Dale Ahlquist on G. K. Chesterton

11/14/24 • 52 min

A surprising number of Catholic conversions in the last hundred years begin with one man: G. K. Chesterton. A modern Catholic favorite, Chesterton looms large in subjects as diverse as theology, satire, marginalia, philosophy, politics, and mystery fiction.

Our guest today is Dale Ahlquist, founder and president of the Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton. His own journey of conversion started with Chesterton’s The Everlasting Man. In our conversation, we visit many of Chesterton’s ideas, concluding with the much misunderstood “distributism”—a Chestertonian practical philosophy and the subject of Ahlquist’s co-edited book of essays titled Localism: Coming Home to Catholic Social Teaching.

Chapters:

1:53 Conversion by way of Chesterton

6:17 Chesterton: a “complete thinker”

8:16 Reading recommendations

12:05 The opening of Everlasting Man

13:56 The ending of Man Who Was Thursday

17:16 Fairy tales and fundamental truths

19:18 “The twitch upon the thread”

22:27 Defining distributism, or localism

30:13 Localism for D.C. (sub)urbanites

33:44 Founding schools: localism in action

39:11 Family enterprises

42:19 The contributors to Localism

45:31 Creating a life of localism where you are

Links:

Localism: Coming Home to Catholic Social Teaching edited by Dale Ahlquist and Michael Warren Davis

The Everlasting Man by G. K. Chesterton

G. K. Chesterton: The Apostle of Common Sense by Dale Ahlquist

Common Sense 101: Lessons from G. K. Chesterton by Dale Ahlquist

Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton

St. Thomas Aquinas by G. K. Chesterton

St. Francis of Assisi by G. K. Chesterton

Father Brown: The Essential Tales by G. K. Chesterton

“The Roots of the World” by G. K. Chesterton

The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare by G. K. Chesterton

Men in the Making, Alvaro de Vicente’s substack featuring original articles

Featured Opportunities:

What Should a Catholic University Be? at The Heights School (December 7, 2024)

Also on the Forum:

Episode 1: The Homework Problem, newly launched Forum Faculty Podcast hosted by Tom Cox featuring round-table discussions with veteran teachers

Chapters:

1:53 Conversion by way of Chesterton

6:17 Chesterton: a “complete thinker”

8:16 Reading recommendations

12:05 The opening of Everlasting Man

13:56 The ending of Man Who Was Thursday

17:16 Fairy tales and fundamental truths

19:18 “The twitch upon the thread”

22:27 Defining distributism, or localism

30:13 Localism for D.C. (sub)urbanites

33:44 Founding schools: localism in action

39:11 Family enterprises

42:19 The contributors to Localism

45:31 Creating a life of localism where you are

Links:

Localism: Coming Home to Catholic Social Teaching edited by Dale Ahlquist and Michael Warren Davis

The Everlasting Man by G. K. Chesterton

G. K. Chesterton: The Apostle of Common Sense by Dale Ahlquist

Common Sense 101: Lessons from G. K. Chesterton by Dale Ahlquist

Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton

St. Thomas Aquinas by G. K. Chesterton

St. Francis of Assisi by G. K. Chesterton

Father Brown: The Essential Tales by G. K. Chesterton

“The Roots of the World” by G. K. Chesterton

The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare by G. K. Chesterton

Men in the Making, Alvaro de Vicente’s substack featuring original articles

Featured Opportunities:

What Should a Catholic University Be? at The Heights School (December 7, 2024)

Also on the Forum:

Episode 1: The Homework Problem, newly launched Forum Faculty Podcast hosted by Tom Cox featuring round-table discussions with veteran teachers

Previous Episode

Alvaro de Vicente on the Vocation of Fatherhood

The task of fatherhood is critical, dynamic—and daunting. How could one address hope to address it all? During the Fatherhood Conference at The Heights School this month, Headmaster Alvaro de Vicente boiled it down to this: God chose this for you. You are called. Accepting this simple starting point should give fathers the confidence to take on the role, and the humility to seek God’s grace while doing so.

Chapters:

3:02 Fatherhood as vocation

9:20 Vocation as your position on the team

12:09 The mission: bring your family to heaven

13:29 Fatherhood is a partnership with God

16:07 A father’s example of piety and virtue

27:06 Offering our children direct guidance

30:37 Offering them our time

34:05 Witnessing to the world

36:54 Being open to God’s grace

40:41 Messy is fine

45:20 You’re the man for the job

Links:

Men in the Making, Alvaro de Vicente’s substack featuring original articles

Pastoral Letter on New Evangelization, 2 October 2011 by Javier Echevarría, former prelate of Opus Dei

Christ Is Passing By by Josemaría Escrivá

“In Joseph’s Workshop” by Josemaría Escrivá

Featured Opportunities:

The Art of Teaching Conference at The Heights School (November 13-15, 2024)

Also on the Forum:

Episode 1: The Homework Problem, newly launched Forum Faculty Podcast hosted by Tom Cox featuring round-table discussions with veteran teachers

On Emotional Presence and Imperfect Parenting featuring Alvaro de Vicente

Paternal Presence featuring Alvaro de Vicente

The Father and His Family featuring Michael Moynihan

Next Episode

Joe Breslin on What Fiction Is For

How do we justify reading? Do we justify reading?

Heights fifth grade teacher and published fiction author Joe Breslin chases away such questions. Though fiction can have utility, even moral impact—fiction at its best is an art created and received with wonder. In this fascinating conversation, Mr. Breslin reflects on writing, reading, and gets us to the heart of what it actually means to do something “for its own sake.”

Chapters:

3:50 Do we read for utility?

7:49 Fiction: pursued for its own sake

11:43 Whether fiction has a moral purpose

18:57 Fiction writing is not essay writing

23:03 Good art ends up reflecting God

26:09 Defining “good for its own sake”

28:23 The tension between education and encounter

34:04 A parent’s role in sharing fiction

38:07 The human impulse for literature

Links:

Hearts Uncanny: Tales of the Unquiet Spirit by Joe Breslin