SLIDE 1
Wesney Educational Consulting
Joseph C. Wesney, Ph.D.
6 Orchard Street Cos Cob, Connecticut 06807 (203) 943-2175 joe@wesney.com
04 The Catholic Intellectual Tradition Excerpt from the SHU Common Core Document From: THE HUMAN JOURNEY: Describing the Catholic Intellectual Tradition* By: Brian Stiltner, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, SHU The Catholic intellectual tradition is a collection of characteristically Catholic concepts, habits, and values that have been developed in a variety of disciplines and through an intercultural conversation lasting over 2000 years. Among the Catholic intellectual tradition’s central claims are that (1) humans exist in relation to a Triune God; (2) God’s presence is mediated through the particular; (3) morality is objective and knowable; (4) human knowledge can be connected into a coherent whole; (5) faith and reason work together to provide understanding of the world; and (6) humans have inviolable dignity and are responsible toward the common good. [*Bold emphasis was added, and some minor format changes were made to the original for this presentation.] 05 Course Goals Related to the CIT & the 4 Fundamental Core Questions Through this course students will be able to demonstrate the use of aspects of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition (CIT) to gain:
- 1. an understanding of the ways in which we have historically altered our view of the
physical universe through the applications of the methods of scientific reasoning, and the ways that these views have informed our understanding of God and His Creation. 06
- 2. the ability to examine how the ways in which our understanding of the interaction of
physics and faith provide us with the keys to help us realize what it means to be human.
- 3. insight into the way in which an understanding of the physical universe, in the context of
faith, can help people enhance their ability to live deeper lives of meaning and purpose. 07
- 4. an increased appreciation and understanding of the natural world as seen from the
frame of reference of the sciences, particularly as seen in the context of physics and astronomy.
- 5. a realization that the ways in which we choose to utilize our knowledge of the physical