Frederick Wilhelmsen

Dr. Frederick D. Wilhelmsen (1923-1996) was a distinguished Roman Catholic philosopher, noted for his explication and advancement of the Thomistic tradition—as both a professor and writer. He also was an insightful political commentator, assessing American politics and society from a traditionalist perspective, and incisive and courageous political thinker, addressing many of the failings of secular-liberal democracy. A famed—indeed world-renowned—lecturer, he principally was a professor at the University of Dallas, from 1965 until his death in 1996. He also taught at the University of Santa Clara, the University of Al-Hikma (in Baghdad, Iraq), the University of Navarra (in Pamplona, Spain), and lectured and taught classes at many other universities.

He was a prolific writer--in addition to the book publications listed below--he contributed articles to the following: America, The Angelus, The Commonweal, Faith & Reason, The Grail, The Intercollegiate Review, Modern Age, National Review, The Political Science Reviewer, Triumph, The University Bookman, and The Wanderer, among others.

He also was a founding editor of Triumph (1966-1976)--a Roman Catholic monthly that sought the sacralization of American society.

In addition to assessing American politics and society, he was inspired by and extensively reflected upon Spanish politics and society. Alvaro d’Ors, a notable Spanish political philosopher, wrote that Wilhelmsen--an American from Detroit--was "the best interpreter of Spanish traditionalism—a body of political thought also known as Carlism, after King Charles V (Don Carlos).”

Wilhelmsen enjoyed a lively friendship and correspondence with Marshall McLuhan, who spent time at the University of Dallas in the 1970s.

Books:

Hilaire Belloc: No Alienated Man. A Study in Christian Integration. New York: Sheed and Ward, Inc., 1953.

Man's Knowledge of Reality: An Introduction to Thomistic Epistemology. Engelwood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1956.

Omega: Last of the Barques. Westminster, MD: The Newman Press, 1956.

The Metaphysics of Love. New York: Sheed and Ward, 1962.

El problema de la trascendencia en la metafísica actual. Madrid: Ediciones Rialp, S.A. and Publicaciones de la Facultad de Filosofía y Letras de la Universidad de Navarra, 1963.

El problema de Occidente y los cristianos. Seville, Spain: Publicaciones de la Delegación Nacional del Requeté, 1964.

La ortodoxia pública y los poderes de la irracionalidad. Madrid-Mexico City: Ediciones Rialp, S.A., Colección O Crece o Muere, 1965.

The Paradoxical Structure of Existence. Irving, TX: The University of Dallas Press, 1970.

Así pensamos. Madrid: Editorial Tradicionalista, 1977.

Christianity and Political Philosophy. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1978.

Citizen of Rome: Reflections from the Life of a Roman Catholic. LaSalle, IL: Sherwood Sugden & Company, Publishers, 1980.

Persona y sociedad, ed., Nilda E. Bonansea. San Luis, Argentina: Universidad Nacional de San Luís, 1984.

Being and Knowing: Reflections of a Thomist. Albany, NY: Preserving Christian Publications, 1991.

Under Full Sail: Reflections and Tales. Frasier, MI: Alcuin Press, 1996.

Los saberes políticos (ciencia, filosofía y teología políticas). Presentation by Miguel Ayuso. Barcelona: Ediciones Scire, SL, 2006.

Co-authored Books:

(with Jane Bret) The War in Man: Media and Machines. Athens, GA: University fo Georgia Press, 1970.

(with Jane Bret) Telepolitics: The Politics of Neuronic Man. Montreal and New York: Tundra Books, 1972.

Edited Books:

Guardini, Romano. The End of the Modern World: A Search for Orientation. Trans. J. Theman and H. Burke. New York: Sheed and War, 1956.

Seeds of Anarchy: A Study of Campus Revolution. Dallas: Argus Press, 1969.

Publications that discuss Frederick D. Wilhelmsen:

Allitt, Patrick. Catholic Intellectuals and Conservative Politics in America, 1950-1985. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1993.

Ayuso, Miguel. "Frederick D. Wilhelmsen y España." Foreword to R.A. Herrera, James Lehrberger, O.Cist., and M.E. Bradford, eds. Saints, Sovereigns, and Scholars: Studies in Honor of Frederick D. Wilhelmsen. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., 1993.

Ewbank, Michael B. "The Difference Diversity Makes." In R.A. Herrera, James Lehrberger, O.Cist., and M.E. Bradford, eds. Saints, Sovereigns, and Scholars: Studies in Honor of Frederick D. Wilhelmsen. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., 1993.

Herrera, R.A., James Lehrberger, O.Cist, and M.E. Bradford, eds., Saints, Sovereigns, and Scholars: Studies in Honor of Frederick D. Wilhelmsen. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., 1993.

Lehrberger, James J. “Christendom’s Troubador: Frederick D. Wilhelmsen.” The Intercollegiate Review (Spring, 1997): 52-55.

Kirk, Russell. "An Adventurer-Professor." In Confessions of a Bohemian Tory. New York: Fleet Publishing Co., 1963.

Nash, George H. The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America. New York: Basic Books, 1976.

Nelson, Jeffrey O. “Wilhelmsen, Frederick D.” In American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia, eds., Bruce Frohnen, Jeremy Beer, and Jeffrey O. Nelson, 921-923. Wilmington, DE: ISI Books, 2006.

Popowski, Mark D. The Rise and Fall of Triumph: The History of a Radical Roman Catholic Magazine, 1966-1976. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2011.

Santa Cruz, Manuel de . Apuntes y documentos para la historia del Tradicionalismo español, 1939-1966. Madrid, 29 tomes, 1979-1991, tomes 22-II, 23, 25-I and II, 26 and 27.

Schaefer, Thomas. "Up from Alienation: The Wilhelmsian Vision of the Human Person." In R.A. Herrera, James Lehrberger, O.Cist., and M.E. Bradford, eds. Saints, Sovereigns, and Scholars: Studies in Honor of Frederick D. Wilhelmsen. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., 1993.

Schiller, Craig. The Guilty Conscience of a Conservative. New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House Publishers, 1978.

Unsigned. Frederick Daniel Wilhelmsen (Eminent Professor and Catholic Intellectual): A Tribute from the University of Dallas. Irving, TX: University of Dallas, 1998.