The quest for meaning in life has
been already the saga of man since the beginning of time. Man’s encounter with
his ‘situatedness’ has taught him lessons which he embraced as true and
necessary for his existence. These grasps of lessons on ‘practical truth’ that
he holds steadfastly has been his ‘owned’ way of life as he learn to adapt himself to the changing
environment, emerging challenges and to the demands of human development in
relationship with other human beings.
To exist,
man learned to organize himself. This human interaction has opened him to other
experiences, ideas and speculations. Thus, human valuing through time has been constantly
changing or improving as new civilizations develop with different cultures and perspectives.
But amidst passing time, every generation leaves a legacy behind-- their
thoughts of wisdom became a tradition and consolation of the newer breed of
societies they somewhat never imagine to exist.
Marshal is the Hebrew word for
wisdom. It is associated with word-group expressing ‘power’ or ‘rule;’ other
meaning is connoting ‘comparison’ or ‘model.’ One of the books of Wisdom
literature, the Proverbs, under the name of the encyclopedic Solomon, is a
manual of didactic material. It is a source book of instruction containing
several distinct compilations brought together and edited from a specific
religious viewpoint some time during the period of the Second Temple. The book
serves as manual for the education of the young.[1] It concludes on
an explicitly religious note with the reminder that: The fear of Yahweh is the
beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction (Prov 1:7). Fear
of God was the basis and also the culminating point of wisdom. This fear was a
humble and obedient attitude toward God; although not yet the filial respect
depicted in the New Testament, it was the profound reverence of a pure heart.
It is one of the basic goals of the
sages, not only in Israel, but elsewhere
in the ancient Near East: to bring human conduct into line with a cosmic law of
regularity and order observable in the sequence of seasons, the movements of
the heavenly bodies and the like. To be wise is, in a word, to live in
conformity with the law of nature.
For the
Greeks, the love of wisdom is exercised in Philosophy--reasoning as a way of
life. From the time of Plato and Aristotle, and even earlier, philosophy has
been largely concerned with helping man to understand the basic, ordered
pattern of the universe, and man's relationship to man. In some periods
philosophers have sought to help men discover the meaning of God and in the
light of this meaning to live lives of goodness and rightness. At other times,
philosophers have concluded that men could live morally without believing in
God. All philosophies involve the critical analysis of concepts which many
people accept in blind faith.[2] Notably, on Plato’s view: "wisdom such as God
possesses" is already known and available to us, even before the loving
search for this truth, that is, philosophizing, has begun.[3]
As time goes
by, Philosophy acquires its vivacity and its inner tension through its
counterpoint to the theological. It is thence that philosophy derives the
spice, the poignancy of the existential.[4] The quotation,
"which philosophy one chooses depends on what type of person one is",
stems from Fichte.[5] It opened a
stage for relativism and ‘consequentialism.’ Although, much of contemporary philosophy
has implied a negation of the concept of God like Nietzsche, many
twentieth-century philosophers like Buber, Tillich and Maritain have found
themselves closer to the traditional religious points of view. They recognize
the need for a new set of moral values as well as do the agnostics in the
philosophical fraternity, but they believe that such values can be found by a
re-examination and a redefinition of religious principles.[6]
But as Christians, amidst these temptations to rationalize, we should embrace a
philosophy or wisdom which is deeply rooted in Christianity.
Christian
philosophy is able to realize in purer form a genuine sense of wonder, which
is, after all, based on not knowing. One of the great thinkers of our age, who
takes his guidance from St. Thomas Aquinas, has stated that the most
distinctive feature of Christian philosophizing is not that it has at its
disposal more polished solutions but rather that it possesses "to a
greater degree than any other philosophy" a sense of mystery.
