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mrsbmoo
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Virginia USA |
| Posts: | 311 |
| First Name: | Becky | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | former Methodist. RCA, Presbyterian, Holiness, Wesleyan... Catholic as of June ... |
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Posted: Wed Jan 3rd, 2007 01:22 am |
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I was looking up some information on existentialism and found a site claiming that it had been condemned by a pope. I tried to read the article but it was way over my head. I have had some sympathetic feeling towards this philosophy when I read about it in French lit so i was surprised to find the site:
[link to schismatic site deleted]
I would contest some of the 7 premises about existentialism or at least modify them as they disagree with other sources I found describing the philosophy. Someone with a bigger brain than me please explain this. Is the pope saying these existential beliefs are faulty or that all existential beliefs are faulty and these are some of them?
I suppose I would sum up what I had agreed with about existentialism as this:
1.Reality defies comprehension. There are undoubably reasons for things that happen but I am not convinced I have the mental ability to understand why things happen.
2.Life seems absurd. as to whether is really is see #1
3.People are unable to look at life objectively because we are always within ourselves. Thus objective truth can only be seen through our subjective eyes which is why meaning and purpose in life are difficult to discern.
4. Unless we find meaning in our lives by discerning meaing and taking action, we will be anxious and depressed.
5. Within the limits of our abilities and external events, our fate is in our hands.
The really funny part about this, is that the reason I was looking this up, was that this past week(while sick with the "old timey flu") I had a dream that in his later years, Curious George had moved to Brazil and written a definitive treatise on Existentialism. In the dream i was reading it and while I don't remember what it said I remember that it had a border on each page illustrated with jungle trees and monkeys and I was thinking how odd that was for a philosophy book.
Maybe I am only a semi-existentialist if they exist, and then maybe since it is after midnight, i just need to get some sleep.
Last edited on Wed Jan 3rd, 2007 01:39 am by
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Becky
Wife of Michael(called Moo) and stay at home mom to 5 daughters between 10 months and 17
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CajunRick
Network Helper
| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 5353 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Wed Jan 3rd, 2007 01:38 am |
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The same site makes the following statement:
John Paul II (Wojtyla) is a great actor and one of the greatest deceivers of all-time. He is making the world believe that he is the Vicar of Christ; when in reality, he is neither Catholic nor pope.
This site is schismatic. I would not consider a single word valid. Sorry, but I have edited your message to remove the link, lest anyone think it is endorsed by CHN.
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Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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David W. Emery
Network Helper
| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Brownsville, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 2104 |
| First Name: | David | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic |
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Posted: Wed Jan 3rd, 2007 09:05 am |
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Becky: That reality as a whole is beyond human comprehension is a principle accepted by just about everyone. But the existentialist position is that reality is, even in its smallest, most mundane detail, absurd — that is, unintelligible. There is a difference.
To say that something is incomprehensible is to acknowledge that one cannot know everything about it. To say that something is unintelligible is to insist that one cannot know anything about it.
Most people accept that we can know something, even though it isn’t everything. Therefore, life cannot be utterly absurd.
Is subjectivity inevitable? To a certain extent, yes. But does it prevent our having any objectivity at all? No, because through our human self awareness we can see our subjectivity and work around it to some extent. Otherwise we would not be able to affirm the existence of (a) ourselves (the known existent); (b) reality (and thus existence itself); (c) God (the principle of existence).
I think you recognize these points as true, as against existentialism. Therefore, you can probably chalk up your experience to illness and lack of sleep. You will recall that Jean-Paul Sartre, one of the leading exponents of atheistic existentialism, spent most of his life in anxiety and depression, but in the end returned to faith and died in peace.
These questions exercised me greatly when I was a teenager. My intuition was that an objective reality had to exist because I could catch glimpses of it even from my cocoon of subjectivity. Eventually I became acquainted with the realist philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, which in turn drew me to Catholicism. It just made a whole lot more sense.
David
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SBC2RCC
Member
| Joined: | Mon Oct 9th, 2006 |
| Location: | York, South Carolina USA |
| Posts: | 130 |
| First Name: | Monte | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | was Southern Baptist Minister, now Roman Catholic |
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Posted: Wed Jan 3rd, 2007 06:23 pm |
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Dear Becky,
 Please take this with the sense of humor and caring that it is sent. I certainly hope you are feeling much better now. 
It could be that during illness is not a good time to think too deeply.  My own experience is of having truly bizarrre halucinations even while feverish. -- So, you dreamed of reading a Curious George Philosophy book? --
I must ditto the references to the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas. While in college, I studied philosophy under Deal Hudson as well as others. Dr. Hudson had himself struggled with the issues of existentialism, and lead us to the writings of Soren Kierkegaard. But then, he lead us up the mountainto the Summit, the Summa Theoligica of Aquinas. If you know of Hudson's spiritual journey, he was a Baptist at the time, as I was, teaching in a Baptist university. He was on his way into the Catholic church not long after I studied under him.
When trying to grasp at reality, I think it is very important for us to affirm that there is objective reality, and objective truth, even revealed truth. This, I would say, is the place where a Catholic Christian begins, so that we have an anchor, lest we lose our way intellectually.
It is really great to see you wrestling and studying over these issues. Keep up the pace, it will be a life long journey, and ultimately fruitful in God's grace.
Monte
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In Christ,
Monte W
(Formerly on CHN Forum as "Pilgrim Paul"
Minima Maxima Sunt
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