Father's other admonition? We should avoid shopping for Christmas, and focus instead on the gift of love, and providing it to family and others. Certainly we should try to make time for corporal and spiritual works of mercy--how many Catholics can name them, or have the necessary familiarity with the Faith and the spiritual preparation that is needed?
After Mass, I chatted a bit with KK's prof, SC. I hope it wasn't too frustrating for him--it must have seemed like an excrutiating and painful experience, like having one's teeth pulled. He had to continue asking questions in order to get answers from me. Being evasive--I've had a lot of practice over the years. It's a 'natural reaction,' when one is in a (perceived) hostile environment and wishes to avoid negative consequences. The other thing is that I've developed a distaste for 'shop talk,' especially if I don't think I've been adequately prepared to speak about a particular topic. (There are other reasons which also explain why I am bad at oral exams. Alas, the rhetoric course I took at Cal was for writing, not speaking.)
He asked about my opinions regarding the new natural law theory of Grisez/Finnis/Boyle, and how it differed from the 'neo-Thomists.' Then he asked about the differences between the Laval School/Dominicans and the existential Thomists regarding metaphysics, who I thought were reliable guides and who were not. Since I am not yet a student of metaphysics, I didn't want to give an authoritative answer, preferring to explain my sympathies but without going into a sustained critique of other 'Thomistic' schools.
I brought up the question of whether a moral philosophy/natural ethics is possible. (I need to finish that post on Peter Hitchens and atheism.) I do think that even if a natural ethics is possible, it is not sufficient to guide us to happiness--we need Divine Revelation to tell us that our happiness consists of a supernatural union with God, and why there is something wrong with us. (While we know through Divine Revelation about original sin, I think it is possible for us to know by natural reason alone that there is something wrong with us--namely that we are unable to love God in way that is natural and proper to us, and that this is something that we should be able to do if all was right with creation.)Maybe I should write a paper looking at Maritain's and McInerny's positions, using Fr. Wallace's book on moral demonstration to explain how ethics is a science. Christendom does not require that its students take moral philosophy, as there is a moral theology requirement instead. I tend to agree that at a Catholic liberal arts school, the moral science the students should be learning should be moral theology; if there is a place for moral philosophy it should be as a preparation for moral theology.
SC responded that it would seem that if one is to study [Thomistic] moral theology, one should nonetheless has to deal with the 'philosophical' issues that divide Thomists. But perhaps the alternative would be to study a different sort of moral theology--that of the monastic theologians, for example. It might not be scholastic, or Thomistic/Aristotelian in its understanding of the theology as a science, but perhaps it would just be as effective, if not more so, for your typical undergraduate.
We also touched upon the topic of Catholic education and its reform. (He remarked that St. Mary's and USF are 'failed experiments.') We agreed that what are needed are small Catholic liberal arts schools. We got to the topic of accreditation, but we didn't finish it. I would like his opinion about opening a Catholic college that would accept adolescents and prepare them for a BA by first giving them a liberal arts education, grounded in grammar, rhetoric, logic, and so on. (A two- or three-year program.) In the U.S. they should also be exposed to the different American political traditions, and the authentic republican tradition. (Would such a school be bound by state requirements governing public secondary schools? And can it be adjusted to satisfy UC and CSU demands?)
I look forward to continuing the conversation some time soon... this afternoon was a reminder of why I was drawn to education and philosophy in the first place. There are very few opportunities for such conversations here--it's not really something I could do with my friends from high school. SC seemed concerned that I might avoid talking with him in the future, since I seemed uncomfortable with answering his questions (at first). I hope this impression goes away the next time.
