Catholic Candle note: Below is part 10 of our exploration of the best type of education – which is a true Catholic Liberal Education. Do not confuse this education with many university programs called “liberal arts” but which are full of fluff, falsehood, and aimless so-called “cultural enrichment” courses and “humanities”.

A liberal education also does not refer to liberalism, nor is a true liberal education an indoctrination into that error of liberalism or political correctness. In fact, a true Catholic Liberal Education is the best antidote to the errors of liberalism.

As context for this tenth part of this article, let us recall what we saw in the earlier nine parts:

Previously, in part 1 of this article,¹ we examined the problems we see in modern education:

• Modern colleges do not improve the quality of their students’ minds (and their thinking ability) much or at all.

  
  

• Most “education” is merely job training, fluff courses, and/or leftist indoctrination.

  
  

• The students are trained to sound like someone in their field but they do more memorizing and little thinking.

  
  

• Grade “inflation” and degree “inflation” are rampant. Grades and academic degrees do not mean much anymore.

In part 2 of this article,² we examined, in general, what education is. We considered the human soul and the perfection of its highest faculty (i.e., its highest power) – which is the intellect – and which is immaterial (i.e., incorporeal). We saw that our intellects are perfected through knowing eternal, unchangeable truths and the causes of things.

In part 3 of this article,³ after having seen what true education is, we examined the question who should perfect his intellect.

In part 4 of this article,⁴ having seen that modern universities do not provide a true education, we consider whether there is ever a good reason for men or women to attend them.

In part 5 of this article,⁵ having seen that women and girls should pursue a True Catholic Liberal Education – just as men and boys should, too – we then considered what the best environment is in which women and girls should do this.

In part 6 of this article, we addressed the objection that, having seen the great value of a true Catholic Liberal Education, we should be afraid that the great blessing of this education would be a danger to our souls because it might foster in us the vice of pride.⁶

In part 7 of this article, we considered more fully the difference between the education which is appropriate for a free man as contrasted to the education which is appropriate for a slave.⁷

In part 8 of this article, we considered further how the truth perfects our minds. This shows us that we must really know the truth, not merely believe true opinions.⁸

In part 9 of this article, we considered more-specifically what studies (sciences) belong in a Catholic Liberal Education.⁹

Below, in part 10, we explore the motive and the goal of a true Catholic Liberal Education.

What Are the Motive and the Goal of a True Catholic Liberal Education?

A Catholic Liberal Education Begins in Wonder and Aims at Wisdom

Part 10

In an earlier part of this article¹⁰, we saw that the seven liberal arts are important studies by means of which we should begin our study of the highest sciences – which are philosophy and theology.

We saw that the liberal arts are not the only parts of liberal education or even the most important parts, but they are the key beginning of it. They develop our thinking and help make our minds disciplined, vigorous, and animated by wonder, so that we will not only desire, but also have the means to can acquire knowledge and wisdom, especially the highest truths, which are again, those of philosophy and theology.

Here is the motive and goal of the education that all of us should seek, each according to his circumstances:

A true, Catholic Liberal Education
begins in wonder and aims at wisdom.

Let us “unpack” that statement by first looking at what we mean by wonder and then let us consider what wisdom is.

What is Wonder?

Wonder is the proper human motive for true education. Wonder involves two things simultaneously: ignorance and knowledge (in different respects).  Man finds himself wondering because, at the same time, he both knows something and also doesn’t know everything. 

Let us contrast wonder with mere curiosity.  Wonder implies that a person knows a group of facts (i.e., truths) and, knowing these facts, he seeks an explanation of them – viz., their causes.  Wonder involves a certain delight and joy, a sort of fascination with the way things are. But at the same time, the person has a certain lack of comfort because he is aware of his own lack of knowledge. So he asks why things are the way they are.  Wonder implies that a person has a certain confidence that the world around him is ultimately explainable.  When a person is animated by wonder, he goes through his day, week, or month, seeing additional intellectual connections between various things. He goes through life seeing more aspects of the world around him which are interesting and for which he seeks explanations.

By contrast, a person motivated by curiosity is more interested in questions concerning how.  When a person is motivated by curiosity, he is not so interested in questions concerning why – and is not so motivated to seek to know why something is true and what its causes are.  Rather, curiosity leads a person to focus on seeking to do something and desiring to see if his idea will “work” to achieve a useful practical result or even merely a sensational spectacle. A curious man ultimately seeks power.¹¹  He is more concerned to see how certain generalizations work or how they apply to varying circumstances.  In contrast to a person who wonders, a person motivated by curiosity assumes the validity of a principle, in order to see how effectively this principle can be harnessed to exploit a given situation in order to achieve a particular useful result.

