Awakening Wonder: A Classical Guide to Truth, Goodness & Beauty

Giants in the History of Education

by Stephen R. Turley

In his masterful work, The Abolition of Man, C. S. Lewis observed how modern education was changing our conception of what it means to be human. By cutting off students from the transcendent values of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty, modern schools ceased cultivating virtue in students and instead communicated a mechanistic vision of the world that viewed students as products to be engineered. Lewis believed that in seeking to control nature, modern “conditioners” would also seek to control humans and remake them according to the preference of the conditioners, since any appeal to Truth, Goodness, or Beauty had been rejected. Lewis argued that we must recover these transcendent values in order to prevent the dehumanizing tendency in modern education and renew the cultivation of virtue in our students.

With Awakening Wonder, Steve Turley demonstrates that it is precisely such a recovery that is at the heart of the current classical education renewal. Once again, Truth, Goodness, and Beauty are celebrated as those objective values that are essential for cultivating students as flourishing human beings. In these pages you will discover the history and development of these transcendent values and how they redeem our senses and sanctify our imaginations. Teachers will also learn how to incorporate these values into their teaching to awaken awe and wonder in both themselves and their students.

Genres: Education, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Theology, Art, Christianity

128 pages, Paperback

First published March 16, 2015

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful but unnecessarily academic little book.

There is much to love in this book. Better than almost everything else I have read on classical education, this book gives us a clear conception of the trinity of Truth, Goodness and Beauty. It grounds these Platonic values in the ancient Greek traditions and explains their evolution into Christian ideology. Understanding these essential values is critical to our understanding of true classical education. Truth, Goodness and Beauty are not just lofty ideals but are the backbone of the Greek paideia and therefore the foundation of any good education. It is the role of education to awaken wonder so that it primes the pump of our rational minds to pursue truth while accessing it through beauty which then compels us to act in goodness.

This is not an easy idea to unpack but the author does err on the side of excessive academic speak. He belabors points and often only weakly connects quotes to his primary point. The text meanders a bit which would be fine if he were writing in a more conversant voice. Since he is writing in the tone of a philosopher, I expected tighter arguments.

The fact remains that this book harnesses some essential goodness and left distinct impression on my mind over the weeks that I read it and reflected on it.

[Davis Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely superb. It's short and definitely not as comprehensive as it could be, but I know of no better primer on the relationship between Christianity and the Transcendentals (Truth, Beauty, and Goodness). It is a foundational manifesto for classical education rather than a guide for implementation, and touches upon things that everyone needs to know about. Even as someone who is familiar with many of the primary sources and ideas that Turley cites, this was still an incredibly worthwhile read, and it's hard to imagine a better primer for initiation into the classical view of life. I do, however, agree with others that an expanded treatise on these ideas needs to exist.

[Lydia Shearin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was so difficult to get through, and if my job didn’t depend on reading it I would have burned it. There were just enough lucid moments among the long swaths of philosophical mumbo-jumbo that I would start hoping that the book was getting better, only for those dreams to be crushed.
But…for all its awfulness, I really liked the 3 pages in chapter 6 where they discussed symbolism in nature. Was that 6 pages worth reading the whole book? No.
For a book called “Awakening Wonder”, the overly academic language awakened nothing but headache relating to a topic I would have otherwise enjoyed reading about.

[Colin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first part of this book is a pretty good introduction to classical thinking on Truth, Beauty, and Goodness, with a particularly Socratic and Platonic focus. The book eventually changes focus to how Christianity appropriated and interpreted those ideas, which was far less interesting to me, personally. The point is how classical notions of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness can and should drive education (fine), particularly Christian education (whatever). I found the first half of the book a good refresher on classical thinking, anyway.

