Philosophy as a Spiritual Exercise: Contributions of the Society of Jesus to the Discipline of Philosophy, edited by Andrew Barrette, Jeffrey Bloechl, and Patrick Byrne

The potential reader might be tempted to put aside this volume.There is the cover photo of Ignatius Loyola, who we know was no philosopher.Is this book yet another display of the cult that has grown around the saint and the Ignatian terminology that seems to replace the name of the Society of Jesus with the Society of Ignatius?All twelve authors from this 2022 conference are active or retired faculty at Catholic institutions, and so interreligious perspectives are not to be expected.In addition, a quick look through the volume indicates that the range of subjects and interlocutors is rather restricted.Bernard Lonergan, for whom I personally have great regard, is the principal partner in dialogue for many contributors.Major Jesuit thinkers who would be relevant to the book's theme appear not at all: for example,