In Defense of Purity: An Analysis of the Catholic Ideals of Purity and Virginity

196 pp. When Dietrich von Hildebrand converted to Catholicism in 1914, he was surprised to find that, despite an abundance of books on the dangers of impurity, there were practically none on the positive values of purity. First published in 1927, In Defense of Purity anticipates many of the most pressing social issues of our day. Hildebrand's vision of the human person offers an antidote to a contemporary attitude that treats the body as a mere object and fails to appreciate its integral unity with the person. In Defense of Purity has influenced thinkers like Karol Wojtyla/Pope John Paul II, whose own Love and Responsibility and Theology of the Body share and build upon many of Dietrich von Hildebrand's insights.