[Nicole Seitler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had such a beautiful title--I only wish the inside of the book would have matched its outside a little more. I felt like this book was a wonderful clinical assessment of the history of why ancient philosophers thought that Truth, Goodness and Beauty were important. But it reads more like a research paper full of factual tidbits and less like a conversation. I was hoping that it would be more inspiring than it was.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this one of the best things I’ve ever read on Christian classical education. It’s quite detailed and technical, though a short introductory book.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a helpful flyover of the idea of wonder in a holistic education. I appreciated the author's insights. I'm not very good at following philosophical arguments, so I'm sure I didn't absorb as much as the book offers. The outlining of the purpose of education and how to awake wonder in your students was good to hear again, though. I would've liked less time spent repeating Lewis and explaining the Greeks and more on fleshing out these concepts in the classroom. It did read a bit like a long essay and left me wishing for a more in-depth book. Overall, it was a good read for February teacher burnout month. 😅

[Alicia McCallum · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately I did not really like this book. It was SO abstract, philosophical and vague (and used such overly scholarly language in my opinion). I really liked the last chapter, though, at least! It finally got a bit practical and concrete at that point 😳

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful book that expands on the transcendent values of Truth, Goodness and Beauty and how we can use them to awaken wonder in the lives of our students.

“This is our calling, and it is beautiful.”

[Deax · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful little book. It explains in a delightful way the classical understanding of truth, goodness and beauty and its re-appropriation into Christian theology. A most helpful book for classical Christian educators, application of its key tenets in an educational context will, I doubt not, awaken true wonder in students and may help lead some to truly love God’s Word and His ways.

[Darcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the title of this book is misleading. It's not so much a "guide," as it is an essay on the history of truth, goodness, and beauty in classical education. As other reviewers have noted, this book is unnecessarily academic and reads like a term paper. Perhaps because of the title, expectations were not met, which led to a harsher rating of this book than it deserves, but if you are going to call your book a guide, you need to deliver. A guide should give useful and practical advice. This is the second book I have read by Turley, and while I don't doubt his expertise on the subject, I have noticed that he likes to concentrate on theories, rather than the application of those theories. As a homeschool mom of three, I read this book in the hopes of increasing my ability to teach my children in the classical style. Turley briefly touches on practical applications in his discussion of symbolism and the fine arts, but examples of how truth, goodness, and beauty can be incorporated into education are mostly veiled in the intellectual haze of theory. Perhaps all the information about the Greeks and Romans will linger in the back of my mind and resurface at propitious times, but I have my doubts. I think what saddens me most about this book is that I recognize the information and ideas to be beautiful, but Turley's treatment of them was so dry that their beauty was all but lost in academic parlance. Clarity, I believe, is recognized as one of the hallmarks of truth, goodness, and beauty.

[V.P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short book that packs a philosophical punch. It’s not a book I would recommend to beginner homeschool families because it is a lot of information and not easily digested.

However, if you’re somewhat familiar with the medieval imagination, or have read “Abolition of Man” by CS Lewis, this is an excellent follow up. You could spend an entire lifetime studying the books he mentioned in the footnotes, and pondering the virtues and interconnection of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty.

I left this book with a fuller grasp on why we do certain things in a classical education. For example, we don’t listen to classical music simply because it’s pretty; listen to beautiful music because it points beyond itself to cosmic reality. God transformed disorder into order and chaos into form. Beautiful music, similarly, is the ordering of notes into a harmonious masterpiece.

There’s much left for me to learn.

[Mark Sumpter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The preposition *kata* has the significance of 'in accordance with,' and thus most early Greek fathers interpreted this phrase to meant that humans were creatied in acocrdance with the Logos, who is 'the image of the invisible God' (Colossians 1:15), through whom all things were made. So for the Greek patristics our very creation entails a relationship not merely to God as creator but also to Christ as God Incarnate, the image of the invisible God. And this is why for the early Greek theologians the Incarnation is so important to the realization of our true humanity. When we were first created in Paradise, we were created to discern and delight in creation as a reflection of the *Logos* through whom all things were made, and hence we were able to understand ourselves as creatures created in that Image. But in the Fall, this vision is frustrated; it is marred by the tyranny of sin, death, and the devil. And so, the created order, the Paradise that was to serve as the habitat that shaped and sanctified the humna person, has now been restored in the Incarnation of the *Logos,* the second person of the Trinity. Indeed, this is the classical signficance of the Eucharistic meal, where the grain and the fruit of the third day of creation are transformed into the bread and wine indentified with the body and blood of Christ, such that creation and Incarnation come together to restore our communion with God and one another. pp. 24-25

[Sam Knecht · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciated this book as a primer to some strands of thought I’ve noticed but haven’t been able to name or trace back into church history. Beyond that benefit, this was a slog. At times, I wish Turley would’ve said less better. Other times, it would’ve been helpful for him to say much more before moving on. Lastly, I’m dubious of some of the connections he makes, namely Plato as “origin” (a favorite word choice) of lines of thought in the church fathers, with little to no reference to the OT or teachings of Jesus’ own words.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don’t be fooled by the short length of this one. Like Abolition of Man, it is small, but *dense*. I’m sure I will have to read it again many more times to fully appreciate it, but the insights here on classical Christian education are profound and meaningful. More than once I found a smile growing on my face as I read. I can not recommend this more highly! Just be prepared that it is not a simple read.

