Like many of our Contributors, I was unfamiliar with Robert George and his work before our Praxis Circle interview in 2022. Because we talk with a wide range of thought leaders from various backgrounds and religious convictions—from agnostic materialists to evangelical Christians—unless I do some research beforehand, I’m never quite sure in what direction an interview will go or how a Contributor will approach certain questions.
To the admittance of my own ignorance, Robert George was no exception; being a highly respected professor at an Ivy League only made me more skeptical of how he would address topics now under attack in the world of academia such as faith, reason, natural law, and truth. You can imagine my surprise when he tackled these topics (ones that I now know he is a leading expert in) with a profound depth, emphasized with conviction yet an air of gentle humility. It has become one of my favorite interviews to date.
Truth & Imago Dei
George’s newest book, Seeking Truth and Speaking Truth: Law and Morality in Our Cultural Moment (2025), reads much like that interview in book form. However, there he is not limited to an hour or two behind a camera to share his thoughts but afforded about 350 pages to fully expand on them through a robust collection of twenty-three essays (some co-authored by other leading intellectuals such as Patrick Lee, John Finnis, Ryan T. Anderson, and others). These essays are organized into four sections: the human person, constitutional law and political philosophy, culture and education, and some reflections drawing from five diverse truth-seekers. The purpose of this collection? “To mount a renewed defense of the inherent and equal worth and inviolability of every member of the human family—every human being, from womb to the tomb.” This comes from the Christian concept of imago Dei, which George uses to define his worldview in our interview here.
George accomplishes this by doing what he does best: challenging the dominant ideology and speaking the truth about some of the most urgent moral, political, and legal issues facing Western culture today. As in our interview, he does so with the acknowledgement that he is a fallible human being, yet with the assurance that objective truth is on his side. Watch this clip here.
His objective of defending human dignity is not limited to talking about abortion or euthanasia alone—though extremely important arguments are made on both in the book—but is instead accomplished through a comprehensive view of what it means to be a person and how our institutions (marriage, government, the economy, academia, etc.) can and should uphold this dignity to their fullest extent.
The Age of Feelings
A driving theme that connects these essays into one cohesive book is the concept of the ages. The medieval period in Europe could be referred to as the “Age of Faith”—when truth meant conformity to certain religious doctrines and human intellect was not held in high esteem. The following “Age of Reason” of the Enlightenment period was a direct response to this and emphasized the power of rational inquiry and thought in every domain of knowledge.
George argues that we have recently entered a new age that neither prioritizes faith nor reason—instead, we find ourselves in the “Age of Feeling” where truth is defined by our own subjective emotions. The challenge of our age—amongst many—is that some have adopted a fierce moral absolutism that they think is somehow objectively or universally true, only for them to be based on nothing more than personal feelings. This, George explains, is what has undergirded people’s willingness to throw out basic civil liberties and participate in a cancel culture that aims to destroy those whose ideas do not fit into their own moral paradigm. The result is a fractured people and society that has little hope of getting to the truth of things.
By boldly writing on topics of human dignity, equal protection rights for the unborn, the free market, campus ideology, the institution of marriage, and more, George shows us at a most basic yet intellectually rigorous level that there is a “right and a wrong,” that objective truth is attainable, and that both faith and reason are our best way forward—not feelings. This can only be done, however, when we allow ourselves to truly enter and engage in the free marketplace of ideas. He writes,
Intellectual freedom, open inquiry, robust civil discourse, and openness to genuine dialogue with people who see things different from the way we ourselves see them provide our best shot at getting to the truth. We should tolerate—and in a truth-seeking spirit, we should engage—ideas we think are wrong, even badly, indeed tragically, wrong. We should do that not because there is no truth, but precisely because the free exchange of ideas is the best way available to us for getting at the truth, deepening our knowledge and understanding, and achieving that rarest and most precious of all categories of truth, namely, wisdom. (Preface, XV).
We all must commit to this level of engagement. Only then, George argues, can errors be corrected and can we get nearer to the fullness of truth.
Seeking & Speaking
To the reader who finds himself diametrically opposed to George’s arguments presented in this book—now is your chance to practice this open-minded engagement (and good on you for doing so). You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better philosophical defense on these important topics that demand our thoughtful attention, especially in today’s culture.
To the reader who finds himself in agreement with George and his worldview—read it for encouragement. The world becomes far less confusing when we get these things, particularly personhood, right. Much of what we believe, how we act, and the structure of our government and society rests on this one foundational point. Knowing that these arguments in the book present a way forward that respects human dignity at every point in a person’s life should be all the encouragement we need to do what George is calling us to do: continue seeking and speaking truth.
