A Tale of Two Anthropologies

A brief journey through the philosophical underpinnings of the Christian versus Secular views of Man and his destiny

Reflection
Ideas are powerful (sometimes lethal) weapons, and should be handled with care. They shape human existence in its entirety, for good or ill

Background The advent of universal education and the mass media has resulted in a large number of Christians absorbing views about life and moral conduct which in many ways are at variance with orthodox Christianity. The present work was conceived as an attempt to address the moral confusion resulting from the blending of oftentimes logically incompatible worldviews. Aim of the Journey This presentation has three key aims: To lay bare some toxic assumptions of Secular philosophy which are now embedded in many Christians way of thinking about moral action & conduct To illuminate how the orthodox Christian worldview about Man and his destiny is in critical conflict with much of modern Secular philosophy To demonstrate how only an anthropology based on Christian moral premises can make sense of Man as a holistic being, and of his life as having purpose and direction (Telos)
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Presentation outline The orthodox Christian anthropology as reflected in Scripture, Christian Philosophy and the teachings of the Catholic Church An Historical Banquet of Secular Ideas: Amuse Bouche Voluntarism and Nominalism Hors DOeuvres The Renaissance and the Reformation Main Courses The Enlightenment and its 3 Offspring Desserts & Coffee Postmodernity and Relativism Conclusion: The purpose of human existence according to Christian and Secular values
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Christian Anthropology I Sacred Scripture God created the Universe and all it contains ex nihilo, out of an act of love. Creation is good. Man was created in the image of God to know and love God, and to enjoy Creation The first man and his wife (Adam & Eve) rejected Gods commandment by succumbing to pride and to the Devils temptation to eat of the forbidden fruit. Because of their Original Sin, God banished our Ancestors and their descendants from the Garden of Eden (the Fall) God revealed Himself to the Israelites as a personal God, and gave Moses the Ten Commandments At a particular point in time the eternal God entered human history through the Incarnation of His Word (His uncreated Son), by taking human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary The incarnated Son of God - as prophesised by the Jewish Prophets - was Jesus Christ, who came into the world to redeem humanity from sin through His death on the Cross and His Resurrection from the dead

Christian Anthropology II Sacred Scripture Jesus Christ brought to perfection the Law & the Prophets by condensing the 10 Commandments into Two Commandments: Man must love God, and love his neighbour as himself Jesus revealed the Trinitarian nature of God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three Persons, one Godhead) and warned that Mans salvation can be achieved only through Him Christ established the Catholic Church as a Divine institution with the Apostle Peter as its first head (His vicar on earth). The Church (which is Christs Mystical Body and His Bride) guides Humanity in all Truth relating to God, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, until the end of time. The Church is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic At His Parousia Christ the King will come in glory to judge the living and the dead. Holy people will go to Heaven, and wicked people to Hell Christ gave the Church the Seven Sacraments for the spiritual health and nourishment of Mankind. The principal Sacrament is the Eucharist: Christs Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity under the (accidental) appearance of bread & wine, bestowing Divine grace on the soul receiving it 6

Christian Anthropology III Christian philosophy Blend of Sacred Scripture and sophisticated philosophical insight of Greek thinkers such as Socrates, Aristotle and Plato, enriched by the 20th Centurys focus on the human person Main thinkers: St. Augustine of Hippo [354-430], St. Thomas Aquinas [1227-1274] (the founder of Thomism, aka the Philosophia Perennis), Dante Alighieri [1265-1321], Neo-Thomism(J. Maritain; E. Gilson); Personalism (M. Buber; J. Pieper; V. Solovyov, Blessed John Paul II) Key principles o God created a rational Universe, containing both matter and spirit . Reality (both material and spiritual) is knowable through human Reason and Faith (Intellect + Heart) o No conflict between Faith and Reason (or Faith and Science) o The Natural Law: God endowed each human being with the capacity to discern good and evil through his own reason and heart o Each human being/ human life is willed by God and uniquely precious in His eyes o Human life is a journey aimed at knowing & loving God through knowledge, the virtues and Gods grace. Human life has purpose & direction (life is Teleological) o There is such a thing as objective truth!
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An Historical Banquet of Secular Ideas I Amuse Bouche Nominalism & Voluntarism Philosophical ideas which emerged in the 14th Century (William of Ockham [1288-1348]) Key principles: o Fracture between the will of God and Creation, including Mans will. Only Faith gives access to God. The ways of God are not open to Reason o Human will is privileged over human reason. The will (itself undetermined) decides what is good. The orthodox Christian view instead maintains that reason recognises the good, and the will acts upon this recognition o Only individuals exist, not universals (such as Love, Truth, Beauty). The latter are just products of individual minds o Freedom of indifference is postulated against traditional Christianitys Freedom for excellence Later influence on thinkers such as Hume (scepticism), Kant (moral action as obligation) and Nietzsche (irrationalism/will to power) 8