[Joel Everett · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting take on the telos of a Christian Classical Education; this book may be summed up as encouraging an awakening of wonder in the student by means of seeing God as displayed through the categories of: Truth, Goodness, and Beauty throughout the traditional Trivium and Quadrivium and life itself. This book does make heavy use of theological, philosophical (Greek and Latin), and academic terms.

[Scott Meadows · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent little introduction to the classical perception of the good, true, and beautiful in philosophy, theology, aesthetics, metaphysics, and the educational process. Turley does a great job following the title, awakening the wonder of the world, through a synthesized (and potentially overly-academic) language and terminology. Short and sweet, but felt like the outline for a greater book to be released in the future.

[Rachel Dorminy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hefty little book! Really rich with ideas and concepts. I would think about a sentence for days. The first part was hard to wade through and a lot of it went over my head but the second part was a lot more tangible (or maybe I just got my sea legs). I really enjoyed his content on music and mathematics. The vocabulary was really helpful too in grasping these ideas and discussing them with other people. Definitely a book to revisit multiple times.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's what it claims to be-- a survey of Classical and early Christian views of the True, the Good, and the Beautiful, with a particular emphasis on Beauty and education.

The author then goes on to make a number insightful observations on how to teach in a way that integrates these into the classroom. Quite good.

[Rebekah Zuniga · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ideas are fantastic. But it is truly introductory. It was a great way to begin thinking through these ideas, but I will have much more to read before I feel I have a grasp on his main points. Wish the book was twice as long, and half as dense.

[Sarah Cramer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the premise, but as another reviewer stated this was unnecessarily academic. I felt like I was reading a research paper as opposed to something aimed at homeschooling parents. If you're looking for homeschooling inspiration look elsewhere 😕

[Joseph Henry Kester · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the subject matter and the aim of this book, and I thought the seventh and final chapter was very good. However, my enthusiasm for this book was significantly cooled by Turley's style of writing.

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great help in understanding the Christian integration of the classical triad of truth, goodness, and beauty. His passion and understanding for both the historic Christian worldview and also classical thought was woven together beautifully.

[Adayla]

I've tried to get into this for the past week. I have only made it two (short) chapters in. I really want to come back and try again in the near future but at the moment, my brain just doesn't seem to be working. Setting it aside for a different time.

[Tara Callahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informational. I would recommend this to those who are in the process of researching what classical education is.

[Dustin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this one for the book club at the kid’s school. Book group will be cancelled due to Covid 19. I would have enjoyed hearing the group’s thoughts.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I definitely want to re-read this one someday. I feel like much of it went over my head.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book on wonder. A fairly short book too.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great discussion of the True, Good, and Beautiful in Christian paideia and classical education. There are some unfortunate editing mistakes though.

[William Isley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am conflicted about this book. On the one hand, Dr. Turley's advocacy of restoring wonder to education via the classical emphasis on truth, goodness, and beauty is a position with which I agree. He also does a good job of showing the relationship between Christianity and the classical approach can work together. However, I have three criticisms. First, I believe that he gives the impression that the classical Greek tradition was more unified than it really was. Second, he appears to follow the Greek Fathers appropriation of the pagan Greek views without also discussing the tensions between the two and how the latter undermined certain Christian views. In particular the Christian view of creation and the essential goodness of the human body and material existence are not compatible with Plato's more negative views, which led the Patristic Christian theologians astray at times. Finally, the book does not seem to be able to decide whether it is a popular introduction for the intelligent lay reader or an academic work for professional theologians and philosophers. The language often becomes convoluted and full of academic jargon. This is too bad because the ideas are quite good and important. I believe that he should have geared it more to the popular level. However, it is still worth the read.