In a
changing world, however, old concepts and values have to be re-examined. With
the increasing importance of scientific discovery, many of the traditional
ideas about the order of the universe began to change. With increasing economic
progress and greater material comfort for individuals, both spiritual and
ethical values have undergone subtle changes. In the middle of the nineteenth
century, many keen thinkers sensed an Inadequacy and inapplicability in much
previous thought. The world, for these new philosophers, did not seem to be
based on a neat and tidy absolute rule. The problem of man's existence had to
be re-examined. New solutions were needed, new answers had to be found.[7]
Thus,
Christian philosophy will be brought to full expression by someone who has not
only "learned" and is familiar with what it means to be
Christian—someone to whom it is not only a "doctrine" with which he,
at a purely conceptual level, brings his conclusions into theoretical
alignment and agreement—but rather by someone who allows the Christian to
become a reality within himself and who, not simply knowing and learning, but
rather "suffering" and experiencing reality, acquires Christian truth
for himself on the basis of a genuine
community of nature and from this vantage point philosophizes about the natural
causes of the world's reality and about the meaning of life as well.[8]
As
conditions change and man's environment becomes different, the mind of man must
construct new philosophies for new times. What Plato and Aristotle did for
their times, the thinkers of these recent days have done for theirs. And the
mind of the philosopher, ever alert and sensitive to change, will continue to
meet the challenges of the future as they arise.[9]
Paul
Tillich, a German Protestant theologian, sees a true "God above the God of
Theism." For Tillich, religion is man's striving for the ultimate, the
absolute. There can be no atheistic society, since striving for any absolute
is, by definition, religious activity, and the point of a society's existence
is to strive toward a goal. In spite of a possible lack of meaning in
existence, faith constitutes acceptance of what is given.[10]
For
Christians, wisdom also has the notion of prudence wherein prudence is acknowledge
as a virtue. St. Thomas Aquinas defines prudence as correct knowledge
concerning things to be done. Wisdom is the greatest gift of God: it gives man
the light and force to seek his salvation in the love of God and to contemplate
and to love all things in that light and love alone. Prudence acts as counselor
and director in setting the standard for the other virtues. All other virtues depend on prudence.
Moreover, prudence disposes the practical reason to discern, in every
circumstance, our true good and to choose the right means for achieving it.[11]
Further, Dominic M. Prummer, OP,
explained St. Thomas Aquianas’ exposition on prudence on his book “Handbook of
Moral Theology:” prudence to be a perfect(integral) act needs these eight
pre-requisites: 1. memory, like the recalling of the past; 2. intellect, like a
clear knowledge of the present; 3. docility, like a readiness to learn; 4.
shrewdness, like a quick conjecture regarding the means to be used 5. reason,
like a readiness to infer one thing from another; 6. providence, like a
consideration of future events; 7. circumspection, like a careful consideration
of circumstances; and, 8. caution, like a care in avoiding evil and obstacle.
Thus, it is very related to knowledge, understanding, intelligence, and
experience.
Prudence as
a practical wisdom, and as in moral theology, aims to lead the human person,
its subject, toward the end through ‘good human acts.’ In his journey in life,
human person is directed by his conscience, guided by law. His movement to the
ultimate end– like God, happiness, etc.– is strengthened by virtue, sometimes
frustrated by sin, but always aided by Grace of God. To be virtuous, is what
ethics is all about. Our human actions
are s also guided by law which leads us not suddenly but gradually. The
immediate norm of our actions is our conscience.
Aside from
the bible, Catholics are lead by Magisterial texts. These always bear
provisions of wisdom which serve as their prudent guide in responding to different social issues. “Everyone should put his hand to the work
which falls to his share, and that at once and straightway, lest the evil which
is already so great become, through delay, absolutely beyond remedy,” and he
added, “in regard to the Church, her cooperation will never be found lacking.[12]”As God’s
people, they constantly refer to their rich Church tradition as how they
reflect on new challenges of their time.
[1]
Joseph Blankinsopp, p.17.
[2] S.E. Frost, Jr. Ph. D., Basic
Teachings of the Great Philopers, rev. ed. (Double Day: New York, 1989) p.263.
[3] Josef Piefer, For the Love of Wisdom
and Other Works, (Paulist Press: New York, 1988), p 70.
[4]
Josef Piefer, p 70.
[5]
Josef Piefer, p 79.
[6]
S.E. Frost, Jr. Ph. D., Basic Teachings of the Great Philopers, rev. ed.
(Double Day: New York, 1989) p.270,
[7]
p.263,
[8]
Josef Piefer, p.79
[9]
S.E. Frost, Jr. Ph. D., Basic Teachings of the Great Philopers, rev. ed.
(Double Day: New York, 1989) p.270,
[10] [10]
S.E. Frost, Jr. Ph. D., p.270.
[11]
Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1835.
[12]
Centesimus Annus, n. 56
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