An Historical Banquet of Secular Ideas II Hors DOeuvres The Renaissance o Man turns his gaze from God to himself o Rediscovery of pagan philosophy and art o Great explorations beyond Europe o Nicolaus Copernicus expounds the Heliocentric theory
Benozzo Gozzoli (1421-1497) La Cappella dei Magi, Palazzo Medici, Firenze

The Protestant Reformation o Individual interpretation of Holy Scripture (precursor of subjectivism) o Salvation by Faith alone; Sola Scriptura (no need for Church or Sacraments) o Divine origin understanding of Church is lost
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Martin Luther (1483-1546)

An Historical Banquet of Secular Ideas III Main Courses The Enlightenment: The Precursors The Father of Modern Philosophy: Rene Descartes [1596-1650] o Cogito, ergo sum: Reality not knowable objectively. Only a subjective interpretation of reality is possible o Introduction of Dualism Mind vs. Body: unity of Body & Soul is broken: The ghost in the machine.

Rene Descartes

The emergence of the experimental method in science o Francis Bacon [1561-1626], author of the Novum Organum o Galileo Galilei [1564-1642] o Isaac Newton [1643-1727] Antinomy (conflict) emerges between Science and Faith Descartes is the Father of Subjectivism, wrenching Western Philosophy from the Realist (objective reality) view prevalent up to then (Thomism). The experimental method promoted by Bacon, Galileo et al. will eventually lead to rejection of unprovable spiritual realities

Galileo Galilei

Isaac Newton

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An Historical Banquet of Secular Ideas IV Main Courses The Enlightenment: The French Revolution A new Trinity Libert

galit

Fraternit
Liberty (Marianne) leading the People, by Eugne Delacroix (1860)

Reason alone is the new God. Religion=Superstition All of Mans spiritual ills can be cured through Education, Knowledge and Science (another Enlightenment Trinity). The concept of Sin a legacy of religious superstition The doctrine of Perpetual Progress (on earth) is born. It postulates Evolutionary view of History Major problem for Christians in dealing with the Enlightenment is that the movement is a Christian heresy (P. Trower). Its the Gospel without God /Jesus Christ

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An Historical Banquet of Secular Ideas V Main Courses The Enlightenment: The Key Philosophical Currents Utilitarianism (also known as Consequentialism) Main thinkers: Adam Smith[1723-1790]; Jeremy Bentham [1748-1832]; John S. Mill [1806-1873] ; Peter Singer[1946- ] (neo-utilitarian/darwinian) Key Ideas: o Self-interest/selfishness are good: they are natural human instincts o Freedom of initiative and free markets maximise common good o Economic cost-benefit analysis/calculus should drive moral action o Maximisation of pleasure (utility) and minimisation of suffering are the only worthwhile goals. The State should maximise Net Collective Utility o Materialist concept of happiness. Useful outcomes is what matters, not good intention In Christian moral theology context, Utilitarianism gives rise to Situation Ethics. Utilitarianism 12 reduces Man to Homo economicus
Jeremy Bentham John Stuart Mill

