Maritain

Jacques Maritain (1882–1973) was a French Catholic philosopher and a leading figure in 20th-century Thomism and personalism. He helped revive scholastic philosophy in modern thought and was influential in Catholic social teaching, debates on human rights, and religious liberty.

Born in Paris, Maritain studied philosophy at the Sorbonne and became a central voice in the Catholic intellectual revival of the interwar period. He and his wife, the Russian-born writer Raïssa Maritain, developed a Catholic philosophy that sought to harmonize faith and reason. During World War II he spent time in the United States, where he lectured and wrote for a broader audience, and after the war he continued to advocate for democracy, pluralism, and a moral order in public life.

Key themes of Maritain’s thought include the dignity of the human person, the natural law as a universal basis for moral norms, and the view that political authority exists for the common good. He argued for religious liberty as a fundamental right and for the compatibility of Christian faith with liberal democracy. His major works include Integral Humanism and The Rights of Man and the Dignity of the Human Person, which helped shape postwar Catholic reflection on human rights and the role of religion in public life and contributed to the intellectual climate that influenced Vatican II.