{"id":100,"date":"2018-05-12T16:32:57","date_gmt":"2018-05-12T20:32:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/cheb\/?p=100"},"modified":"2018-05-12T17:16:25","modified_gmt":"2018-05-12T21:16:25","slug":"the-catholic-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/cheb\/2018\/05\/12\/the-catholic-university\/","title":{"rendered":"The Search for the Truth"},"content":{"rendered":"

Orji, C. (2013).\u00a0The Catholic university and the search for truth<\/em><\/a>. Winona, MN: Anselm Academic.<\/p>\n

\"\"Orji asks \u201cis there a \u201cCatholic Intellectual Tradition\u201d (CIT)?\u201d, and if so, what is it?\u00a0 He notes people (including Catholic \u201cintellectuals\u201d) are confused about it.\u00a0 Is CIT independent of the \u201cmagisterium\u201d (revealed truth) and the official philosophy of the Church or can it include other philosophies?\u00a0 Is it \u201ctoo Catholic\u201d or \u201cnot Catholic enough\u201d?<\/p>\n

Orji argues that although CIT is associated with Catholic (church) tradition, it is also catholic in being \u201cinclusive\u201d, dealing with \u201cquestions common to all humanity, [it] advances human understanding and curiosity\u201d regardless of religious affiliation \u2026 \u201cdiversity is a strength and not a weakness\u201d (p. 21).\u00a0 But all members of the Catholic institution must be committed to the mission of \u201cthoroughgoing intellectual and personal engagement with the ideas of Catholic culture and thought\u201d; \u201cNo organization can long survive, much less succeed, if its members either don\u2019t care about its mission or are opposed to it\u201d (p. 21-22).<\/p>\n

Like many other authors, including Newman and Lonergan, Orji claims the centrality of theology in a Catholic university, not only because of the intellectual training and unifying role, but as \u201cplaying a key role in the transmission of values at the heart of Catholic faith\u201d (p. 37).\u00a0 However, there are both conservative and liberal (or progressive) approaches to Catholic theology and the question of academic freedom. Orji concludes that CIT is not \u201csynonymous with the magisterium\u201d or Church dogma, but is \u201cfirst and foremost, a learning tradition\u201d which welcomes all disciplines (p. 44), and suggests there is a (usually healthy) \u201cdialectical relationship\u201d between CIT and sacred authority (p. 45).\u00a0 Because CIT is \u201ca convergence of faith and understanding\u201d it is elastic and will continue to grow and expand (p. 48).<\/p>\n

Orji traces the history of CIT from early Christianity (\u201cthe seeds of the tradition were sown in the words and deeds of Jesus\u201d p. 49) through Augustine and the middle Ages, Aquinas and the Enlightenment to Cardinal Newman (whose views on education he summarizes).\u00a0 He also introduces Jesuit theology Bernard Lonergan, who he describes a \u201ctranscendental Thomist\u201d (p. 63). \u00a0One of his early contributions was to \u201cfuse the ideas of Newman [a man of interiority and investigation) and Thomas Aquinas [a man of theory and processes\u201d (p. 59). Lonergan noted the need to integrate \u201crevealed and acquired knowledge\u201d through freedom from bias and \u201cin dialogue with the empirical sciences\u201d (p. 60-61)<\/p>\n

Orji traces the decline of Catholicism (and religion generally) in the 1960\u2019s, seeing it as a challenge to CIT and making the identity of Catholic universities \u201cambiguous\u201d (p. 78). This was exacerbated by Catholic universities emulating secular research-based institutions and \u201chiring faculty that at times seemed indifferent to their faith tradition and Catholic identity\u201d (p.88).\u00a0 He cites several authors who see the declining numbers of Catholic faculty as instrumental in a \u201ccrisis in Catholic in Catholic higher education\u201d and call for \u201cstrategic hiring or hiring for mission\u201d (p.99-100). However, Orji argues that non-Catholic faculty and staff \u201ccan and do contribute enormously to the mission\u201d and that Catholic universities should \u201creach out to them\u201d and to non-Catholic institutions, collaborating on questions such as science and religion and faith and the intellectual life. \u00a0He suggests that facing some of the challenges to Catholic university identity have led to some positive outcomes.<\/p>\n

Part Two of the book focuses on Bernard Lonergan, and as such will be of particular interest to Praxis participants. Orji aims to present Lonergan\u2019s ideas \u201cin a way that readers unfamiliar with his works will find accessible\u201d (p. 110), although it is helpful to have some previous exposure to Lonergan\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Orji brings clarify to Lonergan\u2019s commitment to \u201cintegrating the old and the new\u201d; which he calls \u201ctransposition\u201d<\/strong> \u2013 \u201cgoing beyond the riches of the past in order to meet the challenges of his time\u201d (p. 115).\u00a0 Lonergan saw \u201cthe transposition of Catholic philosophy, theology, and education as a requisite demand\u201d, but cautioned that one must first understand the old (\u201cone cannot transpose what one does not know\u201d.\u00a0 The new is analogous to the old, and the new can therefore preserve all that is valid in the old by achieving a higher synthesis\u201d (P. 115).\u00a0 This integration of old and new is a valuable contribution to CIT, especially taken with Lonergan\u2019s rejection of classicism, which assumes there is \u201cone normative culture\u201d for all time that is in favor of understanding multiple cultures (or pluralism, a more anthropological perspective) with their own histories and traditions. \u00a0Lonergan takes the Second Vatican Council\u2019s call for Aggiornamento<\/em> (\u201ccompleting the old with the new\u201d) very seriously.<\/p>\n

