2nd World Congress COMIUCAP of Faculties and Departments of Philosophy Catholic University Philosophy as mediation between religion and

culture Universidad Iberoamericana Santa Fe, Ciudad de Mxico September 13, 14, 15, 2004

A catholic education in competences for a dialogue that integrates and transcends

James P. Morin St. Onge1 jmorin@hualo.ucm.cl

Introduction My reflection explores the question of how can philosophy mediate to clarify the foundations of a catholic education based on competences for a dialogue that integrates and transcends. I develop an answer to this question in three parts. In the first part I present a synthesis of how the Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae on Catholic Universities understands dialogue as a mean for the integration of knowledge, to promote integral human development and for the evangelization of culture in relation to current historical challenges. In the second part, I present a linguistic-cognitive approach, based upon the thought of the philosopher and theologian Bernard Lonergan, which establishes how dialogue integrates and transcends through the act of communicating knowledge consciously. In the concluding section, I present a profile for a catholic education that promotes the integration of human knowledge and divine revelation through dialogue.
1

Professor in the Universidad Catlica del Maule, Talca, Chile; Dean of the Faculty of Religious and Philosophic Sciences; Professor of Pastoral Theology, Religious Education and Communication in Philosophic and Religious Education.

Dialogue, integral development and integration of knowledge In the Introduction to the Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae on Catholic Universities, John Paul II affirms that the destiny of the Church and of the world depends upon the dialogue between the Gospel and the cultures of our times2. This understanding of dialogue, as a mean for the historical development of humanity, constitutes the activity of dialogue as a vital factor for the future of catholic education. For this reason, in this section, I examine how the Constitution defines the characteristics of dialogue in a Catholic University. The Apostolic Constitution describes a Catholic University as a privileged place of encounter for dialogue that promotes collaboration and understanding among the various fields of knowledge, the plurality of cultures and the Word of God. The purpose of this dialogue is to know the truth about nature, man and God3 and to develop a synthesis of knowledge that serves the human community in its search for transcendence which gives meaning to life4 in relation with the historical developments of our times. In this dialogue the different fields of knowledge conserve their identity and autonomy, they discern how their discoveries affect individuals and society and they are enriched mutually with their contributions to an integrating vision of reality5. In the context of academic dialogue, the Constitution distinguishes two dimensions: disciplinary autonomy and interdisciplinary collaboration. From their disciplinary autonomy each professor works systematically and according to the methods of his discipline, conscious of his moral responsibility which is a constitutive part of his research and teaching activities. Through the interdisciplinary collaboration he seeks an organic vision of reality that orients the entire educative process towards the integral development of the person6.
2 3

John Paul II. Ex Corde Ecclesiae. Article Number 3. Cf. Note Number 4. Ibid. Articles 3rd and 6th 4 Ibid. Articles 15th and 16th. 5 Ibid. Articles 14th and 19th. 6 Ibid. Article 20th.

In a Catholic University, philosophical and theological thought assume a mediating function that orients dialogue towards the development of a synthesis and integration of knowledge. In this dialogue each discipline contributes from its autonomy towards the development of an integral vision of reality and of the human person, enlightened by the Gospel7. This integration requires dialogue between Christian thought and the modern natural and human sciences. Its an integration that confronts epistemological questions in order to understand how to articulate the integration of intelligence, reason, ethics and faith. This integration appreciates how human intelligence is enhanced by its comprehension of the Word of God and by the superiority of the spirit that is at the service of truth8. In its reflection upon the mediating function of dialogue, the Constitution presents the principle by which the catholic tradition sustains this integration. It affirms that authentic scientific research carried out according to moral norms, will never conflict with faith, for the things of the earth and the concerns of faith derive from the same God. In this perspective the dialogue between sciences, cultures and the Gospel is mutually enriched by an understanding of how faith and reason bear harmonious witness to the unity of all truth. In this interaction, theology contributes to a better understanding of Gods Revelation, as it learns from other disciplines how it could better respond to the current needs of the world today9. A Catholic University is a community animated by the spirit of Christ, which is united by its consecration to the disinterested search for truth and in this way participates educationally in the evangelical mission of the Church. It pursues its objectives through sincere dialogue that promotes the dignity and the rights of its members to form an authentic human community. In this context, university teachers inspired by academic ideals should offer a coherent vision of the world in their research and teaching. As Christian teachers, they are called to an authentic
7 8

