THE ELEMENTS OF CATHOLIC PHILOSOPHY.
"E quosto ti sia sempre piombo ai piedi,
Per farti mover lento, com' uom lasso,
Ed al si ed al no, che tu non vedi;
Che quegli e tra gli stolti bene abbasso,
Che senza disfcinzion afferma o nega,
Nell' un cosi come nell' altro passo;
Perch' egl' incontra che piu volte piega
L' opinion corrente in falsa parte,
E poi l' affetto lo intelletto lega.
Vie piu che indarno da riva si parte,
Perche non toma tal qual ei si move,
Chi pesca per lo vero e noil ha l' arte."
DANTE, "Paradiso," Canto XIII.
The elements of Catholic philosophy may no longer be looked upon as
out of place in the education of our girls, or as being reserved for
the use of learned women and girlish oddities. They belong to every
well-grounded Catholic education, and the need for them will be felt
more and more. They are wanted to balance on the one hand the
unthinking impulse of living for the day, which asks no questions so
long as the "fun" holds out, and on the other to meet the urgency of
problems which press upon the minds of the more thoughtful as they
grow up. When this teaching has been long established as part of an
educational plan it has been found to give steadiness and unity to the
whole; something to aim at from the beginning, and in the later years
of a girl's education something which will serve as foundation for all
branches of future study, so that each will find its place among the
first principles, not isolated from the others but as part of a whole.
The value of these elements for the practical guidance of life is
likewise very great. A hold is given in the mind to the teaching of
religion and conduct which welds into one defence the best wisdom of
this world and of the next. For instance, the connexion between reason
and faith being once established, the fear of permanent disagreement
between the two, which causes so much panic and disturbance of mind,
is set at rest.
There is a certain risk at the outset of these studies that girls
will take the pose of philosophical students, and talk logic and
metaphysics, to the confusion of their friends and of their own
feelings later on, when they come to years of discretion and realize
the absurdity of these "lively sallies," as they would have been
called in early Victorian times--the name alone might serve as
a warning to the incautious! They may perhaps go through an
argumentative period and trample severely upon the opinions of those
who are not ready to have their majors "distinguished" and their
minors "conceded," and, especially, their conclusions denied. But
these phases will be outlived and the hot-and-cold remembrance of them
will be sufficient expiation, with the realization that they did not
know much when they had taken in the "beggarly elements" which dazzled
them for a moment. The more thoughtful minds will escape the painful
phase altogether.
There are three special classes among girls whose difficulties of mind
call for attention. There are those who frisk playfully along, taking
the good things of life as they come--"the more the better"--whom, as
children, it is hard to call to account. They are lightly impressed
and only for a moment by the things they feel, and scarcely moved
at all by the things they understand. The only side which seems
troublesome in their early life is that there is so little hold upon
it. They are unembarrassed and quite candid about their choice; it is
the enjoyable good, life on its pleasantest side. And this disposition
is in the mind as well as in the will; they cannot see it in any other
way. Restraint galls them, and their inclination is not to resist but
to evade it. These are kitten-like children in the beginning, and they
appear charming. But when the kitten in them is overgrown, its playful
evasiveness takes an ugly contour and shows itself as want of
principle. The tendency to snatch at enjoyment hardens into a grasping
sense of market values, and conscience, instead of growing inexorable,
learns to be pliant to circumstances. Debts weigh lightly, and duties
scarcely weigh at all. Concealment and un-truthfulness come in very
easily to save the situation in a difficulty, and once the conduct of
life is on the down-grade it slides quickly and far, for the sense of
responsibility is lacking and these natures own no bond of obligation.
They have their touch of piety in childhood, but it soon wears off,
and in its best days cannot stand the demands made upon it by duty; it
fails of its hold upon the soul, like a religion without a sacrifice.
In these minds some notions of ethics leave a barbed arrow of remorse
which penetrates further than piety. They may soothe themselves with
the thought that God will easily forgive, later on, but they cannot
quite lose consciousness of the law which does not forgive, of the
responsibility of human acts and the inevitable punishment of
wrong-doing which works itself out, till it calls for payment of the
last farthing. And by this rough way of remorse they may come back to
God. Pope Leo XIII spoke of it as their best hope, an almost certain
means of return. The beautiful also may make its appeal to these
natures on their best side, and save them preventively from
themselves, but only if the time of study is prolonged enough for the
laws of order and beauty to be made comprehensible to them, so that if
they admire the best, remorse may have another hold and reproach them
with a lowered ideal.
