Monday, July 31, 2006

Dawson and the renewal of Catholic education

Interestingly, Christopher Dawson, in The Crisis of Western Civilization, did not advocate a return to a classic Catholic liberal education for a renewal of the Catholic higher education (which he saw a need for in 1960). Rather, he proposed something like a program of Catholic enculturalization (which, of course, would give attention to philosophy and theology) similar to the CAtholic Studies program at St. Thomas. Apparently St. Mary's in South Bend had something like it way back when.

One interesting thing he does is trace the history of two strains of intellectual formation--the Greek philosophical and the Latin humanist tradition. If I understand him right I think he may prefer the humanist tradition. Since I've encountered orthodox Catholic historians who have a somewhat jaundiced view of philosophy and theology as intellectual disciplines, perhaps this is an occupational hazard! I think their mistrust is based on what actually happened in theology after the Council. But, as Newman says in The Idea of a University, a liberal education does not guarantee either faith or virtue--that is not its role.

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