A classic of philosophical thought on the limitations of modernity. It is a profound book, with theses of great actuality. With the passion of a convert, Maritain sets himself the task of showing the roots of the ideas that govern the world, making a sharp criticism of the spiritual heritage of the three reformers: Luther, Descartes and Rousseau.
It shows in a clear and accessible way, how the great events of contemporary history were shaped by these three figures. They were authentic revolutions: egocentric individualism, "immanentism" or rationalism and sentimentalism or naturalism. They are reformers in different fields: religious, philosophical and moral; their errors are, among other things, a consequence of unresolved dualisms: nature-grace; reason-faith and reason-nature.
Jacques Maritain (1882-1973), French philosopher, is one of the most notable figures of 20th century philosophy, one of the main representatives of neotomism. The author, after having received strong censures, strongly affirms that "with this work he does not intend to condemn three centuries of human history and return to the Middle Ages". His purpose is understood in the broader context of the project he succeeded in realizing: a humanism inspired by Thomistic metaphysical realism, from which the three protagonists of the work distanced themselves. He sought the philosophical regeneration of modern culture in the light of Christian wisdom.