Reviews for The actor and the spectator

The average rating for The actor and the spectator based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-06-04 00:00:00 William Shaw This is a profound study of the human person as revealed through his act. The English translation fails to capture Wojtyla's thesis. "Acting person" implies acting consciously, which is not the approach that Wojtyla takes. Rather, he approaches the person by first studying an act, analyzing it, discerning its human element, and then finding the person who lies behind the act. Only then can such an act be called a truly human act, or a conscious act. Wojtyla's approach is a penetration into and beyond the acts to the reality of the person behind them. This is an approach used by modern philosophers, and Wojtyla focuses on two: Immanuel Kant and the phenomenologist Max Scheler. Taking what is valid and true from these two philosophers, Wojtyla goes on to show how traditional philosophers (Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, St. Thomas, for example) are compatible and are actually necessary for modern thought. In fact, the experienced realities that Wojtyla describes through his modern approach are shown to be completely compatible with St. Thomas Aquinas' metaphysical theories. At the end of the study, one will in fact question how modern thought can even continue to progress without the great treasures Western Civilization has handed down, primarily St. Thomas Aquinas' most fundamental explanations of "being" and "essence." One word of caution: the English translation fails to capture the technical terms that Wojtyla meticulously tailored to be able to express the metaphysical and phenomenological terms he is dealing with here.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-08-25 00:00:00 Alison Thompson I wanted to read this after noticing it was cited many times in his book Love an Responsibility, which I loved. This book is amazing, but also a bit over my head. I would love to run into someone one day who could read and fully comprehend it in the original Polish and also explain / discuss it in English. I would love to hear from others who have also read it and are interested in further understanding its contents.