Purpose reveals God

The fool hath said in his heart: There is no God – Psalm 14.

Many scientists neglect the most important of all causes, the final cause. “For the invisible things of him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made; his eternal power also, and divinity: so that they are inexcusable.” – St. Paul, Romans 1:20.

The fact that man seeks to find a purpose for his existence leads one to the realization that God exists. If there is no purpose then hedonism has won. No justice, no honour, no goodness. Are these qualities of no value then? On the contrary, we esteem a man by such qualities.

Which desire is without an end? Hunger desires food, thirst desires water, the Intellect desires Truth, the Will desires the Good. The fact that we seek a purpose implies an end to which we should be ordered. We ourselves are teleological by nature.

Everything in the universe has a purpose to which it is ordered. Everybody implicitly knows this. Man’s purpose is to know and love God.

You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.
- St. Augustine, Confessions.

Penitential Prayer of St. Augustine

O Lord,
The house of my soul is narrow;
enlarge it that you may enter in.
It is ruinous, O repair it!
It displeases Your sight.
I confess it, I know.
But who shall cleanse it,
to whom shall I cry but to you?
Cleanse me from my secret faults, O Lord,
and spare Your servant from strange sins.

Intellect – Mind Over Matter

Classic interview with the famous Aristotelian philosopher, Mortimer J Adler.

Here he discusses the intellect, universals, God, matter, machines, and artificial intelligence.

Part 1:

Part 2:

How To Improve Your Mind

Originally broadcast in 1956, here is a timeless broadcast by Archbishop Fulton Sheen on “How to Improve Your Mind”:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Sixteen Precepts for Advancing Knowledge

These are Saint Thomas Aquinas’s Sixteen Precepts for Advancing Knowledge which are the basis of Sertillanges’ book The Intellectual Life.

My Very Dear Brother,

Since you have asked me how you ought to study in order to amass the treasures of knowledge, listen to the advice which I am going to give you.

As a mere stripling,

1. Advance up the streams, and do not all at once plunge into the deep: such is my caution, and your lesson. I bid you to
2. Be chary of speech,
3. Slower still in frequenting places of talk:
4. Embrace purity of conscience,
5. Pray unceasingly,
6. Love to keep to your cell if you wish to be admitted into the mystic wine-cellar.
7. Show yourself genial to all:
8. Pay no heed to other folk’s affairs:
9. Be not over-familiar with any person, because over-much familiarity breeds contempt, and gives occasion to distraction from study.
10. On no account mix yourself up with the sayings and the doings of persons in the outside world.
11. Most of all, avoid all useless visits, but try rather to walk constantly in the footsteps of good and holy men.
12. Never mind from whom the lesson drops, but
13. Commit to memory whatever useful advice may be uttered.
14. Give an account to yourself of your every word and action:
15. See that you understand what you hear, and never leave a doubt unsolved:
16. Lay up all you can in the storehouse of memory, as he does who wants to fill a vase. ‘Seek not the things which are beyond thee‘.

Following these ways, you will your whole life long put forth and bear both branches and fruit in the vineyard of the Lord of Sabaoth. If you take these words to heart, you will attain your desire.

Nobody trips over a mountain

A Simple Thought

Whilst listening to Thomas Cleary’s translation of the Masters of Huainan, I was reminded of a passage in the book of Proverbs: Wisdom is in Subtlety. Any expert craftsman can attest to the veracity of that statement, but it was the day to day application which I had missed.

We reap what we sow, that is obvious, but to identify what has been sown provides us with valuable insight into trends and possibilities. By understanding emerging opportunities we can position ourselves to take advantage of them, or to best protect ourselves from their effects.

Nobody trips over a mountain.

Watch out for small issues with potential to develop rapidly. In gardening, this means routing out the weeds while protecting the roses. In software engineering, refactoring code smells and bad design. In project management raising red flags early and risk mitigation. In personal finance, save 10% of the income, avoid credit cards, tithe, and pay the bills on time. For general health, take the four daily baths:

    1. A mouth wash with a cup of water;
    2. the external bath (or shower) for the whole body;
    3. the bath of fresh air;
    4. and a bath of sunlight.

