Apples of Gold in Pictures of Silver - 9780739141595

"This book is a liberal education in itself. The friends and students of Leon Kass have written engagingly and searchingly about literture, politics, science, philosophy, and God in the generous, humane, and dignified spirit of their philosopher-physician-scientist mentor. Each and every chapter is a gem; my compliments to the editors for paying such meticulous attention to detail and form."---Peter Lawler, Berry College

"A spectacular achievement. Leon Kass's students and friends have done him, and themselves, proud. The consistently high quality of these diverse essays---some of them virtual apples of gold themselves---makes this volume a fitting tribute to a stellar thinker and gifted teacher."---William Kristol, editor, The Weekly Standard

Leon R. Kass has been helping Americans better understand the human condition for over four decades---as a teacher, writer, scholar, public champion of the humanities, and defender of human dignity. From bioethics to civic education, from interpreting the Bible to weighing the moral implications of modern science, Kass has offered wisdom, guidance, and instruction. In this volume, fifteen of kass's admirers---including students, colleagues, and friends---honor his work by reflecting on the broad range of subjects to which he has devoted his life's work. Some of the essays offer interpretations of great works of literature and philosophy from Homer, Sophocles, and Plato to Rousseau, Franklin, Jane Austen, Hawthorne, and Henry James. Others examine the significance of Kass's work as a bioethicist and chairman of the President's Council on Bioethics and as an interpreter of the Book of Genesis. The essays collected in Apples of Gold in Pictures of Silver offer a sense of the breath of Kass's interests and insights and the influence he has had on generations of scholars. The reader is further acquainted with the career of Leon R. Kass by a biographical introduction and a comprehensive listing of his published writings and the courses he has taught.