Dr. Heather M. Erb, professor of philosophy and religious studies, Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania, Penn State, Lock Haven University, Fordham, St. Francis (Loretto, PA), and University of Toronto. Ph.D. and master’s in philosophy and religious studies (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium), and St. Michael’s College (University of Toronto), and author of The Path of Spiritual Happiness
The title of Dr. Stegmann’s volume indicates the content and purpose of his current work, which is to examine how the reservoirs of spirituality serve the goals of human happiness, fortify the human spirit in greatness, and effect various forms of leadership in society. He weaves scholarly sources and insights together with supportive popular sources, providing a solid background for his applications of happiness and greatness to the study of organizational leadership.
The key definitions in the text are presented in each case as the culmination of comparison of four key concepts: spirituality, happiness, greatness, and leadership; the author also links the theme of spirituality and leadership to the achievement of “world peace”.
After outlining the key definitions in the first chapter, which is both comprehensive and foundational, the author frames the text by exploring the “dimensions of greatness” which “spirituality builds in every person and community”, leading to happiness and world peace. The transforming virtues that help us find meaning in suffering, grow in discernment, and transform and heal both self and society, are discussed in relation to the foundational topics of the book – happiness, greatness, and leadership– which is developed through both religious, philosophical, psychological and classical sources.
A key strength of Stegmann’s analysis is its use of a broad variety of sources and spiritual traditions through the ages, both East and West, religious and secular, philosophical and psychological. He deftly weaves themes such as the spiritual tradition of the threefold way in its various senses in various contexts, emphasizing the continuity of natural, revealed, and mystical theologies.
The informative use of charts lends appeal and organization to various interconnected themes, while the sheer breadth of materials is deployed with a systematic goal in mind, namely, to show how a wealth of intellectual and spiritual traditions develop tools for achieving greatness, which serves both spirituality, leadership, social action and personal happiness.
Very helpful are the chapter summaries and the detailed use of references for the various definitions and distinctions the author draws, as well as frequent chronologically ordered subtitles signaling the thinkers and ideas he is discussing.
In conclusion, Stegmann has offered us an extremely thorough and fascinating volume, rare in its vision and achievement of joining modern concerns in the temporal order to the classical and Christian roots of social action as found in the human person as an image of God. It is both a useful and inspirational tool for work in spirituality, leadership studies, and theology.