This is not to say that the methods of verification in experimental science may not very well be an instrument of wonder of a high order, but when those instruments are employed not in order to understand the truths of Nature, but in order to find what works, then curiosity and not wonder is the immediate motive.

So the man who wonders at the lightning he sees in the sky is considering questions such as what causes lightning and what is the nature of lightning.  But the man who sees the lightning and seeks to protect his house from being struck by lightning is curious rather than wondering.  He asks himself things such as, if he places a metal pole on his roof, will that protect his house?

The proper satisfaction of a man who wonders is knowledge of the causes of things around us, e.g., what is lightning and what causes it.  By contrast, the proper satisfaction of a curious man is seeing that his idea works successfully, e.g., the

lightning rod protected his house from a lightning strike. ¹²

Curiosity and the practical improvements engendered by it are generally not evil¹³ and are sometimes even necessary. But they are much lower than the possession of universal, eternal truth. Such curiosity is lower than wonder in a way similar to food for the body being lower than food for the mind. This is because wonder leads to the perfection of our intellect; curiosity leads to perfection of the practical circumstances of our life. The perfection of our intellect is much greater and nobler!

So a man who sees and wonders is spurred on to learn the causes of the things around him because they are interesting and the world around him is explainable by reason. Those causes are worthy of investigation for the sake of the truth because Nature is worthy of investigation (and even more worthy is the First Cause of Nature, Who is God).  By contrast, curiosity spurs a man to solve a problem which improves the practical aspects of his life or otherwise helps him, e.g., have a safer home.

Thus, a liberal education begins in wonder, not in curiosity. By contrast (for example), building a better mousetrap begins in curiosity, not in wonder.

So a Catholic Liberal Education begins with wonder and involves the seeking of the truth which is the knowledge of the causes of things. This true education aims at wisdom (as we stated above).

But what is wisdom? Let us next consider that question.

First, Let Us Remember that Wisdom is a Priceless Treasure!

First, let us reflect that wisdom is one of the most important blessings from God. “All wisdom is from the Lord God”.¹⁴

Wisdom is incomparably better than fame, prestige, power, riches, pleasures, or comfort. As the Book of Wisdom declares:

I preferred her [viz., wisdom] before kingdoms and thrones, and esteemed riches nothing in comparison of her. Neither did I compare unto her any precious stone: for all gold in comparison of her, is as a little sand, and silver in respect to her shall be counted as clay.¹⁵

In fact:

Wisdom is better than all the most precious things: and whatsoever may be desired cannot be compared to it.¹⁶

And:

She [i.e., wisdom] is an infinite treasure to men! ¹⁷

Therefore, we should pursue wisdom above all of these things. As the wise man teaches us in the Book of Proverbs:

Get wisdom, because it is better than gold.¹⁸

What is Wisdom?

St. Thomas Aquinas explains to us (following Aristotle’s teaching) that:

Wisdom is a knowledge of causes.¹⁹

This definition fits perfectly with what we saw above about wonder. That is, seeking the true knowledge which is offered in a Catholic Liberal Education begins in wonder. As we saw above, true wonder (as contrasted to mere curiosity) motivates us to seek to understand the things that are, and to know their causes.

The Wisdom We Discuss Here (and Which We Seek) is Wisdom Simply Speaking, not Wisdom in a Restricted Sense

In this present article, we are considering the nature of wisdom simply, that is, unqualifiedly. Let us contrast this unqualified wisdom to what we could call “wisdom” as that word is used in a narrow or restricted sense.

In a qualified sense – i.e., in some way – we could call something “wisdom” which is the knowledge of causes pertaining to a narrow field or pursuit, such as carpentry (or one of the other manual arts). A man could be called a “wise carpenter” because he has the knowledge of the causes of his art. For example, a “wise carpenter” might reject the use of a particular beam (i.e., plank) which is full of knots because he knows that such a beam would not possess the strength it should have because those knots weaken it.

Such a carpenter is not wise absolutely speaking (unqualifiedly) but is wise in a certain, limited respect (viz., regarding his particular field), because he knows the causes which affect his own special art.