In opposition to these are the minds to which, as soon as they become
able to think for themselves, all life is a puzzle, and on every side,
wherever they turn, they are baffled by unanswerable questions. These
questions are often more insistent and more troublesome because they
cannot be asked, they have not even taken shape in the mind. But they
haunt and perplex it. Are they the only ones who do not know? Is it
clear to every one else? This doubt makes it difficult even to hint at
the perplexity. These are often naturally religious minds, and outside
the guidance of the Catholic Church, in search of truth, they easily
fall under the influence of different schools of thought which take
them out of their depth, and lead them further and further from the
reasonable certainty about first principles which they are in search
of. Within the Church, of course, they can never stray so far, and the
truths of faith supply their deepest needs. But if they want to know
more, to know something of themselves, and to have at least some
rational knowledge of the universe, then to give them a hold on the
elements of philosophical knowledge is indeed a mental if not a
spiritual work of mercy, for it enables them to set their ideas in
order by the light of a few first principles, it shows them on what
plane their questions lie, it enables them to see how all knowledge
and new experience have connexions with what has gone before, and
belong to a whole with a certain fitness and proportion. They learn
also thus to take themselves in hand in a reasonable way; they gain
some power of attributing effects to their true causes, so as neither
to be unduly alarmed nor elated at the various experiences through
which they will pass.
Between these two divisions lies a large group, that of the "average
person," not specially flighty and not particularly thoughtful. But
the average person is of very great importance. The greatest share in
the work of the world is probably done by "average" people, not only
for the obvious reason that there are more of them, but also because
they are more accessible, more reliable, and more available for all
kinds of responsibility than those who have made themselves useless by
want of principle, or those whose genius carries them away from the
ordinary line. They are accessible because their fellow-creatures are
not afraid of them; they are not too fine for ordinary wear, nor too
original to be able to follow a line laid down for them, and if they
take a line of their own it is usually intelligible to others.
To these valuable "average" persons the importance of some study of
the elements of philosophy is very great. They can hardly go through
an elementary course of mental science without wishing to learn more,
and being lifted to a higher plane. The weak point in the average
person is a tendency to sink into the commonplace, because the
consciousness of not being brilliant induces timidity, and timidity
leads to giving up effort and accepting a fancied impossibility of
development which from being supposed, assumed, and not disturbed,
becomes in the end real.
On the other hand the strong point of the average person is very often
common sense, that singular, priceless gift which gives a touch of
likeness among those who possess it in all classes, high or low--in
the sovereign, the judge, the ploughman, or the washerwoman, a
likeness that is somewhat like a common language among them and makes
them almost like a class apart. Minds endowed with common sense are an
aristocracy among the "average," and if this quality of theirs is
lifted above the ordinary round of business and trained in the domain
of thought it becomes a sound and wide practical judgment. It will
observe a great sobriety in its dealings with the abstract; the
concrete is its kingdom, but it will rule the better for having its
ideas systematized, and its critical power developed. Self-diffidence
tends to check this unduly, and it has to be strengthened in
reasonably supporting its own opinion which is often instinctively
true, but fails to find utterance. It is a help to such persons if
they can learn to follow the workings of their own mind and gain
confidence in their power to understand, and find some intellectual
interest in the drudgery which in every order of things, high or low,
is so willingly handed over to their good management. These results
may not be showy, but it is a great thing to strengthen an "average"
person, and the reward of doing so is sometimes the satisfaction of
seeing that average mind rise in later years quite above the average
and become a tower of steady reflection; while to itself it is a new
life to gain a view of things as a whole, to find that nothing stands
alone, but that the details which it grasps in so masterly a manner
have their place and meaning in the scheme of the universe.
It is evident that even this elementary knowledge cannot be given in
the earliest years of the education of girls, and that it is only
possible to attempt it in schools and school-rooms where they can be
kept on for a longer time of study. Every year that can be added to
the usual course is of better value, and more appreciated, except by
those who are restless to come out as soon as possible. No reference
is made here to those exceptional cases in which girls are allowed to
begin a course of study at a time when the majority have been obliged
to finish their school life.
As the elements of philosophy are not ordinarily found in the
curriculum of girls' schools or schoolroom plans, it may not be out of
place to say a few words on the method of bringing the subject within
their reach.
In the first place it should be kept in view from the beginning, and
some preparation be made for it even in teaching the elements of
subjects which are most elementary. Thus the study of any grammar may
serve remotely as an introduction to logic, even English grammar
which, beyond a few rudiments, is a most disinterested study, valuable
for its by-products more than for its actual worth. But the practice
of grammatical analysis is certainly a preparation for logic, as logic
is a preparation for the various branches of philosophy. Again some
preliminary exercises in definition, and any work of the like kind
which gives precision in the use of language, or clear ideas of the
meanings of words, is preparatory work which trains the mind in the
right direction. In the same way the elements of natural science may
at least set the thoughts and inquiries of children on the right track
for what will later on be shown to them as the "disciplines" of
cosmology and pyschology.
