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Welcome to Year 1 of Atrium!

OVERVIEW

This program is for Supernumeraries who have recently finished their initial formation. It is a five-year program that provides basic philosophical foundations, covering Introduction to Philosophy (Year 1), Philosophy of the Human Person (Year 2), Ethics (Year 3), History of Philosophy and Introduction to Theology (Year 4), Introduction to Sacred Scripture (Year 5).

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 (2022-2023) 

The aim of this first subject is to introduce students to the nature of philosophical reflection, its working method, and 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

SESSIONS
Session 1 | Introduction to Philosophy
Session 2 | Philosophy of Nature
Session 3 | Metaphysics
Session 4 | Natural Theology
Session 5 | Faith and Reason

1: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
Recommended Readings
What is philosophy? Why study philosophy? What are the big philosophical questions? Who are some of the greatest philosophers?

 

Constantinou, Menios, The Catholic Intellectual Tradition: Q&A with Professor Hayden Ramsay | VIEW

Emily Esfahani Smith, ‘There’s More to Life Than Being Happy’, The Atlantic, 10.1.2013. | VIEW

Sullivan, D.J., An Introduction to Philosophy: The Perennial Principles of the Classical Realist Tradition, (Rockford, Il, TAN, 1992).

  • What is Philosophy? pp.1-6  | VIEW
  • Philosophy as Knowledge  pp. 247-54 |  VIEW
  • Definition of Philosophy pp. 258-9, 262-5 | 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: PHILOSOPHY OF NATURE
Recommended Reading

Sullivan, D.J., An Introduction to Philosophy: The Perennial Principles of the Classical Realist Tradition, (Rockford, Il, TAN, 1992), pp. 183-95. |  VIEW

 Videos

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave | VIEW

Bishop Robert Barron, Scientism and God’s Existence | VIEW

 

METAPHYSICS
Recommended Reading

Sullivan, D.J., An Introduction to Philosophy: The Perennial Principles of the Classical Realist Tradition, (Rockford, Il, TAN, 1992).

  • Aristotle, pp. 45-54. | VIEW
  • Being & the Transcendentals, pp. 199-230. | VIEW

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

4: NATURAL THEOLOGY

 

 

Recommended Reading

Sullivan, D.J., An Introduction to Philosophy: The Perennial Principles of the Classical Realist Tradition, (Rockford, Il, TAN, 1992), pp. 231-44. | VIEW

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

Catechism of the Catholic Church, nn. 142-167. | VIEW

Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, nn, 25-32. | VIEW

Further Reading

Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti, The Existence of God. | VIEW

Catechism of the Catholic Church, 27-49. | VIEW

Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, nn. 1-5. | 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: Episode 2 (Spotify) | VIEW

Pints with Aquinas: 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

5: FAITH AND REASON
Recommended Reading

Sullivan, D.J., An Introduction to Philosophy: The Perennial Principles of the Classical Realist Tradition, (Rockford, Il, TAN, 1992), pp. 254-263. | 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

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. | VIEW

Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 1965, nn. 4-22. | VIEW

Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Fides et Ratio, 14.9.1998, nn. 16-35. | VIEW

Pope Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Spe salvi , 30.11.2007, nn. 4-12. | VIEW

Videos

Bishop Robert Barron, Faith and Reason | VIEW

Bishop Robert Barron, Where is the Evidence for God? | VIEW

 

5: LINKS TO FURTHER RESOURCES
Links

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