But in this present article, we are considering the wisdom by which we would call a man “wise” without qualification, as opposed to calling him “wise” only in a certain specialized respect (as we would say a “wise carpenter”). In other words, in this article we are examining what wisdom is absolutely, because of which we would call a man “wise” without adding any qualification such as “carpenter”.

This distinction is similar to the difference between a man being called “good” without qualification (because he possesses great virtue) as contrasted to a person being called “good” qualifiedly, such as being a “good plumber” or a “good assassin”. Being a “good assassin” refers to the person possessing a high degree of the assassin’s skill for killing people. We do not call this assassin “good” without qualification (but we could call him “good” in this certain respect).

Likewise, calling a man “wise” with respect to carpentry is not the same as calling him “wise” without qualification. So in this article, we examine the nature of wisdom as it gives a general excellence to a person and because of which he would be called “wise” as a person (and not in a qualified sense such as wise as a carpenter).

There Are Two Kinds of Wisdom Simply Speaking

There are two kinds of wisdom simply speaking. They are speculative²⁰ wisdom and practical wisdom. Both of them are the knowledge of causes, but in different ways. They reflect the two kinds of causes that every person should know. Each of these kinds of wisdom causes a person to be called “wise” without qualification:

• Because of speculative wisdom, a person is called wise as the knower of the deep causes of things, especially the First Cause of all things; and

  
  

• Because of practical wisdom, a person is called wise as a doer, acting well in light of his final end.

Both kinds of wise men we call “wise” simply speaking, without limiting this adjective by a qualifying word such as “carpenter”.

Let us briefly look at each of these types of wisdom.

What Is Speculative Wisdom?

Speculative wisdom is wisdom in those matters which concern the highest truths²¹ which are most worth knowing and which most-greatly perfect our intellects.

But in addition to knowing high truths, we must also know the causes of those high truths; (of course, God is uncaused but is the ultimate Cause of everything else). It is important that, in knowing the highest truths, we also know their causes because we do not know something fully if we do not know its causes.

But there is a difference in causes. Some are lower-level, proximate causes which are themselves caused by higher causes. For example, a dog is one of the causes of its own puppies but God is the higher cause of not only those puppies, but also the parent dogs, as well as all other dogs and creatures.

The most complete and most satisfying knowledge of a thing is to know it with all of its causes, even up to (and especially) the Highest Cause, which is the First and Highest Cause of all creatures. This is God.

St. Paul infallibly teaches us that we can know God by natural reason, as the First Cause of all other things. In other words, looking at creatures, we can see God’s work in them and that God is their cause. Here are St. Paul’s words:

[T]he invisible things of Him [viz., God], from the creatures of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made; His eternal power also, and Divinity.²²

St. Thomas refers to speculative wisdom when he explains (following Aristotle’s teaching) that “it belongs to wisdom to consider the Highest Cause.”²³

This knowledge of things with their highest causes is the deepest and fullest way to know things and is speculative wisdom.

The science which treats of the first causes (including naturally knowable truths about God Himself, such as His existence and some of His perfections) in the light of the natural capacity of human reason is called metaphysics – which is a type of speculative wisdom – as this wisdom is attainable by the power of human reason. The science which studies God in the higher light of what He has revealed about Himself is also called speculative wisdom, but it is wisdom as attainable by the greater light of the Catholic Faith. Thus, Catholic theology is the highest wisdom and is the principal satisfaction of wonder on this side of the grave.

What Is Practical Wisdom?

The other kind of wisdom is called practical wisdom and is also called prudence. It is one of the four Cardinal Virtues. It is also a Gift of the Holy Ghost, as well as an infused moral virtue (infused into the souls of those who are in the state of Sanctifying Grace).

Practical wisdom is concerned with right reason as it applies to our active life. This wisdom regulates the passions and appetites which move us. Practical wisdom does this by ordering all of our actions (and our life) to our Final End. This Final End is also called the Final Cause of our actions because our end (that is, the goal) is the ultimate cause (reason) why we do what we do.

For example, suppose that a man has an urgent need to travel to an adjoining city immediately. He might go into his bedroom, for the sake of getting his car keys. His obtaining his keys is for the sake of driving his car, which is for the sake of going to the gas station, which is for the sake of filling his empty gas tank, which is for the sake of being able to drive to that adjoining city without running out of gas, all for the sake of making the urgent journey. The Final Cause (the ultimate reason) for each of those activities was in order to arrive in the adjoining city. In other words, finally, the cause of all of those activities was the arriving there. By contrast, if the man stopped to read a novel, the Final Cause of that pastime would not be the urgent trip to the adjoining city.

