Some stuff on de Lubac

Part I: Henri de Lubac’s Ressourcement of the Desiderium Naturale Dei and the Gift
Part II: Henri de Lubac’s Ressourcement of the Desiderium Naturale Dei and the Gift
Part III: Henri de Lubac’s Ressourcement of the Desiderium Naturale Dei and the Gift
Part IV: Henri de Lubac’s Ressourcement of the Desiderium Naturale Dei and the Gift

Related links:
Leithart.com | Henri de Lubac: A Brief Introduction
joelgarver.com - rahner and de lubac on nature and grace
JSTOR: The Supernatural: Father de Lubac's Book
De Lubac's writings in English translations
Henri de Lubac, S.J. | Biography and Online Writings of Cardinal ...

Books:
Amazon.com: The Mystery of the Supernatural (Milestones in ...
Continuum: A Guide for the Perplexed

Transformations in Medieval And Early-modern Rights Discourse - Google Books Result

Cardinal Kasper says no to dual covenant theology

From Insight Scoop: Cardinal Walter Kaspar on dual covenant theology: "No go!", which links to Against the Grain and a translation of the original article by Cardinal Kaspar in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, "Das Wann und Wie entscheidet Gott",

Servais Pinckaers, OP: RIP

Thomistica.net: Servais Pinckaers, OP: RIP

Vox-Nova: Rumor: Servais Pinckaers, O.P. passes
Fr. Servais Pinckaers dies at the age of 82.

Fribourg: Décès du dominicain Servais Pinckaers, ancien doyen de la Faculté de théologie

Un spécialiste de théologie morale né à Liège le 30 octobre 1925

Fribourg, 7 avril 2008 (Apic) Le Père dominicain Servais-Théodore Pinckaers, professeur émérite de théologie morale à la Faculté de théologie de l'Université de Fribourg, dont il fut également doyen, est décédé le 7 avril à l'âge de 82 ans.

Né le 30 octobre 1925 à Liège, en Belgique, "une ville détruite par Charles le Téméraire, en 1468, à cause de son amour de la liberté", aimait-il à dire, Servais Pinckaers est entré à l'âge de 20 ans dans l'ordre des dominicains. Un ordre auquel il allait rester fidèle toute sa vie.

Profès dans l'Ordre des frères prêcheurs en 1946, il est ordonné prêtre en 1951. En 1952-53, il passe son doctorat à Rome. Il est ensuite enseignant à La Sarte, en Belgique, de 1954 à 1966. De 1966 à 1973, le Père Pinckaers est supérieur de la maison des dominicains de Liège avant d'être appelé comme professeur de théologie morale à l'Université de Fribourg. En 1989-1990, il est doyen la Faculté de théologie, et plusieurs fois prieur du couvent de l'Albertinum, à Fribourg.

Il est nommé en juin 1989 consulteur à la Congrégation pour l'Education catholique par le pape Jean Paul II. Auteur de nombreux ouvrages théologiques, il a donné sa dernière leçon à l'Université de Fribourg en juin 1996. En l'an 2000, le professeur de théologie morale était fait docteur "honoris causa" de l'Université du Latran à Rome.

De nombreuses distinctions

La distinction de docteur en "théologie du mariage et de la famille" lui avait été remise en présence du cardinal Camillo Ruini, Grand chancelier de l'Université, et du cardinal Angelo Sodano, secrétaire d'Etat au Vatican. En 1975, 10 ans après le Concile, le Père Pinckaers participait, notamment avec le Père Raphaël Oechslin, et ses confrères Guy Bedouelle et Georges Cottier, à la fondation de "Sources", une nouvelle revue dominicaine bimestrielle éditée à Fribourg. Son objectif était de garder le "juste milieu" dans la mise en pratique des réformes issues du Concile Vatican II.

Il fut également consulteur de la Congrégation pour l'éducation catholique, organe de la Curie romaine, responsable de la formation et des séminaires, et membre de la Commission théologique internationale, un important collège du Saint-Siège qui réunit 30 membres sous la présidence du préfet de la Congrégation pour la doctrine de la foi et traite des questions centrales de la théologie.

