosófico-Teológicos Redemptoris Mater de Brasília.

How to Cite

Lopes, L. F. (2018). Plato and Chesterton and the totality of man. Brasiliensis, 7(14), 99-116. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8128356