The Power of Truth

CWR: A sorely needed theological justification of the truth of the Catholic faith by Eduardo Echeverria

Cardinal Gerhard Müller’s book The Power of Truth addresses the challenges to Catholic doctrines and morals today—not only by the culture at large, but also by elements within the Church.

More on Newman

CWR: Newman’s Canonization: A Summons to Truth by Edward Short

Once the news came out today that John Henry Newman (1801-90) would soon be made a saint, after the Vatican announced that the pope had formally approved a second miracle attributed to the great convert’s [...]

Elizabeth Anscombe on Living the Truth

First Things: Is There a Saving Truth? by Gerhard Cardinal Müller
Does our eternal salvation depend on the concrete acceptance of the truths of faith?

Fr. Schall on Truth

On the Christian Mission by James V. Schall, S.J.

Amen

Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Saturday, November 21, 2015

Beauty

Beauty is the convincing power of truth. I just love that!

Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Monday, June 15, 2015

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on Mission, Again

The “Evangelii Gaudium” of Pope Emeritus Benedict

Ratzinger has broken his silence once again. To caution that a dialogue that renounces the truth “is lethal” to the propagation of the Christian faith. And therefore also to the spread of that “joy of the Gospel” which is in the program of Pope Francis

From Damian Thompson, several months ago...
Revealed: the Pope's war with the Vatican
Francis is firmly set on dealing with the Curia bureaucrats who did for Benedict XVI

Fr. Sokolowski's Lecture for The Thomistic Institute

The Thomistic Institute: 1.30.2014 - Robert Sokolowski: "The Truth of Things in Words and Pictures" (mp3)

OP East

Dominicana: De Veritate

There has been much attention given to the recently published doctrinal assessment of the Leadership Conference of Women’s Religious (LCWR). The document, produced by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), identifies several problems, including dissent from Church teaching (e.g., concerning the reservation of priestly orders to men), the inviting of speakers who ignore or contradict the teaching of the Church, and the justification, by some speakers, of dissent against the Magisterium as a “prophetic office.”


There are two common responses to this document, both of which focus on authority. Some who oppose the assessment see it as an oppressive action by a male hierarchy, a reactionary effort to deal with the perceived threat of progressive women religious. Some who support it, on the other hand, cheer it on, thinking that the Vatican has finally dropped the hammer on these wayward sisters. Both of these responses are unsatisfactory.

On a recent episode of Top Chef,  one of the contestants said while the judges were deciding who would be eliminated, "Things are so close, it's subjectivity at this point." One of the judges admitted that all of the dishes were good, and so they were "splitting hairs." In this case it is literally a question of taste, but is it merely subjective? We could say that judgment is subjective, but the object of the knowledge -- is that the same for all? But what is being judged -- how appealing the dish is to an individual, not whether it has certain flavors, textures, and so on. The ordering of flavors and other sensory data, and how the various criteria combine and integrate into an overall impression, leading to some feeling of like or dislike -- this is up to the individual judge.

Is it possible for someone to go beyond simple like and dislike and over-analyze a dish? Is a judge merely reporting their reactions and preferences (like Anthony Bourdain), or is his judgment affected by the analysis that he applies to the food (as it seems to be the case with some of the other judges).

Practical truth

"My aim is true." Are analytics and others trying to understand Aquinas' notion of practical truth -- unfamiliar with these other uses of "true" in normal everyday English? I am thinking specifically of these meanings.

One online dictionary has the following meanings for "true":

8. Exactly conforming to a rule, standard, or pattern: trying to sing true
B.
9. Accurately shaped or fitted: a true wheel.
10. Accurately placed,
delivered, or thrown.

The Longman English Dictionary Online:

11 straight/level[not before noun] technical fitted, placed, or formed in a way that is perfectly flat, straight, correct etc:
If the door's not true, it won't close properly.
12 somebody's aim is trueif your aim is true, you hit the thing that you were throwing or shooting at

Merriam-Webster:

5 a : that is fitted or formed or that functions accurately b : conformable to a standard or pattern : accurate

Not only does my action bring about a result that is intended, but the intended result is what is appropriate or in accordance with a standard or rule. So in the case of firing an arrow at a target -- my aim is true when it, coupled with my technique of drawing the bow and releasing it, leads to the arrow hitting the target.

While we may understand truth as it is defined with respect to products of art, truth as it is defined with respect to morality may be more difficult. But is it so hard for people to understand and re-present Aquinas's account of practical truth correctly? Perhaps it is the interplay between appetite and reason that trips people up.