An Historical Banquet of Secular Ideas VI Main Courses The Enlightenment: The Key Philosophical Currents Social Contract and the Liberal State Main thinkers: John Locke [1632-1704]; Jean-Jacques Rousseau [1712-1778] Key Ideas: o Freedom of indifference is the paramount value o Man in his natural state is good (the good savage). Rejection of Thomas Hobbes pessimist view of Man as homo homini lupus and related need for Absolutist State o Rejection of the Christian awareness of Mans tendency to sin o Education and knowledge are all one needs to redeem Man from his weaknesses o Free individual agents agree to a social contract & institute the State for common good These ideas are the foundational principles of modern liberal democracies. They are also at the root of view of government as indifferent arbitrator between interest groups/lobbies
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John Locke Jean Jacques Rousseau

An Historical Banquet of Secular Ideas VII Main Courses The Enlightenment: The Key Philosophical Currents Empiricism & Scepticism George Berkley Main thinkers: George Berkley [1685-1753]; David Hume [1711-1776] Key Ideas: o The passions drive human nature, not reason o Knowledge comes only from sensory experience (human mind at birth is tabula rasa). Denial of idea that the Natural Law is imprinted on human heart o Scepticism about reasons ability to grasp eternal, universal laws through inductive observations, i.e. any amount of observations does not guarantee certainty o Razor-sharp critique of the nature of God and the problem of Evil (theodicy), recovering Epicurus argument. Rejection of possibility of Miracles, such as Virgin Birth or Resurrection Hume had huge influence on Kant. Historical-critical method of interpreting Sacred Scripture, most times leading to rejection of the supernatural, owes much to Humes scepticism 14
David Hume

An Historical Banquet of Secular Ideas VIII Main Courses The Enlightenment: The Key Philosophical Currents Idealism Main thinkers: Immanuel Kant [1724-1804]; Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel [1770-1831] Key Ideas: o Kants huge philosophical edifice was prompted by Humes sceptical challenge. Kant said that Hume woke him from his dogmatic slumber o Kant rejects the reality of Revelation, positing a weaker, Deistic view where God is essentially an enforcer of moral obligations, which are present in human conscience o Autonomous reason dictating moral obligations (deontology) is the new Kantian god o Hegel introduced the notion of historical dialectics (thesis; antithesis; followed by synthesis, which reconciles the antinomy) This idea greatly influenced Karl Marx Kant distorts orthodox Christianity by emphasising the primacy of unaided individual conscience and by understanding morality as mere duty & obligation. Hegelian thinking influenced the 15 understanding of the Mass as community-centred rather than God-centred
Immanuel Kant GWF Hegel

An Historical Banquet of Secular Ideas IX Main Courses The Enlightenments 3 Offspring: First-born
Ludwig von Feuerbach Karl Marx Friedrich Engels Marxism Key thinkers: Karl Marx[1818-1883];Friedrich Engels[1820-1895];Vladimir I Lenin[1870-1924]

Key Ideas: o Marx built his historical-scientific materialism edifice on Utilitarianism, Hegels Dialectics and Ludwig Feuerbachs view that the Christian God is simply a projection of Mans wish list (a gigantic benign Father Figure) o Only Economics and Economic Power matter; Class struggle; God is the opiate of the people and religion a control mechanism (superstructure) for the lites to keep the masses unconscious of their effective slavery o Deterministic Materialist philosophy. In order to achieve Revolution, the individual must be subject to the State. Despite his branding, Marxs theories are Utopian, not scientific Marxism is arguably the most anti-Christian philosophy: Atheistic denial of God; Deterministic view of life (no free will); submission of individual to the State; Man reduced to 16 Homo Economicus; Class struggle at the origin of Radical Feminist and Gay Lobbies worldviews

An Historical Banquet of Secular Ideas X Main Courses The Enlightenments 3 Offspring: Enfant terrible
J-B. Lamarck Charles Darwin Francis Galton Margaret Sanger

Evolutionary Theory/Eugenics Key thinkers: Jean-Baptiste Lamarck[1744-1829];Charles Darwin[1809-1882];Francis Galton[1822-1911]; Margaret Sanger[1879-1966]; Marie Stopes[1880-1958] Key Ideas: o Life on earth evolved randomly from basic primitive cells through adaption and competitive natural selection (strong influence of the Utilitarian school of thought here) o Life develops through chance and necessity. There is no Creator nor Design. Man just an evolved monkey o Some races, and within them, some people are more evolved than others. Its worth promoting the best breeds & eliminating the unfit via contraception, sterilization, abortion Atheistic, materialist and deterministic view of life. Carried to its logical conclusions, it justifies Racial superiority; Law of the jungle; Ruling and decision-making by strongest, most intelligent, most economically powerful. Recipe for anarchy. Reduction to homo biologicus 17