Ibid. Articles 15th and 16th. Ibid. Articles 45th and 46th. 9 Ibid. Articles 16th, 17th and 19th.

witness of the integration between faith and culture and between professional competence and Christian wisdom10. Students are called upon to integrate their humanistic, professional and Christian formation in order to search for truth throughout their entire lives. This requires the development of their personal and professional abilities to discern in their judgements and decisions the meaning and implications of their faith, moral and social convictions11. In this manner a Catholic University prepares men and women in their vocation to search for truth in order to respond with scientific, cultural, professional and evangelic criteria to the challenges of our times. It promotes research, with ethical and religious criteria, to discover the roots of contemporary problems that impinge upon human dignity, social justice and peace, political stability and the equitable distribution of the worlds resources12. Regarding the challenges of our times, the Constitution establishes that a Catholic University should discern and evaluate the aspirations and contradictions of modern culture. It should study the impact of the scientific and technological development on nature and the impact of mass media on people and culture to assure that they are at the service of the authentic social well being of all. It must defend the identity of traditional cultures, helping them to receive modern values without sacrificing their own heritage. In this way a Catholic University participates in the mission of the Church of evangelizing the world and it contributes to the promotion of individuals and to the cultural progress of society.

10 11

Ibid. Articles 20th and 22nd. Ibid. Article 23rd. 12 Ibid. Articles 31st and 32nd.

Conscious communication of knowledge Considering the importance that the Magisterium attributes to dialogue in the mission of the Church and of Catholic Universities, I explore, in this section, how philosophy can exercise a mediating function to clarify the anthropological foundations for a catholic education based upon a dialogue that integrates and transcends. I affirm on the basis of the philosophical and theological thought of Bernard Lonergan13, that these foundations are constituted by the act of communicating knowledge consciously. This is an activity based upon an integral and inseparable group of cognitive and linguistic operations that articulate and structure the conscious communication of knowledge. I contend that this cognitive-linguistic structure, common to all human beings, constitutes the conditions for a dialogue that promotes the integral development of the human person and the integration of human and revealed knowledge. From this common structure rise the diverse expressions of the common sense and technical, aesthetic, mythical, scientific, ethic, cultural and religious knowledge. Each person can confirm in him or herself, this conscious and intentional activity which is sensible, intellectual, rational, moral and religious. In this activity we can differentiate a set of cognitive and linguistic operations that articulate the conscious act of knowing and communicating. We can observe, verify and take possession of this integrating activity as we know ourselves consciously while communicating knowledge. Our sensible conscience awakens our interest to observe and express what we perceive as datum of the object of our attention. Our intellectual conscience questions to understand and interpret the idea which gives intelligibility to the phenomenon that I comprehend. Our rational conscience doubts and seeks to verify and judge with a founded knowledge of what is probable, of value, real and true. Our moral conscience deliberates to discern and decide how to act in favor of the good, which makes effective our virtues as free and responsible
13

Bernard Lonergan. Insight.. A Study of Human Understanding. New York: University library, 1958. Method in Theology. New York: Herder and Herder, 1972.

subject. Our inspired religious conscience believes in and professes the sacred which transcends and gives meaning to the origin and purpose of all life. These observations verify at an empirical, epistemological, ontological, moral and religious level, that the conscious communication of knowledge is an activity that integrates as it transcends authentically. Our cognitive and linguistic activity offers empirical evidence of our capacity to transcend and integrate by means of our conscious communication of knowledge. This evidence lays the foundations of an epistemology that explains why intentional and conscious communication of knowledge is an activity that integrates while it transcends. The heuristic integration of this structure of being constitutes and ontology that transcends by means of the conscious communication of our knowledge of the datum, the idea, the real, the good and of God. Our moral conscience regulates this activity by its exigency that our conscious communication of knowledge must be attentive, intelligible, rational, responsible and animated by our love of truth. Our religious conscious communicates the truth revealed by God, who transcends through self giving love. Through our cognitive and linguistic activity we can consciously and intentionally appropriate the ontological reality that we know, which includes ourselves knowing. To the extent that we objectify and appropriate our conscious activity, we discover that our integral development as persons and the integration of reality are founded upon a communication that transcends when we know authentically. By intentionally appropriating our conscious communication of knowledge, we discover that our identity is constructed through a dialogic alterity by the measure that we transcend by our love of truth. This cognitive-linguistic activity, which constitutes the dynamic of our conscious communication of knowledge, structures at the same time the social mediation of knowledge in its diversity of expressions. The empirical knowledge of our sensorial consciousness is a practical and instrumental mediation in its technical,

