1st Edition
The Spirit of Philadelphia A Call to Recover the Founding Principles
Introduction
Section I – Philosophy of Knowledge, Ethics, and Political Theory
Chapter 1 – Why Balance Is Crucial to Knowledge and Virtue
Chapter 2 – The Flourishing Life and Thriving Society
Chapter 3 – Thoughts on Political Theory
Section II – The Rise and Decline of American Common Sense Realism
Chapter 4 – Breaking With the Past
Chapter 5 – The Spirit of Philadelphia
Chapter 6 – Common Sense Realism - “A New Order of the Ages”
Chapter 7 – From Flourishing to Flailing - Why Political Philosophy Matters
Chapter 8 – The Mirage of Utopia
Section III – Recovering Founding Principles & Common Sense Realism
Chapter 9 – Restoring Trust
Chapter 10 – Reawakening the Spirit of Philadelphia
Chapter 11 – Notes for Us - “We the People”
Conclusion
Biography
Chris Gibson is the author of two previous books: Rally Point and Securing the State. He earned a Ph.D. in Government from Cornell University and a B.A. in History from Siena College. Chris and his wife, Mary Jo, a licensed clinical social worker, have been married for over 28 years, have three adult children, and live in upstate New York.
"Chris Gibson has issued a clarion call to all Americans – regardless of party or ideology – to participate in a much-needed reset of our struggling experiment in self-governance. Gibson first grounds his analysis in a thoughtful and expansive consideration of political philosophy and history as they relate to the modern challenges of our constitutional republic. He then leverages his impressive and diverse experiences in public service to arrive at a systematic program of system- and citizen-centered reforms that would enable us to recover the spirit of cooperation and pragmatism that animated the Constitutional Framers. While we can agree or disagree about specific proposals that he offers with this goal in mind, we can all agree that the status quo is unsustainable... and that this vitally important conversation needs to happen. Chris Gibson has provided us with a timely vehicle and a logical framework for such a national conversation."
Lewis G. Irwin, Professor of Public Policy and American Government, Duquesne University, and Major General, U.S. Army (retired)
“Chris Gibson – former Army Colonel, Iraq combat veteran, recipient of a Purple Heart and four Bronze Stars, Ph.D., three-term congressman, professor, and former college president – is singularly qualified to diagnose our current American malaise and to offer time-honored remedies of compromise, nonpartisanship, and shared sacrifices that date back to our founding and have helped America to heal in the past. A unique diagnosis and course of correction for an ailing America in its fourth century from a rare Renaissance American.”
Victor Davis Hanson, Senior Fellow, The Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and author of The Dying Citizen