Le Père Pinckaers est l'auteur de nombreux ouvrages théologiques qui sont devenus des références en la matière. L'Université de Fribourg l'avait honoré à l'occasion de son 65e anniversaire en 1990, notamment par la parution d'un recueil d'hommages sous le titre "Aux sources du renouveau de la morale chrétienne". La messe d'obsèques du Père Pinckaers aura lieu au couvent de Ste-Ursule à Fribourg jeudi 10 avril à 14h30. (apic/be)

07.04.2008 - Jacques Berset

ND Center for Ethics and Culture profile: Servais Pinckaers, O.P.
University of Fribourg bio

Google Books:
The Sources of Christian Ethics - 1995 - 519 pages
Morality: The Catholic View - 2001 - 141 pages
The Pinckaers Reader: Renewing Thomistic Moral ... - 2005 - 422 pages

Fr. Servais Pinckaers, OP 16 June 1999 Fides et Ratio-13 Reflections

Telegraph UK: Nobel laureate Sir Martin Evans attacks Catholic view on embryos

Via NOR:

Nobel laureate Sir Martin Evans attacks Catholic view on embryos

I haven't written much about hybrids; if the matter is tampered with to the point that it is no longer able to receive the proper form, then a human being will not be created. Without knowing the techniques involved though I won't say anything further.

Questions about racial discrimination

And what sort of laws are unjust...

Now if someone or some company is offering a service to the public and provides different types of service (or requires patrons to follow different rules), the only basis of discrimination being skin color, that does seem to be unjust, according to distributive justice. Similarly, it manifestly wrong for the government to distribute unequally according to race or skin color. But is it unjust for a business owner to not sell his goods or services to someone of a different color because is a bigot? Let us not use the argument of libertarians, who appeal to "property rights" and such to reject laws against such discrimination. In that case it does not seem to me that commutative justice is being violated. Now someone might say that the business owner, like the bus company, is offering a service to the public. Is there no distinction between the two? Is the business owner providing a service, or is he selling some external good?

What serves the public? Who is obligated to serve the public?

Or is the problem not of commutative justice, but of legal justice? (Surely this problem also pertains to the (natural) love of neighbor and civic friendship, but can the acts of beneficence be legislated? Can someone be required by human law to be a good Samaritan? If I cannot be compelled by human law to save the life of another when I am able, or punished for failing to do so, can I be compelled by human law to sell soap to someone else? If not soap, then, how about food?) If members of a community stop having economic transactions with one another because of racial discrimination, then the community is in danger of fragmenting. And so laws might be enacted to prohibit such discrimination, not because commutative justice is being violated, but because it is detrimental to the common good. But is legislation the best way to bring about change? If a community is not allowed to dissolve or separate, then would it not be better to work for the change of hearts, if the use of law and punishment too would also threaten social cohesiveness and the common good?

Behavioral economics

wiki
SFB 504 glossary: Behavioral economics
behavioral economics
Behavioral economics: Reunifying psychology and economics ...
Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies: Behavioral Economics
The University of Chicago Magazine
The Marketplace of Perceptions (March-April 2006)

Behavioral Economics
Behavioral Economics: Past, Present, Future

It is supposed to differ from neo-classical economics in so far as it uses the insights of psychology to better understand economic behavior. So how does it bridge the 'is-ought' gap, if at all?

Call for Papers, ISN Summer Conference 2008

here

Michal Heller's homepage

here

DogfightAtBankstown: Michał Heller

From Wiki:
Templeton Prize website
New Scientist interview
An article by Stanislaw Wszołek about Heller's life and philosophy (pdf)

Confucianism and the Zhou classics

Reminder: see if primary sources are available in translation and in the original language.

Confucius as an expositor or bearer of a tradition versus Confucius as an innovator or creator.

How much of traditional Chinese ethics goes back further than Confucius? How much of it is explainable by sociological/anthropological models? (or by an appeal to Natural Law?)

Ethics of Shang, Zhou and the Classics by Sanderson Beck
Chinese Literature - Confucian classics (www.chinaknowledge.de)
Confucianism
Confucianism - Han Confucianism
Confucius [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]
Before Confucius: Studies in the Creation of ...
Confucius and the Analects: New Essays - Google Books Result
xinhua article

Academic publishing

Is anything more emblematic of the problems with academic publishing than The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series? Lost and Philosophy and 24 and Philosophy! Open Court has a similar series, dealing with The Sopranos, The Simpsons, and The Matrix (and, ahem, Buffy).

Are the artifacts of pop culture really worth the sort of analysis that is written in these books? Now, some sort of art criticism and explanation may be helpful for those seeking deeper layers of meaning, but to attach the name "philosophy" to these efforts... does that not debase the name even further? It's bad enough that some equate philosophy with BSing or a never-ending inquiry that yields no definite answers.

