What is “beauty” and what does it mean for something to be called “beautiful” according to Jacques Maritain? To answer this question, one must examine Maritain’s reflections on the topic, which he developed over more than thirty years across his works. It is important to remember that Maritain’s approach is foremost an epistemological and metaphysical reflection — rather than merely aesthetic or sociological. To really understand Maritain’s thought, one must consider its deep roots in the philosophy of his guiding teacher: Saint Thomas Aquinas.

That democracy is simply the result of people being heard, the so-called, ‘Will of the People,’ is the brain-child of Jean Jacque Rousseau. It is, in the words of Jacques Maritain, ‘the finest myth of Jean-Jacques.’[ii] The majority rules and becomes free not to obey anyone but themselves. Those who do not vote on the side of the majority are ‘forced to be free.’ Hence, it follows, according to Maritain, ‘that the first author of society is not God, the author of the natural order, but the will of man, and that the birth of civil law is the destruction of the natural law.’[iii] But mortal, fallible man on his own merits cannot produce a society that is protected against his very weaknesses. It needs help from above.

The life of Jacques Maritain (1882-1973) is a testimony of an unique attempt to answer the questions of our times with the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas. Although he has influenced many popes, encyclicals, intellectuals and politicians, his legacy is somewhat forgotten. Many contemporary Catholics vaguely remember his name but do not really know who Maritain was and what he means for the Catholic Church. His life and his writings however are of great importance and are an inspiration for all those who are interested in personalism.