Welcome to Year 1 of Atrium!
OVERVIEW
This program is for Supernumeraries who have recently finished their initial formation. It is offered during specific Annual Courses (flagged as ‘ATRIUM’ in the Course Listing). It is a three year program and provides basic philosophical foundations, covering Introduction to Philosophy and Theology (Year 1), Philosophy of the Human Person (Year 2), and Ethics (Year 3).
The word philosophy means ‘love of wisdom’. In philosophy, human reason, drawing together and drawing on all rational knowledge, searches for the ultimate causes and meaning of things, the foundation of being.
Philosophy provides the basic principles necessary to study Theology in later courses.
Year 1: Introduction to Philosophy and Theology
The aim of this first subject is to introduce students to the nature of philosophical reflection and its working method, and learn basic philosophical principles. By the end of this course students will be able to:
- understand the importance of philosophical reflection and its relevance for life and culture
- understand basic principles of metaphysics
- explain the relationship between faith and reason
- demonstrate the existence of God using reason
- recognise the importance of Philosophy for Theology
- understand the sources and method of Theology
1: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
Slides and Recommended Reading
Slides| VIEW
Emily Esfahani Smith, ‘There’s More to Life Than Being Happy’, The Atlantic, 10.1.2013. | VIEW
Peter Kreeft, ‘Why Study Philosophy and Theology?’ CERC, 2009. | VIEW
Constantinou, Menios, The Catholic Intellectual Tradition: Q&A with Professor Hayden Ramsay | VIEW
de Torre, J.M., Christian Philosophy, (Manila: Vera Reyes, 1980), pp. 41-47. | VIEW
Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Fides et Ratio, 1998, nn. 1-6, 24-44. | VIEW
De Torre, J.M., ‘The Power of Christian Philosophy to Transform Man and Society: Contemporary Interpretations of Christian Philosophy’, in Fellowship of Catholic Scholars Newsletter, (Summer 1996): 11-15. | VIEW
Chronological List of Some Major Philosophers | VIEW
2: METAPHYSICS
Slides and Recommended Reading
Slides | VIEW
Sullivan, D.J., An Introduction to Philosophy: The Perennial Principles of the Classical Realist Tradition, (Rockford, Il, TAN, 1992).
Mariano Artigas, Introduction to Philosophy, (Manila: Sinag-Tala, 2006), 41-50, 61, 68-69. | VIEW
Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Letter, Fides et Ratio, 1998, nn. 83-4, 95, 98. | VIEW
Randall Smith, Metaphysics and Theology, 7.5.2020. | VIEW
Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Letter, Fides et Ratio, nn. 83-4, 95, 98. VIEW
Videos
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave | VIEW
Bishop Robert Barron, Scientism and God’s Existence | VIEW
Aquinas 101: Being and Metaphysics | VIEW
Aquinas 101: Substance and Accidents | VIEW
Aquinas 101: Act and Potency | VIEW
Aquinas 101: Matter and Form | VIEW
Aquinas 101: Body and Soul | VIEW
Aquinas 101: The Four Causes | VIEW
4: NATURAL THEOLOGY
Slides and Recommended Reading
Slides | VIEW
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 27-49. | VIEW
or
Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, nn. 1-5. | VIEW
Further Reading
de Torre, J.M., Christian Philosophy, (Manila: Vera Reyes, 1980), pp. 127-56. | VIEW
Thomas Aquinas’ Love for the Truth, 28.1.2020. | VIEW
Giulio Maspero, God’s Nature and Action. | VIEW
Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti, The Existence of God. | VIEW
Pope Francis, Encyclical Letter Lodato Si, 24.5.2015, nn. 84-88. | VIEW
Peter Kreeft, Twenty Arguments for God’s Existence. | VIEW
Podcasts
Crash Course Catholicism, Caitlin West: Episode 2 | VIEW
Pints with Aquinas, Matt Fradd, Episodes on the Existence of God | VIEW
Videos
Bishop Robert Barron, When Atheists Are Right That God Doesn’t Exist (3 mins) | VIEW
Bishop Robert Barron, The New Atheists (7 mins) | VIEW
Bishop Robert Barron, Where is the Evidence for God? (4.05 mins) | VIEW
Bishop Robert Barron, Thomas Aquinas and the Argument from Motion (10 mins) | VIEW
Bishop Robert Barron, Scientism and God’s Existence | VIEW
James Brent, Five Ways to Prove God Exists (8.53 mins) | VIEW
3: FAITH AND REASON
Slides and Recommended Reading
‘Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.’ (John Paul II, Fides et Ratio, 1).
Slides | VIEW
Catechism of the Catholic Church, nn. 142-167. VIEW
or
Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, nn, 25-32. VIEW
Further Reading
Faith and Reason: Six Key Texts of Pope Benedict XVI (ebook) | VIEW
Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Fides et Ratio, 14.9.1998, nn. 16-35. | VIEW
Also in this Encyclical:
- Relations between faith & reason: 36-42, 45-48, 55, 73, 79, 81-84.
- Christian Philosophy: 75-76
- Faith & Science: 88, 104.
- Theology & Philosophy: 73-74, 76-77, 79.
- Importance of St Thomas Aquinas: 43-44, 62, 78.
- Non-Western philosophical traditions: 2-4, 69-72, 103-4.
Pope Francis, Encyclical Letter, Lumen Fidei, 29.6.2013, nn. 32-36. | VIEW
Pope Francis, Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, 24.11.2013, nn. 242-243 (relationship between faith & science). | VIEW
Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 1965, nn. 4-22. | VIEW
Pope Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Spe salvi , 30.11.2007, nn. 4-12, 18-23. | VIEW
Thomas Aquinas’ Love for the Truth, 28.1.2020. | VIEW
Videos
Bishop Robert Barron, Faith and Reason | VIEW
Bishop Robert Barron, Where is the Evidence for God? | VIEW
5: INTRODUCTION TO THEOLOGY
Slides and Recommended Reading
Slides | VIEW
Catechism of the Catholic Church, nn. 50-133. | VIEW
or
Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, nn. 6-24. | VIEW
José Miguel Odero, “Introduction to Theology”, in Charles Belmonte (ed.), Faith Seeking Understanding: A Complete Course in Theology, 2nd ed., Vol. 1, (Mandaluyong, Philippines: Studium Theologiae Foundation, 2006). | VIEW
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction Donum Veritatis, on the Ecclesial Vocation of the Theologian, 24.5.1990. | VIEW
LINKS TO FURTHER RESOURCES
Further Resources
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy | VIEW
Interdisciplinary Encyclopedia of Religion and Science | VIEW
Pope Leo XIII, Encyclical Letter, Aeterni Patris, 1879. | VIEW
Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Letter, Fides et Ratio, 1998. | VIEW
St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province, Benziger Bros., 1947. | VIEW