Pope
Calls for Better Understanding of Person
Says Philosophy Based on Good Anthropology Is Needed
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 9, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Modernity
requires a philosophical reflection open to a deeper
understanding of man, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope affirmed this Saturday when he addressed
participants in the 6th European Symposium of University
Professors. The Holy Father said that, in face of the
present crisis of modernity, it is urgent to re-launch a
"fruitful dialogue" between philosophy and theology.
Cardinal Camilo Ruini, the Pope's vicar for Rome, and
professors from 26 European countries, were received by
the Holy Father in the Vatican's Clementine Hall, at the
conclusion of their June 5-8 symposium on the topic "To
Extend the Horizons of Rationality: Perspectives for
Philosophy."
In opening his address, the Pontiff mentioned that this
year marks the 10th anniversary of Pope John Paul II's
encyclical "Fides et Ratio."
The German Pontiff recalled that when that document was
published in 1998, some 50 philosophy professors from
Roman universities "expressed their gratitude to the
Pope with a declaration underlining the importance of
relaunching the study of philosophy in universities and
schools."
"The events of the years that have passed since the
publication of the encyclical have delineated more
clearly the historical and cultural stage onto which
philosophical research is called to enter," Benedict XVI
contended. "Indeed, the crisis of modernity is not a
symptom of the decline of philosophy; on the contrary,
philosophy must embark upon new lines of research in
order to understand the true nature of that crisis.
"Modernity is not simply a historically-datable cultural
phenomenon; in reality it requires a new focus, a more
exact understanding of the nature of man."
The Holy Father suggested that Christianity is called to
"take charge of [a] historic urgency" -- that of
humanity's "desire for fullness."
The Pontiff said this new dialogue between faith and
reason "cannot be addressed with the terms and modes in
which it was carried out in the past. If it is not to be
reduced to a sterile intellectual exercise, it must
begin from the concrete situation of man, and engage in
reflection that takes up the ontological-metaphysical
truth."
A research proposal
Benedict XVI said that from the beginning of his
pontificate he has "listened attentively to the
petitions made to me by men and women of our time; in
the light of such expectations, I wished to offer a
research proposal which, it seems to me, would awaken
interest in the relaunching of philosophy and its
irreplaceable role within the academic and cultural
world."
The Pope proposed that a good understanding of modernity
"reveals an 'anthropological question' that manifests
itself in a much more complex and articulated way than
that foreseen by the philosophical reflections of the
last centuries, above all in Europe."
It is not a question of a mere cultural phenomenon, he
said; rather, it implies "a more precise understanding
of the nature of man."
In the quest for solutions to this "prolonged crisis,"
the Holy Father noted the significance of many
contemporary thinkers who propose an openness to
religions, and in particular to Christianity. This is
"an obvious sign of the sincere desire to remove
philosophical reflection from self-sufficiency," he
proposed.
In light of this, the Bishop of Rome recalled that
Christianity from the beginning made a clear choice
between mythical thought and philosophy, favoring the
latter. "This affirmation, which reflects the path of
Christianity since its beginning, is revealed fully in
the historic-cultural context we are living."
"In fact, only beginning from this premise, which is
historical and theological at the same time, is it
possible to meet the new perspectives of philosophical
reflection," he said.
True understanding
Yet, Benedict XVI pointed out two risks on this path
that Christianity must avoid: that of being
instrumentalized and that of being relegated to the
"abstract world of theories."
"The Christian faith must descend to a concrete
historical experience that reaches man in the most
profound truth of his existence," the Pope affirmed.
"The understanding of Christianity as a real
transformation of the existence of man, if on one hand
it drives philosophical reflection to a new approach to
religion, on the other it animates it not to lose
confidence in being able to know reality."
The Pope affirmed that the proposal to "extend the
horizons of rationality" should not be counted among new
lines of philosophical and theological thought.
Instead, he said, it "must be understood as the need for
a new opening to the reality to which the human person,
in his uni-totality, is called, overcoming old
prejudices and reductionisms, in order to open the way
for a true understanding of modernity."