To make preparatory subjects serve such a purpose it is obviously
required that the teachers of even young children should have been
themselves trained in these studies, so far at least as to know what
they are aiming at, to be able to lay foundations which will not
require to be reconstructed. It is not the matter so much as the
habits of mind and work that are remotely prepared in the early
stages, but without some knowledge of what is coming afterwards this
preparation cannot be made. In order of arrangement it is not possible
for the different branches to be taught to girls according to their
normal sequence; they have to be adapted to the capacity of the minds
and their degree of development. Some branches cannot even be
attempted during the school-room years, except so far as to prepare
the mind incidentally during the study of other branches. The
explanation of certain terms and fundamental notions will serve as
points of departure when opportunities for development are accessible
later on, as architects set "toothings" at the angles of buildings
that they may be bonded into later constructions. By this means the
names of the more abstruse branches are kept out of sight, and it is
emphasized that the barest elements alone are within reach at present,
so that the permanent impression may be--not "how much I have
learned," but "how little I know and how much there is to learn." This
secures at least a fitting attitude of mind in those who will never go
further, and increases the thirst of those who really want more.
The most valuable parts of philosophy in the education of
girls are:--
1. Those which belong to the practical side--logic, for thought;
ethics, for conduct; aesthetics, for the study of the arts.
2. In speculative philosophy the "disciplines" which are most
accessible and most necessary are psychology, and natural theology
which is the very crown of all that they are able to learn.
General metaphysics and cosmology, and in pyschology the subordinate
treatises of criteriology and idealogy are beyond their scope.
Logic, as a science, is not a suitable introduction, though some
general notions on the subject are necessary as preliminary
instructions. Cardinal Mercier presents these under "propaedeutics,"
even for his grown-up scholars, placing logic properly so called in
its own rank as the complement of the other treatises of speculative
philosophy, seen in retrospect, a science of rational order amongst
sciences.
The "notions of logic" with which he introduces the other branches
are, says the Cardinal, so plain that it is almost superfluous to
enumerate them, "_tant elles sont de simple bon sens_," [1--"Traite
Elfementaire de Philosophie," Vol. I, Introduction.] and he disposes
of them in two pages of his textbook. Obviously this is not so simple
when it comes to preparing the fallow ground of a girl's mind; but it
gives some idea of the proportion to be observed in the use of this
instrument at the outset, and may save both the teacher and the child
from beguiling themselves to little purpose among the moods and
figures of the syllogism. The preliminary notions of logic must be
developed, extended, and supplemented through the whole course as
necessity arises, just as they have been already anticipated through
the preparatory work done in every elementary subject. This method is
not strictly scientific nor in accordance with the full-grown course
of philosophy; it only claims to have "_le simple bon sens_" in its
favour, and the testimony of experience to prove that it is of use.
And it cannot be said to be wholly out of rational order if it follows
the normal development of a growing mind, and answers questions as
they arise and call for solution. It may be a rustic way of learning
the elements of philosophy, but it answers its purpose, and does not
interfere with more scientific and complete methods which may come
later in order of time.
The importance of the "discipline" of psychology can scarcely be
over-estimated. With that of ethics it gives to the minds of women
that which they most need for the happy attainment of their destiny in
any sphere of life and for the fulfilment of its obligations. They
must know themselves and their own powers in order to exercise control
and direction on the current of their lives. The complaint made of
many women is that they are wanting in self-control, creatures of
impulse, erratic, irresponsible, at the mercy of chance influences
that assume control of their lives for the moment, subject to
"nerves," carried away by emotional enthusiasm beyond all bounds, and
using a blind tenacity of will to land themselves with the cause they
have embraced in a dead-lock of absurdity.
Such is the complaint. It would seem more pardonable if this tendency
to extremes and impulsiveness were owned to as a defect. But
to be erratic is almost assumed as a pose. It is taken up as if
self-discipline were dull, and control reduced vitality and killed
the interest of life. The phase may not last, stronger counsels may
prevail again. In a few years it may be hoped that this school of
"impressionism" in conduct will be out of vogue, but for the moment it
would seem as if its weakness and mobility, and restlessness were
rather admired. It has created a kind of automobilism--if the word may
be allowed--of mind and manners, an inclination to be perpetually "on
the move," too much pressed for time to do anything at all,
permanently unsettled, in fact to be _unsettled_ is its habitual
condition if not its recognized plan of life.
It is not contended that psychology and ethics would of themselves
cure this tendency, but they would undoubtedly aid in doing so, for
the confusion of wanting to do better and yet not knowing what to do
is a most pathetic form of helplessness. A little knowledge of
psychology would at least give an idea of the resources which the
human soul has at its command when it seeks to take itself in hand. It
would allow of some response to a reasonable appeal from outside. And
all the time the first principles of ethics would refuse to be killed
in the mind, and would continue to bear witness against the waste of
existence and the diversion of life from its true end.
