Brother Benignus, F.S.C., Ph.D. - Nature, Knowledge and God - An Introduction to Thomistic Philosophy (1947) #thomism

Dorothy Sayers - Lost Tools of Learning (1948) #education - Source: 🔗

From the point of view of practical logic, the most important distinction between two types of terms is the distinction between ambiguous terms and unambiguous terms. However, there are also other distinctions between different types of terms. A term can be:

(1) Unambiguous or ambiguous
(2) Clear or unclear
(3) Exact or vague
(4) Univocal, analogous or equivocal
(5) Literal or metaphorical
(6) Positive or negative
(7) Simple or complex
(8) Categorematic or syncategorematic
(9) Universal, particular or singular
(10) Collective or divisive
(11) Concrete or abstract
(12) Absolute or relative

— Peter Kreeft, in Socratic Logic #logic

(1) Terms are either unambiguous or ambiguous. “Ambiguous” means “having more than one meaning.”

Strictly speaking, no term as such is ambiguous until it is used ambiguously. “Good” is not ambiguous when I use it in only one way. For example: “A saint is a very good person,” and: “Saint Francis was a very good person.” But it becomes ambiguous when I use it with two different meanings. For example: “That is a good axe,” and: “A murderer is not a good person,” because the evil murderer needs a good axe to commit the evil deed of cutting off his victim’s head.

A term used ambiguously is misleading; we don't know what we're talking about. Worse, we think we do. Most ambiguity is hidden.

We don't realize we're using terms ambiguously unless we're deliberately trying to mislead or making a pun.

[...] Defining a term is the way to cure the disease of ambiguity.

— Peter Kreeft, in Socratic Logic #logic

The most esteemed twentieth-century apologist was the Englishman C. S. Lewis (1898–1963), an atheist who converted to Christianity. Lewis in many works sought to draw out the ways in which Christianity makes sense of the world and human life. He did this through a wide variety of writings, from essays and scholarly works to fictional books for children. Many people today regard him as among the most insightful and wise thinkers in the history of the Christian church.


Another major twentieth-century apologist, mentioned already in this book, was John Warwick Montgomery (1931–), a convert to confessional Lutheranism. Montgomery worked primarily in the tradition of Sherlock and Greenleaf, in that he attempted to show how a fair-minded appraisal of the historical facts relevant to Christianity should lead to a verdict in its favor.


Today many people are continuing to do excellent work in the area of apologetics. It should be noted, however, that those apologists who receive the most attention in the world of Evangelical Christianity are not always entirely sound from a theological standpoint. They sometimes hold novel views about the nature of God, the incarnation, and other doctrines. Hence it is important to approach apologetic works coming out of Evangelicalism with some caution. A recent Roman Catholic figure who has written several excellent books that are highly relevant to doing apologetics and which are generally free from such problems is Edward Feser (1968–). Feser has sought to show how the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas continues to be relevant and suitable for doing apologetics and philosophy. His work happens to coincide with a recent revival of interest in Aquinas’ ideas among many Protestants. Such Protestants believe that Aquinas managed to develop a compelling Christian philosophy that successfully synthesized biblical truth with the best insights of ancient philosophy. For those who share this view, the great medieval thinker remains of more use to biblically faithful Christians today than virtually any philosopher since his time.

—Nathan Greeley, Lutheran Apologetics

College education doesn't make you a cultural person. It only qualifies you to work in your major and get a better job opportunity.

College doesn't define you.

My reading list of books and articles for this month🏳️‍🌈:

Books:
–Abigail Shrier, Irreversible Damage, The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters.
–Edward Feser, Neo-scholastic Essays The PFA Argument.
—Jordan-Young Rebecca M, Brain Storm: The Flaws in the Science of Sex Differences.
—Priston Sprinkle, Embodied: Transgender Identities, The Church and What the Bible Has to Say.

Articles:
https://edwardfeser.blogspot.com/2018/11/byrne-on-why-sex-is-binary.html

https://edwardfeser.blogspot.com/2018/12/byrne-on-why-sex-is-not-social-construct.html

https://edwardfeser.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-sexual-revolution-devours-its.html

https://edwardfeser.blogspot.com/2019/03/byrne-on-gender-identity.html

https://alexanderpruss.blogspot.com/search/label/gender?m=0

Morality is essential for society's existence and human flourishing.

Failure to Find Dark Matter Doesn’t Agree with the Big Bang

“The rotation of stars in the outer parts of galaxies is not what one would expect from the visible mass present. The favoured idea for solving this mystery is that galaxies are surrounded by a halo of 'dark matter', an unknown, unobserved substance providing the 'missing mass'. In fact, the currently favoured big bang model now requires 95% of the universe … to be made up of dark matter and the equally mysterious dark energy (creation.com/dark-energy-elusive). This is needed to reconcile aspects of the cosmic microwave background, and the rate of expansion, with the big bang.

[Continued]...

"Calov and Scherzer, [are] authors well versed in Scholastic philosophy," - Leibniz, Preliminary Dissertation on the Conformity of Faith with Reason (n. 17)

Fr. Jaime Luciano Balmes - The Art of Thinking Well (1882), p. 118-119: Chapter VII - Logic in Accord with Charity

I. Wisdom of the law prohibiting rash judgments.

The Christian law which prohibits rash judgments is not only a law of charity, but of prudence and sound logic. Nothing more dangerous than to judge of an action, and above all of an intention, from mere appearances.

The ordinary course of things is so loaded with complicated events, men find themselves in such varied circumstances, they act from so different motives, they see objects with eyes so distinct, that we often regard as a whim or caprice, what we find, when examined closely and in presence of the circumstances, the most simple and natural thing in the world.

