The role of philosophy

Fr. Guido Vergauwen OP
Philosophy in the Order

Abstract

Comparing the present situation of our philosophical teaching with a survey made by Liam Walsh OP (cf. Angelicum, 1984) the following observations among others, can be made: only few provinces continue to have centers of study; few Dominicans have done higher studies in philosophy since 1970; we don’t have a unified curriculum; and there is not a common understanding of the role of philosophy in the Dominican formation.

The General Chapter of Providence which commissioned the Philosophical Faculty of the PUST to organize this symposium was not the first Chapter to deal with the issue concerning philosophical formation. The Chapters of Quezon City, Walberberg (1980) and Caleruega (1995) can attest to this fact. We can also examine the text of the newest Ratio Studiorum Generalis (RSG) of the Order (1993) to serve our purpose. The RSG gives a fundamental orientation for the understanding of the philosophical and theological studies in the Order.

The Fides et Ratio (FR) is also a testimony to the importance of philosophy. The challenges which are expressed in this rich text could inspire discussions about new accents in our philosophical curriculum.

1. In relation to the modern crisis of rationalism and post-modern skepticism (cf. FR 91), the encyclical wants to meet this 'widespread distrust of the human being’s great capacity for knowledge' (cf. FR 5). This is a new challenge for philosophy today.
2. FR pleads courageously for a renewed understanding of the autonomy of philosophy.
3. The encyclical formulates the requirements of the word of God and faith for the sake of philosophy.
4. In relation to the need for a metaphysical approach in philosophy, the encyclical makes some important remarks about hermeneutics and the analysis of language.
5. In the domain of human acting FR underlines the importance of 'philosophical ethics which considers the truth of the good, a type of ethics which is neither subjectivist nor utilitarian' (cf. FR 98) and an anthropology which defines a human being as one who seeks the truth (cf. FR 28).
6. Quite relevant for the philosophical curriculum is the problem of dialogue of cultures and inculturation. Philosophy is the locus in which the truth of the Gospel can manifest the dialogical character of its universal value.

To come into terms with the reflections presented by FR, there is a need to answer fundamental questions which our students in formation may ask: What do we really mean by philosophy? What is the importance of philosophy? What do we really learn through philosophy? Philosophy is 'useless‘ i.e., it cannot be applied immediately in a world of practical immediate concerns. In philosophy we become aware of our deepest relation to the world in which we live. In philosophy we learn to ask radical questions. A philosopher does not have the last answers but he deals with ultimate questions. A philosophy which is really alive, has to be developed as a counterpoint – not in opposition – to Christian theology, to the radical and existential questions linked with Christian revelation.

To conclude, we study philosophy not just for the sake of theology; we study philosophy in order to learn how to understand ourselves in a world marked by the problems and consequences of modernity; and there is a pressing urgency to solve these problems. These same problems may be reduced to basic questions: How do we live together in freedom? How can we learn to understand and accept one another? How do we act in a responsible way in order to prepare a common future? It seems to me that our teaching of philosophy has to prepare our brothers to perceive the Christian invitation to a form of life as an answer to the questions which I have formulated and to take the risk to expose this answer, through arguments, to the requirements of reason and its quest for truth.

© 1.5.2003, P. Albert Bagood OP.