Lost - Home - ABC.com
Lost TV Show Fansite Lost-Media.com
LOST-TV // the unofficial fansite for the abc series 'lost' [http ...
FOX Broadcasting Company: 24
FOX Broadcasting Company: The Simpsons
Simpsons Movie
HBO: The Sopranos
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
BBC - Cult Television - Buffy the Vampire Slayer Homepage
BuffyWorld -- A complete guide to all of the "Buffy the Vampire ...

Six new sermons by St. Augustine discovered

From the Pertinacious Papist: Six new sermons by St. Augustine discovered

announcement by the Universität Erfurtt

The Way of the Fathers » Stop the Presses! Six “New” Augustine ...
The Way of the Fathers » More on the New Augustine Sermons
What Does The Prayer Really Say?»Blog Archive » New Augustine ...

Tentative Plan and Schedule for the ISN Summer Seminary

here

Dr. McInerny's testimony to Mortimer Adler

here

Armand Maurer, RIP

I found out through Thomistica.net.

A collection of essays written in his honor: Praise for Armand Maurer, CSB

Peter Gilbert responding to claims about ADS

On the Cappadocians and Eunomius

Interview with Fr. William A. Wallace, O.P.

Part 1

Part 2

ABC News: Why Men Should Pair Off With Younger Women

via LRC--Why Men Should Pair Off With Younger Women

Last year, a study of Swedish census information suggested a 4 to 6-year age gap is best, but new research has found that in some circumstances a surprisingly large gap – 15 years – is the optimum.

Martin Fieder at the University of Vienna and Susanne Huber of the University of Veterinary Medicine, also in Vienna, Austria, studied the Swedish data and found that a simple equation related the age difference of the parents to the number of offspring. For people who had maintained monogamous relationships throughout adulthood, the most children were found in couples where the man was 4.0 to 5.9 years older than the woman.

The probable reasons behind this state of affairs are not controversial: "Men want women younger than themselves because they are physically attractive," says Fieder, while women tend to prioritise a partner who can provide security and stability, and so tend to opt for older men.

Mum's the Word

However, Fieder and Huber's calculations drew criticism. For example, Erik Lindqvist at the Research Institute of Industrial Economics in Stockholm, Sweden, pointed out that the age of the mother is likely to be more important than any age difference: the older the mother, the lower her chances of having more children.

"We added that factor into the calculation," says statistician Fred Bookstein at the University of Washington, a colleague of Fieder and Huber. "The importance of the age difference didn't change."

Even if it holds true for Sweden, the 4 to 6-year age gap is unlikely to be optimal in all cultures. Samuli Helle at the University of Turku in Finland read Fieder and Huber's paper and says it stirred memories of an unpublished study he conducted a few years ago.

Statistical correlation coupled with sociobiological nonsense? How about looking at it from a developmental/maturity perspective?

2008 ISN Summer Seminar

ISN website seems to be down still. Info about this year's summer seminar (to be held at MIT) at Real Physics. I expect that info about the summer conference will be available eventually.

Misc:
Doubting Darwin blog

Zenit: Interview with Cardinal Aponte

5th Marian Dogma Nothing New

Interview With Puerto Rico's Cardinal Aponte

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, MARCH 18, 2008 (Zenit.org).- By declaring Mary the Spiritual Mother of All Humanity, Benedict XVI wouldn't be saying anything new about her, only clarifying her role in salvation, says Cardinal Luis Aponte Martínez.

The retired archbishop of San Juan is one of the five cardinal co-sponsors of the 2005 International Symposium on Marian Co-redemption, held in Fatima, that are asking Benedict XVI to declare a fifth Marian dogma.

The petition urges the Pope to proclaim Mary "the Spiritual Mother of All Humanity, the co-redemptrix with Jesus the redeemer, mediatrix of all graces with Jesus the one mediator, and advocate with Jesus Christ on behalf of the human race."

In this interview with ZENIT, Cardinal Aponte discusses his views in favor of the proposed dogma.

Q: Your Eminence, what has led you to take a leadership role in the present petition to Benedict XVI for this new Marian dogma?

Cardinal Aponte: Our Lady has always been a source of particular strength and the object of particular love for me. These roles of the Blessed Virgin as our spiritual mother have always been part of our Catholic tradition. For Latin American Catholics, it is all contained in her manifestation as Our Lady of Guadalupe who shows herself as a merciful mother, ready to intercede for us in our gravest needs, and to use her maternal intercession to bring us closer to Jesus.