artistic, ritual and legal forms of expression. The formal knowledge of our intellectual consciousness is a hermeneutic mediation of common sense and of theoretical interpretations that constitute aesthetic, scientific and mythical expressions. The critical knowledge of our rational consciousness is a constitutive mediation of education, culture, ethics and philosophy. The effective knowledge of our moral consciousness is a mediation of a free and responsible subject in the exercising of our rights and duties as persons and citizens in the political development of the State. The inspired knowledge of our religious consciousness is a mediation of Gods love revealed through the development of nature, humanity and history. Dialogue that transcends and integrates In this concluding section I define the characteristics of a Catholic University14 based upon the dialogical principles of the Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae and the cognitive-linguistic activity of the conscious communication of knowledge. These characteristics should influence all aspects of university life: its educational project, research proposals, curricular model, teaching programs, extension projects and academic and administrative management. A Catholic University is a community of knowledge and learning, inspired by Christ and constituted by the dialogue between teachers and students in their consecration to the search for truth. Its catholic identity is founded upon its historical commitment to participate educationally in the Churchs mission to evangelizing in dialogue with the world. The university contributes to this mission by promoting an integral personal and professional development that enable in competencies to respond to the challenging events of out time.

14

This reflection is based on the work of a Commission, in which the author has participated, to lay the foundations of the Institutional Educative Project of Catholic University of Maule which will be published soon.

It is a university which promotes the integral development of each student in their capacities to learn, to know, and to commit and transcend. Through dialogue it promotes the conscious and intentional self appropriation of the social, affective, cognitive and cultural expression of each person, who transcends when he or she knows authentically. Through dialogue it enables the transversal development of competences for the conscious communication of knowledge. It promotes that each person, in relation to their culture and field of study, develop their abilities to observe, interpret, judge and decide, animated by their faith in Gods love. On the basis of this dialogue, it promotes transdisciplinary collaboration and understanding among the sciences, diverse cultures and the Gospel. A Catholic University creates conditions that allow students: to discern their vocational orientation, to appropriate scientific knowledge, to understand diverse cultural meanings, to develop professional competences that allow them to respond to the challenges of the historical events of our time, inspired by the Word of God and the social teachings of the Church. Through their scientific and cultural studies, students are initiated in the theoretical foundations of their disciplines and the methodological abilities required to investigate in their field of knowledge. Through their professional formation, they develop abilities to diagnose problems, to collaborate in team work, to apply new technologies, to design strategies, to make decisions and to evaluate with ethical standards the implications and results of their initiatives. Through their general studies and of catholic thought, they acquire knowledge that broadens their cultural horizons, as citizens with a critical understanding of the modern world and an appreciation of how Christian faith dignifies and humanizes. Through dialogue the Catholic University promotes transdisciplinary collaboration among the sciences and the diversity of cultures with an understanding of the Gospel message. In this dialogue it promotes the discernment of the meanings and implications of Christian faith in relation with scientific, cultural and technological

fields in which students are being prepared. Thus it promotes that their students can integrate all their human capacities: their sensible capacities to feel, observe and describe data and facts; their intellectual curiosity to be amazed, to question, to understand and to interpret ideas, theories and principles; their rational capacities to doubt, verify and judge with foundations what is probable, real and true; their moral capacity to discern, value and decide with responsible freedom how to be just and promote the good; and their religious capacities to believe in and give witness of the revelation of Gods love. Upon these foundations, the Catholic University promotes dialogue through which the human spirit develops in its capacity to integrate and transcend: through its sensibility in the presence of beauty and poverty; through its technical, scientific, professional and ethical abilities; through search for the foundations of truth; through its responsible freedom committed to justice; through its solidarity and leadership at the service of the common good; and through its faith that discerns how to responds to Gods love in the challenges of our times. This is the spirit that animates a Catholic University which understands itself as a community of knowledge and learning that dialogues to integrate and transcend. It hopes that this spirit will characterize the contribution of its graduates in different scientific, professional and cultural fields of knowledge.