Replace bad habits with good habits.

The saints remind us it is the small decisions, the little acts, the small steps we take which develop virtue. And we can start right where we are, right now.

You can change your life by sowing the kinds of seeds today that you want to reap tomorrow. If you have sown the wrong seeds, don’t delay in addressing the issue.

Plan an advantage by listening.

Ask yourself: Are you eating healthy enough? Are you drinking enough water? Are you resting enough? Are you exercising regularly? Are you managing your money well? Do you save for a rainy day? Do you have insurance? Are you continually improving your work skills? Do you need to say sorry to someone? Are you too busy to spend time with your loved ones? Do you waste money on junk instead of saving it? Are you busy going around in circles instead of working towards an objective? These are all potential time bombs.

Science is a knowledge of causes, wisdom is perfect knowledge of the highest causes in the correct order.

Running full speed in a rat maze will just wear you out faster. It’s not how fast you run, it’s how smart you run, and thought travels much faster than any sprinter, and further than any marathon runner.

Wealth is energy directed by intelligence. Mindless activity will merely trip you up, having eyes you will not see, having ears you will not hear. Learn to initiate action, rather than merely reacting to circumstances or impulses; how can you lose weight if you eat a mars bar every time you feel hungry, have a sugar craving, or somebody upsets you?

Action must be ordered to an end.

Train your eye to look for changes (Heaven) emerging in your environment (Earth), and position yourself accordingly. These are two of the five factors in Sun Tzu’s Art of War.

In the end, it’s all common sense.

Galatians 6:8. For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that soweth in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption. But he that soweth in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting.

A thing is received according to the receiver

A Simple Thought

“..provoke not the poor in his want. Afflict not the heart of the needy…..humble thy soul to the ancient, and bow thy head to a great man.” (Eccl 4:2-8)

Whilst reading An Introduction to Philsophy by Daniel J. Sullivan, a passage really struck me: “A thing is received according to the nature of the receiver.”

In the context of the book, this refers to the superior nature of man as revealed by his powers to comprehend reality. “Beings that know,” says St. Thomas, “are superior to beings that do not know because beings that do not know have only their own forms, while the being that knows is such that it is able to receive the form of the other.”

Realism aside, I think the passage is such a fundamental truth it is worth meditating upon.

For example, if you have bad news, don’t tell it to an angry person because he will respond in an angry manner. Don’t tell a vain person their appearance is shabby. And don’t act a fool before dignitaries. To grow in understanding, this advice should be kept in mind when contemplating the wisdom books in the bible.

For people like me who tend to be sensitive, this is quite a liberating thought: It’s not that the person dislikes me, the message itself was badly timed, I wasn’t very observant. Or, similarly, Don’t look for acceptance in those whose nature is such that they won’t accept you. Consequently there is a right time to deliver your message, and be aware that not everyone will accept you (and that’s okay, stop looking to please everyone, rather be virtuous).

“The innocent believeth every word: the discreet man considereth his steps.” (Prov 14:15)

“A mild answer breaketh wrap: but a harsh word stirreth up fury.” (Prov 15:1)

“A corrupt man loveth not one that reproveth him: nor will he go to the wise.” (Prov 15:12)

“A reproof availeth more with a wise man, than a hundred stripes with a fool.” (Prov 17: 10)

“Appear not glorious before the king.” (Prov 25:6)

“Stand not against the face of an injurious person.” (Eccl 8:14)

“Qurarrel not with a passionate man.” (Eccl 8:19)

“A fool receiveth not words of prudence.” (Prov 18:2)

The first step on the path to realism is to realise that one has always been a realist; the second is to recognize that, however much one tries to think differently, one will never succeed; the third is to note that those who claim that they think differently, think as realists as soon as they forget to act a part. If they ask themselves why, their conversion is almost complete. – Gilson.