II. Examination of the maxim: "Think ill and you'll not be far astray".

The world thinks it gives an important rule of conduct when it says, "Think ill, and you'll not be far astray", and imagines it has thus emended the gospel morality.

"Don't be too candid" we are constantly told; "don't trust to words; men are very wicked; love comes from the hand, not from the lip"; as if the Gospel taught us to be imprudent and fools! as if Jesus Christ, when he told us to be simple as the dove, did not also advise us to be prudent as the serpent! as if He did not warn us not to trust every spirit, and to judge the tree by the fruit and finally as if, apropos of the malice of men, he did not read in the first pages of Sacred Scripture, that man is inclined to evil from his youth!

The pernicious maxim, which proposes nothing less than to secure freedom from error through malignity of judgment, is as contrary to sound reason as it is to Christian charity.

In fact, experience tells us that the greatest liar utters much more truths than lies, and the worst wretch does more good actions than indifferent or bad ones. Man naturally loves the truth, and that which is goody and withdraws from them only when his passions drag him away.

The liar lies when an occasion presents itself, when he thinks he can forward his interests, or flatter his foolish vanity; but outside these cases, he naturally tells the truth, and talks like other men. The thief steals, the roue commits debauchery, the quarrelsome fight, when the opportunity offers and their passion stimulates them.

If they were constantly abandoned to their evil inclinations they would be real monsters, their crime would degenerate into madness, and then public decorum and the good order of society would imperiously demand, that they should be separated from intercourse with their fellow-men.

We may infer from these observations, that to judge ill without due foundation, and to take malignity as the guarantee of success, is just as irrational as to assert that, given an urn with very many white balls and very few black ones, the probabilities are in favour of the black ones being drawn before the white.

"Scotus says a person denying [the principle of non-contradiction] ought to be soundly beaten with clubs. If he complains he is being injured, the response should be that he is not being injured until he concedes these two things, to be injured and not to be injured, cannot be true and false simultaneously." - Johann Scherzer, Axiomata Resoluta (Title 1, p. 45)

Ecclesiastes 2

So I said in my heart: “I will rejoice and enjoy pleasures and benefit from what is good.” But I realized that this, too, was vanity.

Themistocles, Lucullus, and many others eventually gave themselves over to pleasures, wearied by countless futile disputes and the ingratitude of men. Thus, men swing from one extreme to another, from toil to extravagant pleasures. This way of seeking tranquility is also called vanity here; it is not a reproach of things. On the contrary, God Himself, in His immense goodness, created this life with many delightful pleasures. We ought to enjoy food, drink, and other divinely provided blessings according to divine order, with invocation and thanksgiving. But vanity lies in seeking satisfaction in these things when true satisfaction is found in God. 

Moreover, many pains are mixed with these pleasures, as is expressed in various lamentations. Ovid says: “No pleasure is pure until some worry intervenes amidst the joys.” And Plautus remarks: “There is something so small among life’s pleasures that it is unpleasant.” Likewise, sorrow is the companion of satisfaction. Here, he says: “I realized that laughter is foolishness,” meaning that bodily pleasures are neither enduring nor complete. This statement is not far-fetched, but it indicates that men cannot find fulfillment in bodily pleasures, nor should they be discouraged to the point of turning away from God when pleasures are hindered or withdrawn. As mentioned earlier, we should not abandon God because of sad events or confusion in governance. Rather, we must fully obey God and await good things from Him.

Melanchthon , Philipp . Commentary on Ecclesiastes (Philipp Melanchthon Biblical Commentaries Book 4) (p. 29). Repositório Cristão. Kindle Edition.

This is followed by a lament about another adjacent pleasure, namely, grandeur and splendor in life and curiosity in the pursuit of many things. For this desire is no minor torment, since, beyond the necessities, with great effort and much labor, men pursue what is unnecessary.

He adds other pursuits, such as diligently increasing domestic affairs, which are sometimes futile and often harmful to large inheritances. Concerning all these things—pursuit of knowledge, wealth, as previously mentioned—he warns that good things are important and that we must serve our calling, learn what is necessary, and take care of family matters, but we must not think that tranquility can be found in these pursuits. Many futile tasks arise, and many errors occur. We should not consume ourselves with anxiety and sadness when the outcomes do not align with our efforts or expectations but should patiently accept God’s will and do what is necessary. 

This conclusion is presented in the text itself, saying that tranquility is in God’s hands. He gives wisdom and joy to the man who pleases Him and affliction to the sinner. Therefore, he does not reproach things or the pursuit of knowledge but desires that we obey our calling and find rest in God. Whether our efforts succeed or fail, we must not neglect our vocations, nor should we become irritated with God if we do not achieve equal success. We must not neglect necessary studies, even if we cannot learn everything, for knowledge does not prevent death or many other miseries. As he says here, “The wise man dies just like the ignorant.” He recounts what we see happening before our eyes and does not want our calling to be neglected because of these events. Aristotle was wise and died in exile. It is said that he died of grief because he could not resolve the ebb and flow of the Euripus.

Therefore, everything must be referred to the oft-repeated rule: we must use things as they were ordained, serve in political administration, attend to family affairs, learn what is necessary, and acknowledge God, who has ordered all these things, giving thanks for all these gifts. If something happens differently, we must patiently endure His will and find rest in Him, as has often been said: “Submit to God and pray to Him.”

Melanchthon , Philipp . Commentary on Ecclesiastes (Philipp Melanchthon Biblical Commentaries Book 4) (p. 31). Repositório Cristão. Kindle Edition.

St. Thomas Aquinas’s Works in English

https://isidore.co/aquinas/

TikTok Channel for Theology and Philosophy

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMSGDD9Kj/