Orji includes sections on Lonergan\u2019s view of authenticity, self-transcendence and the functional specialties, particularly noting that \u201cCIT stands or falls on authenticity\u201d (p. 129).\u00a0 A wonderful example of inauthenticity is Orji\u2019s account of C.S. Lewis\u2019s \u201cBulverism\u201d, where one declines to consider whether arguments are sound or unsound, but \u201csimply dismisses them [by drawing attention to] the psychological history or socioeconomic circumstances of those who advanced them\u201d (p. 140).<\/p>\n

Orji attempts to correlate Lonergan\u2019s ideas (particularly his transcendental method, GEM, which he refers to as \u201cCM\u201d \u2013 cognitional method) with Howard Gardner\u2019s work on \u201cmultiple intelligence\u201d.\u00a0 To me the \u201cmatching\u201d of Gardner\u2019s eight \u201cintelligences\u201d with Lonergan\u2019s components of GEM and \u201cpatterns of experience\u201d seems rather contrived, but it illustrates how both Lonergan and Gardner recognized that \u201cindividuals differ \u2026 in their mentalities and the way they learn\u201d (p. 175).\u00a0 To assume there is one way of learning (classicist) or one way of acquiring knowledge that transcends time and place, is to miss the point of education (p. 175).<\/p>\n

A critical point is that \u201cCatholic schools do not fulfill their mission if they fail to be places of rigorous and vital intellectual inquiry\u201d (p. 173).\u00a0 Lonergan speaks of the \u201crelentless search for knowledge\u201d (p. 174) and he and Gardner both emphasize the importance of asking questions as the basis of education and intellectual transformation.\u00a0 Orji concludes chapter 6 by noting that \u201cthe Unrestricted questioning [following GEM] of the human spirit also leads to God\u201d and that \u201cthe rationale for the Catholic Intellectual Tradition is realized when everyone – scientists, poets, teachers et al. \u2013 are good at what they do\u201d.\u00a0 Equally \u201cone need not necessarily be a member of the Catholic Church to fulfill this mission.\u00a0 One needs only a passion for the truth and an openness to the ultimacy such a passion raises\u201d (p. 176).<\/p>\n

Chapter 7 describes eight \u201cmodules\u201d of how CIT uses Lonergan\u2019s concepts (including GEM) and the importance of intellectual conversion as a specific aim of Catholic universities, bearing in mind that intellectual conversion can lead to moral and ultimately religious conversion.\u00a0 \u201cAn intellectual conversion translates into a moral conversion when it helps one to choose the truly good\u201d (p. 219).<\/p>\n

The \u201cfinal reflection\u201d of chapter 8 addresses constructing identity \u2013 communal and individual \u2013 again stressing the underlying principle of authenticity.\u00a0 Orji concludes with five \u201cadvantages of Catholic education\u201d that include an emphasis on religion and the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity (\u201cfor the Catholic university, faith or belief is a form of knowledge\u201d, p. 241), the integration of faith and reason, and a notion of the good.\u00a0 Orji affirms the rich heritage of CIT but notes \u201cthe uncertainty, even ignorance, of many [Catholic colleges and universities] regarding the tradition\u201d (p. 244).\u00a0 He calls for Catholic institutions to conduct \u201cself-studies\u201d of CIT.<\/p>\n

Questions<\/h4>\n
    \n
  1. What might a \u201cself-study\u201d of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition look like?<\/li>\n
  2. Is it possible to say there is a single Catholic Intellectual Tradition?<\/li>\n
  3. How can CIT and its relationship with University Mission be better communicated to students, faculty and staff of all faith traditions?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Orji, C. (2013).\u00a0The Catholic university and the search for truth. Winona, MN: Anselm Academic. Orji asks \u201cis there a \u201cCatholic Intellectual Tradition\u201d (CIT)?\u201d, and if so, what is it?\u00a0 He notes people (including Catholic \u201cintellectuals\u201d) are confused about it.\u00a0 Is CIT independent of the \u201cmagisterium\u201d (revealed truth) and the official philosophy of the Church or … Continue reading “The Search for the Truth”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-catholic-higher-education"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/cheb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/cheb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/cheb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/cheb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/116"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/cheb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/cheb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":124,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/cheb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100\/revisions\/124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/cheb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/cheb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/cheb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}