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last mid-term day + take home exam
After our last mid-term exam, we can go “home” for one week of mid-term break. I still, however, have a take home exam for Contemporary Philosophy that’s due by email by midnight. Six short-answer essay question about Kierkegaard, Marx, Adam Smith, Catholic Social Teaching, and Nietzche. Here’s a couple answers that I’m pretty confident of.
2. (Kierkegaard) What constitutes the most significant difference between the aesthetic and ethical choice? Explain.
The most significant difference between the aesthetic and ethical choice is whether or not someone makes a true choice ‘for the self.’ The more difficult choice is the ‘ethical’ choice, since in involves choosing to be who and what one truly and uniquely is by intimately ‘knowing himself’ with a constant ‘honesty to oneself’ and minimizing the temptations of easier, more convenient decisions. This leads to an authentic existence. One the other hand, ‘aesthetic’ choice leads to an inauthentic existence of compromising true selfhood in order to settle for the convenient outside (external) creating a ‘self lost in the they’ (the crowd, the mob, the inauthentic). Aesthetic choice is lost in the forest of ‘deliberation’ because it is ultimately afraid or simply unwilling to embark on something it fears, ceaselessly jumping from one source of enjoyment to the other, hoping to postpone the inevitable call to ‘be one’s self.” It does not make a true choice ‘for the self’ and, therefore, does not know itself but only thinks it does.
3. Explain the relationship of the ‘individual good’ and the ‘common good’ from the perspective of (i) Marx, (ii) Smith, and (iii) Catholic Social Theory.
(i) Marx minimizes the ‘individual good’ and give priority to the ‘common good.’ Since the human person is a producing, creating person, the individual’s value and importance is defined by our social relations, primarily in terms of economics, politics and society. His focus on the common good encourages policy to benefit ‘everyone’ in, at least, minimal personal needs, but at the expense of the wants of individuals. In his Communist model, the guidelines evidence this emphasis. The abolition of property and inheritances strip the individual of personal power. State centralized credit, banking, transportation, communication, schooling, labor & business oversight creates a dependence by the people to a shared ‘common good,’ but minimizes the unique and personal dignity of the ‘individual good.’
(ii) Smith gives priority to the ‘individual good’ over the ‘common good.’ The individual is empowered with opportunities of self-achievement through Capitalist avenues of mostly personal financial benefit. The ‘individual good’ may compromise the ‘common good’ by gaining such personal benefits at the expense, and from the work, of the poor working class. Even though the growth of the poor affect the individual manager, the extremely disproportional results minimize the personal dignity of needs of ‘all’ individuals. Government measures need to be put in place to somewhat offset the extreme costs to the ‘common good’ for the sake of justice.
(iii) Catholic Social Teaching carefully keeps a healthy balance between ‘individual good’ and the ‘common good.” The ‘common good’ indicates the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily. A medium of ideas should constantly be pursued so as to uphold the benefits, while working for justice to maintain the dignity of everyone ‘individual good.”
There was a challenging question about how each of our studied philosophers touch on “human transcendence,” but I wasn’t inspired enough to answer with confidence.
Leeland songs + poverty
I stumbled upon some great videos by a newer Christian group called Leeland. They’re very deep, passionate and “present.” I also saw them in concert last year at an Aquire the Fire youth conference. I fresh and renewing sound to the Christian mainstream.
The first video/song is Leeland’s “Tears of the Saints“ with a collage of today’s poverty [dedicated to Karl Marx, spokesman for the poor, & Contemporary Philosophy class]. The video (and included lyrics) was put together by a Baptist minister. There are others on YouTube, but I like this one.
The second video/song is Leeland’s “Sound of Melodies“ — simply a great sound.
This last video is Leeland in concert with a moment of Scripture & “How Great Thou Art.” — indeed.
lector + missing Psalm + poverty + underdog croquet
MORNING PRAYER & MASS – (Fr Vallee) — today, I was lector for the Mass reading (conversion of St Paul) and lead Liturgy of the Hours (Morning & Evening). While reading morning Laud, I TOTALLY SKIPPED the 3rd Psalm … ??? … nervous, I guess … and was reminded about it all day from my seminary brothers. — I appreciate the fraternal correction 🙂
AQUINAS – (Fr Vallee) — started Pope John Paul II’s encyclical letter Fides et Ratio. Spent some time on the opening greating:
Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth — in a word, to know himself — so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves.
CONTEMPORARY PHIL – (Fr Santos) — started The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels with discussion on the “working class” and poverty. Watched an assigned video about world poverty, “When Did I See You Hungary?” a film by Gerard Thomas Straub narrated by Martin Sheen.
