by Brother Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M.
Put in the language of philosophy, this difference between philosophy and the sciences can be expressed in the following terms: philosophy seeks the ultimate explanation, while science is satisfied with the proximate causes of things.
Now as far as the mind is concerned, proximate explanation is really no explanation at all. [...]
by Brother Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M.
All these sciences, in so far as they are sciences, that is, in so far as they possess any explanatory value, presuppose the superior philosophic sciences of logic, cosmology, rational psychology and ethics. And these philosophic sciences, in turn, presuppose ontology or general metaphysics. Ontology is the absolute summit of natural [...]
by Brother Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M.
But now, having seen some of the dangers of scientism, let us proceed to study the nature of science. This will lead us to determine whether philosophy is a science. The Greeks and the scholastics considered philosophy the science par excellence , but to the modern mind, this view cannot [...]
by Brother Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M.
But common-sense knowledge has its limitations, as the man of common sense very well knows. By mere common sense, no airplane can be constructed, and no medical operation can be performed. When the man of common sense needs to build a bridge, he does not go to another man of common [...]
by Brother Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M.
To begin with, let us observe the place of knowledge in the life of man. Knowledge is the most characteristic activity of man. A man could, without knowledge, fall down from a balcony like a fainting acrobat; but no man could, without knowledge, climb up a balcony like Romeo. When the [...]
by Brother Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M.
[This article was originally published in From the Housetops, December 1946.]
If a man were to say to me, “I refuse to use my eyesight except through a microscope,” I might think that the man is queer or crazy, and I would certainly try to avoid his company. Imagine taking a walk [...]
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