I first spoke of the importance of this dogma to my brother cardinals in the presence of Pope John Paul II in Rome in 2002. There I related this Marian proclamation to the Church’s new evangelization. As the first great evangelization of Latin America was led by Our Lady of Guadalupe, so should the Mother of Christ be invoked to lead this new evangelization of the third millennium.

The solemn definition of her motherly roles as co-redemptrix, mediatrix, and advocate will simply release Our Lady all the more to perform these motherly functions of intercession for our age for the maximum effectiveness in leading a new evangelization.

There are new times for the world and the Church. Just imagine how much Our Lady can help us in the new evangelization and with other elements of difficulty and crisis in our present age if we solemnly acknowledge her in these God-given roles of intercession for humanity.

Q: How would you respond to the objection that the Church doesn’t need a new teaching on Mary at this time?

Cardinal Aponte: There is nothing new in this teaching. It is actually very ancient. It is important to keep in mind that this truth is already an official doctrine of the Church regarding Mary as taught at the Second Vatican Council -- "Lumen Gentium," Nos. 57, 58, 61, 62 -- and has been the consistent teaching of the papal magisterium for centuries.

John Paul II called Mary the “co-redemptrix” six times during his pontificate. The role is always understood in complete dependency to Jesus and as a human participant with the redeemer in the work of salvation.

When Blessed Pope Pius IX proclaimed the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception as a dogma in 1854, he explained that a dogmatic statement would add greater light and appreciation of the doctrine, leading to its “perfection.” That’s what this definition would do for Our Lady’s spiritual motherhood -- add nothing new, but provide greater appreciation, understanding, and clarity of the existing truth.

Q: Do you think that these functions of co-redemptrix, mediatrix, and advocate within her general role as our spiritual mother may be too difficult for the common person to comprehend?

Cardinal Aponte: On the contrary, I think, for example, that the faithful in Latin America both comprehend this Marian doctrine in their hearts and already experience these maternal roles of Mary in their lives. Once again, Our Lady of Guadalupe embodies these motherly roles in a dynamic way, as a mother who suffered with Jesus for us, a mother who comes to nourish us with the graces of Jesus, and a mother who intercedes for us in our needs. That’s co-redemptrix, mediatrix, advocate.

John Paul II, in his brilliance, always spoke of Our Lady’s mediation in terms of her motherhood, using the expression “maternal mediation.” What is more common and understandable than a mother who suffers, nourishes, and pleads for her people? That’s what Our Lady does for us as a spiritual mother. It is really quite simple and already part of the daily experience of the Catholic faithful. What may be challenging to some of the learned has already been revealed to the little ones and accepted within the Church.

Q: The principal objection to this new Marian dogma seems to be ecumenism. Would this papal definition hurt the Church’s critically important mission of ecumenism in your view?

Cardinal Aponte: Mothers by their very natures and vocations are unifiers of families. So, too, with the Mother of Jesus within the family of Jesus. The Church’s mission of ecumenism is extremely important, but by leaving the Mother out, we only impede our own progress toward eventual Christian unity in the one body of Christ.

John Paul II made it clear in his encyclical on ecumenism, "Ut Unum Sint," that authentic Catholic ecumenical activity could never include either compromise of Catholic doctrine or impede proper doctrinal development, and this includes the doctrine regarding Mary.

A solemn definition regarding Our Lady’s spiritual maternity would actually be a giant step forward in ecumenism, as it would clearly distinguish what the Church definitively teaches -- that Mary is not a goddess, that Catholics don’t place Mary on a level of equality with Jesus her divine son, and that Mary as a human participated in the historic act of redemption in a way absolutely and completely dependent on Jesus. This would clear up a myriad of misunderstandings amidst our non-Catholic Christian brothers and sisters, leading to greater dialogue and unity regarding Jesus’ mother and within his body. This is true ecumenism from a Catholic perspective.

At the time preceding the definition of the Assumption in 1950, the same objections regarding ecumenism were raised to Pius XII. After the definition, the Church experienced its greatest progress to date in ecumenism leading up to the second Vatican council.

Mary is the Mother of the ecumenical movement, the Mother of unity, not is obstacle. Let us give her the opportunity to unite us in ways only a mother can by openly and proudly declaring her maternal roles of intercession for us. Just think of how powerfully she could help us in the mission of Christian unity if we solemnly invite her to intercede for this goal.