MEDIEVAL PHIL – (Fr Vallee) — “paradigm shift” + permanence & change + the one & the many
OLYMPIC CROQUET — our new sports coordinators have created an Olympic Sports Tournament over the next few weeks, including ping pong, relay races, volleyball, soccer, croquet & more. Today was our Olympic Croquet tournament, which I signed up for. 16 guys in 4-4 player games, whereby the winner of each plays for the Gold. I won my first round as an underdog in a very exciting & close game. The final round was actually ALL underdogs from the first rounds, ending with the champion being my “Guadeamus Clone” who must have copied my abilities & strategy into his collective. — A great tournament!
EVENING PRAYER & DINNER — In order to redeem myself with this morning’s blunder, my post-dinner prayer (also the lector’s job) included an “excerpt from this morning’s missing Psalm” and gratitude for food, friends, fellowship, faith & fin de semana (“weekend” in Spanish). — Dr Jimenez would be proud!
Communist Manifesto + lost weekend + homosexuality
HOMEWORK CATCH-UP — behind on some assigned reading, I spent some of the day reading The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx for Contemporary Philosophy class tomorrow.
PRE-THEOLOGY UPDATE — (1) the chapels in our off-campus housing should be done in about 4-6 weeks. (2) Since we raised concerns about feeling distant from the campus community, our personal “free-weekend-a-semester” opportunity has been rescinded. (3) Our house will have resident priest in a couple weeks. (4) Our backyard furniture has no status yet.
RECTOR’s CONFERENCE – (Fr Michael) — part 3 of a series on Fatherhood titled after a 2005 Vatican document, “The Instruction on the Criteria for Vocational Discernment with Regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in View of Their Admission to the Seminary and Holy Orders.” [full text of document]
PRE-THE NIGHT PRAYER & ROSARY — 10pm.
INCONSISTENT SCRIPTURE — as I’m practicing tomorrow’s Mass reading (I have lector duty), there are 2 passages to choose from since it’s the feast of the Conversion of St Paul. There’s a detail in both that is inconsistent. In one reading, when Paul is blinded by the light and hears Jesus speak to him, his companions “heard the voice” of Jesus … but in the other passage, they “did not hear the voice.” I tried finding some footnotes in various Bible versions, but only found a note in the NRSV that noted the inconsistency, but didn’t give any possible explanations. — I need to look up a comentary in the library
semester begins + Aquinas + Contemporary Philosophy + Medieval + Ministry + Amber Spyglass
MASS – (Fr Michael) — God is the same yesterday as today, on vacation, on retreat, back in the daily routine. Do you believe in Jesus? How is your life different because of your belief?
AQUINAS in the 20th CENTURY – (Fr Vallee) — this is a senior level course that focuses on the rediscovery of St Thomas Aquinas thought in the 19th & 20th centuries, in the areas of epistemology, metaphysics and anthropology. Readings will be from Gilson, Maritain, Marechal, Rousselot and John Paul II’s Fides et ratio. No term paper. Tests are open notes & open book — (translation: It’s hard!). Large class.
CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY – (Fr Santos) — started reviewing Modern Philosophy era. LOTS of reading. Martin Buber – I and Thou … Hans-Georg Gadamer – Truth and Method … Martin Heidegger – Introduction to Metaphysics … Edmund Husserl – Phenomenology and the Crisis of Philosophy … Soren Kierkegaard – Either/Or (our first reading assignment) … Karl Marx – Communist Manifesto … Friedrich Nietzsche – The Anti-Christ … Paul Ricoeur – Oneself as Another … John Robinson – Honest to God … Adam Smith – The Wealth of Nations … Alfred North Whitehead – Religion in the Making. — I should probably be reading right now!
MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY – (Fr Vallee) — reviewed a timeline of philosphy periods. This class will focus on Augustine (Confessions), Anselm, and Thomas Aquinas (Summa Theologica, On Being and Essence, The Thought of Thomas Aquinas). Our main test is Frederick Copleston’s A History of Philosophy, vol II. 2 papers. — finally some Augustine & Aquinas!
MINISTERIAL PRACTICUM – (Fr Michael) — reviewed the basic about ministry (from last semester). This course will be about the practical skills need for ministry. Next year, we’ll be assigned Monday night “Apostalic Work” in the areas of CCD catechesis or Homebound Visitation. We’ll be going out to visit other seminarians in their work assignments throughout the semester. Today, we also learned “How to Create a Lesson Plan” for CCD class. — finally some hands-on!
DOTS — “Kr” Lauds blessing — listened to first half of The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials trilogy) on audio
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