Likewise, any part of our life which does not promote our Final Cause, is vain. Anything we do which will not help us to achieve the goal for which we have been created (and for which are on earth) is ultimately foolishness that we will regret. That is why one way in which practical wisdom can be summed up is as follows:

It is Practical Wisdom (Prudence) to live every minute of our lives in the way that, at our Judgment, we will want to have lived.

Here is how St. Ignatius of Loyola teaches this practical wisdom:

Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God Our Lord, and by this means to save his soul. All other things on the face of the earth are created for man to help him fulfill the end for which he is created. From this it follows that man is to use these things to the extent that they will help him to attain his end. Likewise, he must rid himself of them insofar as they prevent him from attaining it.

Therefore, we must make ourselves indifferent to all created things, insofar as it is left to the choice of our free will and is not forbidden. Acting accordingly, for our part, we should not prefer health to sickness, riches to poverty, honor to dishonor, a long life to a short one, and so in all things we should desire and choose only those things which will best help us attain the end for which we are created.²⁴

St. Paul urged his flock to live according to practical wisdom when he taught them that they should:

Walk with wisdom towards them that are without.²⁵

St. Paul is teaching us that (practical) wisdom should guide our actions, i.e., our “walk”.

Following St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that prudence, i.e., practical wisdom, “judges of human acts by Divine things, and directs human acts according to Divine rules.”²⁶

We see that practical wisdom should cause us to order our lives fearing the Lord so that we can live a life obeying Him and living in His friendship. Here is one way in which the Book of Proverbs teaches this truth:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.²⁷

As we saw in an earlier part of our current investigation of The Blessings of a True Catholic Liberal Education,²⁸ we should study the truths of Ethics and Politics to attain this practical wisdom.

Both Types of Wisdom Have the Same Ultimate Object: God

We see, by looking at both speculative wisdom and practical wisdom, that God is the beginning and end. That is, both kinds of wisdom ultimately are knowledge of God but in different aspects.

Speculative wisdom starts with all of the various truths around us and traces them back to their First Cause, Who is God. By contrast, through Ethics and Politics, practical wisdom considers our Final End (Who is God) as the reason and guiding principle for all of our actions and makes sure that all of our actions are for the sake of Him, Who is our Last End and our Final Cause (to use the proper philosophical term).

Thus, we see more fully the literal truth of what Our Lord says in the Apocalypse:

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.²⁹

Our Lord is the Beginning and First Cause of all that exists; He is the End and Highest Principle to which all of our actions and our lives should conform.

So in all of the studies of a true education, God is the ultimate subject of study – as the First Beginning (the First Cause) of the speculative sciences, and as the Last End of the practical sciences of Ethics and true Political Science.

This Lifetime Pursuit of Wisdom Is The Life of a Free Man

Now through the efforts of a lifetime of study, a man can more fully acquire deeper and broader wisdom. But such precious wisdom nonetheless is indeed the work of a lifetime.

However, this man’s whole “journey” – even the earlier part – should be characterized by the pursuit of this great good, and this work of his entire life is rightly called philosophy – which means the love of wisdom. For every study such a man undertakes is for the sake of wisdom.

And insofar as he lives for wisdom, his whole life is devoted to that which in itself makes life worth living. Thus, he is not a slave but a free man. Accordingly, only the kind of education which introduces a man to the philosophical life is properly named liberal.

Conclusions of this Present Part of the Article (viz., Part 10)

A true, Catholic Liberal Education begins in wonder and aims at wisdom. God made us to wonder at the world around us and to perfect our minds seeking the causes of things. This is speculative wisdom. He instilled this healthy sense of wonder in us precisely so that we would seek Him, the Cause of causes.

Practical wisdom is acting according to our final end (i.e., goal), which is the Final Cause of all of our actions (i.e., the ultimate reason why we act).

Both types of wisdom ultimately lead back to God, the First Cause and Last End (that is, the Final Cause).

Looking Ahead

We seek wisdom through perfecting our highest faculty – viz., our intellect – with the highest truths. But there are many authors of many books written on the subjects which are studied in a Catholic Liberal Education. Which ones are best to use in these studies?

To Be Continued …