Rational principles of aesthetics belong very intimately to the
education of women. Their ideas of beauty, their taste in art,
influence very powerfully their own lives and those of others, and may
transfigure many things which are otherwise liable to fall into the
commonplace and the vulgar. If woman's taste is trained to choose
the best, it upholds a standard which may save a generation from
decadence. This concerns the beautiful and the fitting in all things
where the power of art makes itself felt as "the expression of
an ideal in a concrete work capable of producing an impression
and attaching the beholder to that ideal which it presents for
admiration." [1--Cardinal Mercier, "General Metaphysics," Part iv.,
Ch. iv.] It touches on all questions of taste, not only in the fine
arts but in fiction, and furniture, and dress, and all the minor arts
of life and adaptation of human skill to the external conditions of
living. The importance of all these in their effect on the happiness
and goodness of a whole people is a plea for not leaving out the
principles of aesthetics, as well as the practice of some form of art
from the education of girls.
The last and most glorious treatise in philosophy of which some
knowledge can be given at the end of a school course is that of
natural theology. If it is true, as they say, that St. Thomas Aquinas
at the age of five years used to go round to the monks of Monte
Cassino pulling them down by the sleeve to whisper his inquiry, "quid
est Deus"? it may be hoped that older children are not incapable of
appreciating some of the first notions that may be drawn from reason
about the Creator, those truths "concerning the existence of God which
are the supreme conclusion and crown of the department of physics, and
those concerning His nature which apply the truths of general
metaphysics to a determinate being, the Absolutely Perfect."
[1--Cardinal Mercier, "Natural Theology," Introduction.] It is in the
domain of natural theology that they will often find a safeguard
against difficulties which may occur later in life, when they meet
inquirers whose questions about God are not so ingenuous as that of
the infant St. Thomas. The armour of their faith will not be so easily
pierced by chance shots as if they were without preparation, and at
the same time they will know enough of the greatness of the subject
not to challenge "any unbeliever" to single combat, and undertake to
prove against all opponents the existence and perfections of God.
For instruction as well as for defence the relation of philosophy to
revealed truth should be explained. It is necessary to point out that
while science has its own sphere within which it is independent,
having its own principles and methods and means of certitude, [1--De
Bonald and others were condemned and reproved by Gregory XVI for
teaching that reason drew its first principles and grounds of
certitude from revelation.] yet the Church as the guardian of revealed
truth is obliged to prosecute for trespass those who in teaching any
science encroach by affirmation or contradiction on the domain of
revelation.
To sum up, therefore, logic can train the students to discriminate
between good and bad arguments, which few ordinary readers can do, and
not even every writer. Ethics teaches the rational basis of morals
which it is useful for all to know, and psychology can teach to
discriminate between the acts of intellect and will on the one hand
and imagination and emotion on the other, and so furnish the key to
many a puzzle of thought that has led to false and dangerous
theorizing.
The method of giving instruction in the different branches of
philosophy will depend so much on the preparation of the particular
pupils, and also on the cast of mind of the teachers, that it is
difficult to offer suggestions, except to point out this very fact
that each mind needs to be met just where it is--with its own mental
images, vocabulary, habit of thought and attention, all calling for
consideration and adaptation of the subject to their particular case.
It depends on the degree of preparation of the teachers to decide
whether the form of a lecture is safest, or whether they can risk
themselves in the arena of question and answer, the most useful in
itself but requiring a far more complete training in preparation. If
it can be obtained that the pupils state their own questions and
difficulties in writing, a great deal will have been gained, for a
good statement of a question is half-way to the right solution. If,
after hearing a lecture or oral lesson, they can answer in writing
Borne simple questions carefully stated, it will be a further advance.
It is something to grasp accurately the scope of a question. The
plague of girls' answers is usually irrelevancy from want of thought
as to the scope of questions or even from inattention to their
wording. If they can be patient in face of unanswered difficulties,
and wait for the solution to come later on in its natural course, then
at least one small fruit of their studies will have been brought to
maturity; and if at the end of their elementary course they are
convinced of their own ignorance, and want to know more, it may be
said that the course has not been unsuccessful.
It is not, however, complete unless they know something of the history
of philosophy, the great schools, and the names which have been held
in honour from the beginning down to our own days. They will realize
that it is good to have been born in their own time, and to learn such
lessons now that the revival of scholastic philosophy under Leo XIII
and the development of the neo-scholastic teaching have brought fresh
life into the philosophy of tradition, which although it appears to
put new wine into old bottles, seems able to preserve the wine and the
bottles together.