If my two principles from last week are correct (God is good, we are fallen), then we should expect that merely human attempts to achieve heaven on earth will inevitably fail, but that God’s faithfulness will continue to guide us toward truth and justice if we listen to his voice. This listening is not something purely supernatural or esoteric, but also means listening to our own human nature and the way the world works. In doing so, we stumble into that most misunderstood of academic disciples, philosophy.

    Most people think philosophy is something abstract and completely useless for daily life. They believe it’s only mental gymnastics about topics like being and essence that don’t pay the bills or help us solve the world’s problems. They couldn’t be more wrong! Philosophy is the love of wisdom (philo-love, sophia-wisdom), a searching after truth that leads us to understand reality more clearly and easily. Every human being is a philosopher whether they know it or not. The only question is whether they are a good philosopher or a bad one. A good philosophical mind is always able to reach the truth which serves as the only durable building block for personal growth or social improvement. Without truth or objective reality, we are confused about who we are or what we were made for, and society at large stagnates. If there is no objective truth, then you and I have the responsibility of creating our own meaning out of life. We are uniquely burdened with figuring everything out for ourselves instead of trusting ancient wisdom to guide us. Societies that do not rely on past wisdom end up promoting the individual with its wants and needs rather than the common good.

    Both faith and reason rely on good philosophy to thrive. Far from being blind or irrational, true faith is fortified by true philosophy which helps the mind understand the natural causes of the universe from their effects. Sound philosophy ensures that the physical sciences like biology, chemistry, and physics don’t start making false assumptions about the universe when they observe it. To a good mind, observing the world around us which appears orderly and arranged, we can perceive the handiwork of the Great Orderer and Arranger. Because we understand our human nature (a thinking and loving being composed of soul and body), we can understand how to grow closer to God (thinking about him and loving him so as to live with him forever body and soul). Society as a whole relies on philosophy for order. Much of the injustice and unrest occurring in our communities and our country as a whole traces its roots back to false revolutionary philosophies like marxism or nationalism that do not recognize humanity’s common origin and destiny and end up demonizing the other side. Catholics throughout our history have used philosophy to strengthen the faith and promote a just ordering of society. Let’s reason well together in the future weeks to discover the path to wisdom that places God at the center!

    -Fr. Stephen