Half-Baked Books:

Writings of John Francis Nieto

A good man is hard to find, a wise man even harder. In this blog, I think you will encounter the thought of a wise man. In saying this, I am speaking in the specialized sense of the wisdom sought by Socrates, presented by Aristotle, and elevated by St. Thomas. The wise man is the one who, from a grasp of the highest and most universal causes, is able to recognize order in the vast array of being, and approach each distinct being and each arena of human knowing from the perspective of one who sees its place in the cosmos of being and learning.

A man of wide experience, talent, energy, and commitment, he has been a political activist, a playwright, a poet, a man of prayer, a schola director, an acclaimed amateur chef, a whiskey connoisseur, a linguist, a dedicated and revered teacher. He never takes up a subject or activity but he determines to make himself a master of it. Above all, he has been a student of the great minds—ancient and modern, theological, philosophical, mathematical, scientific, poetical, and musical—in a particular way of St. Thomas and Aristotle. He was blessed to study within a living school of Aristotelian-Thomist thought, and yet has never been limited by an unhealthy discipleship.

The author has been a colleague and friend of mine for over 30 years. Every time I come to some insight, I find he has been there long before me, and he helps me to make many more connections. Where we have disagreement, his views challenge mine in just the right places. In this blog, you will encounter his thoughts on metaphysics, quantitative abstraction, illumination, participation, being another Christ, poetry, Dante, and much more. May you derive as much benefit from it as I, and more.

— Andrew T. Seeley, PhD, When I Discovered Your Words

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