The Second Truth: A Brief, 21st Century Introduction to the Intellectual and Spiritual Journey that is Philosophy

by James P. Danaher

WE ARE BORN into families, language communities, and cultures that provide us with an initial understanding (first truth) through which to interpret our experience. Civilization advances, however, because certain authentic individuals like Copernicus, Socrates, and Jesus pursued a better way (second truth) to conceptualize and interpret their experience. Eventually, we inherit filtered versions of their second truth as part of our initial understanding, but such an understanding originated out of a specific form of thinking known as philosophy.“If the human race is to survive, it must learn different ways of thinking. James Danaher's wonderfully accessible book introduces readers of every age and education to a modality of thought which was the heart of Socrates' thinking, but which, over time, has been lost or ignored.” ―Maggie Ross, author of Writing the Icon of the In Silence Beholding, and A User's Guide. “This is a clear, compelling, and important book. It says from a philosophical perspective what spiritual teachers have recognized throughout the ages. Our first truth is largely self-referential and a result of childhood conditioning―even by otherwise seemingly ‘educated’ people. Information is not the same as transformation! Read and be transformed by a ‘second truth’!”―Fr. Richard Rohr, O.F.M., Center for Action and Contemplation, Albuquerque, New Mexico

176 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2014

About the author

James P. Danaher is Professor of Philosophy and Head of the Philosophy Department at Nyack College. He is the author of Eyes that See, Ears that Hear: Perceiving Jesus in a Postmodern Context (2006), and Postmodern Christianity and the Reconstruction of the Christian Mind (2001).