An Historical Banquet of Secular Ideas XI Main Courses The Enlightenments 3 Offspring: Rebellious
Arthur Schopenhauer Friedrich Nietzsche Irrationalism Key thinkers: The Romantic Movement; Arthur Schopenhauer[1788-1860];Friedrich Nietzsche[1844-1900]; Sigmund Freud [1856-1939] Sigmund Freud

Key Ideas: o Romantic Movement is a reaction to the dry Rationalism of the Enlightenment. It promotes feelings, love of nature and the passions. Predecessor of Green Movement/ Earth huggers o Schopenhauer sees the world as driven by a purposeless indifferent Will of Nature (no benign God exists) o Nietzsche rejects Christianity as the religion of the bourgeois loser, declares the death of God and advocates the Will to Power and the bermensch (Superior Hero types) o Freud scientifically unleashes the unconscious, highlighting its darker passions as key to life Atheistic worship of the individual will. Justification for release of all the passions (even the 18 basest). Deterministic world-view. Encourages Emotions and Fideism in Christianity.

An Historical Banquet of Secular Ideas XII Desserts & Coffee Postmodernity and Relativism
Sren Kierkegaard Jean Paul Sartre Jacques Derrida Existentialism & Deconstructionism Key thinkers: Sren Kierkegaard[1813-1855]; J-P Sartre[1905-1980]; J Derrida [1930-2004]

Key Ideas: o Angry reaction against 19th Century optimistic Positivism, especially in wake of 1st World War o Existentialism: Human life is meaningless/absurd, leading either to irrational abandon to Christian faith (Kierkegaard) or to nihilism (Sartres nausea) o Impossibility of knowing Objective Truththere are as many truths as there are people (Absolute Relativism). Analytical philosophy dismantles Natural Law (so-called Naturalistic Fallacy : one cannot get an ought from an is). Theological language is meaningless o Deconstructionism (Derrida): the meaning of human language itself must be de-constructed. Meaning is not what the common sense of a statement may implies Suicide of the Western mind: the Final Solution! Implosion of meaning and rationality, leading 19 to pedantic analytical gymnastics and reduction of human life to Homo Absurdus

Two Anthropologies
1. Holistic view of Man/Unity of Body & Soul 2. Christ-centred individual conscience informs moral action 3. Morality stems from God, in the individual heart guided by informed conscience 4. God-filled material and spiritual Universe 5. Realist optimism/Culture of Life 6. Recognises Sin in Man; begs for Gods Grace and forgiveness 7. Utter freedom in Gods Love 8. High self-esteem from knowing Gods Love 9. Free will pursues the Virtues 10. Worships God alone Life has purpose & direction, namely Man is made to know & love God. Life is teleological 1. Truncated view of Man/Dichotomy MindBody/Fragmentation (Man as Salami) 2. Ego-centred Will informs moral decisions 3. Morality is decided upon by ego, powerful lites, majority vote, the State 4. Only material Universe. No God 5. Cynical utilitarian pragmatism/Culture of Death 6. No Sin, only lifestyle choices 7. Slavery to passions, material objects, idols 8. Low self-esteem due to forms of slavery above 9. Enslaved ego pursues the Vices 10. Worships Science, Technology, Power, Material Wealth, Human Idols (celebrities) Ultimately Life is purposeless, leading to either bravado/hyper-activism or despair
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Two Anthropologies
Community of Believers Scatter of Atomistic Egos

God

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Further Reading

o Philip Trower. Turmoil and Truth - The Historical Roots of the Modern Crisis in the Catholic Church o Philip Trower. The Catholic Church and the Counter-Faith - a Study of the Roots of Modern Secularism, Relativism and de-Christianisation o Father Alban McCoy, OFM Conv. An Intelligent Persons guide to Christian ethics o Father Thomas Crean, OP. A Catholic replies to Professor Dawkins o Donald De Marco & Benjamin Wiker. Architects of the Culture of Death

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