An Essay on Christian Philosophy by Jacques Maritain

Author:Jacques Maritain [Maritain, Jacques]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
Published: 2013-10-09T00:00:00+00:00

7. What is to be said now of the Christian philosophy of human things, or of moral philosophy adequately considered, which is discussed in an earlier part of this study and in the Note which follows? It is by virtue of the exigencies of its very object—its practical and existential object—and in order to adjust itself to this object, that it requires the lights of faith and theology. Nevertheless, it remains essentially distinct from apologetics, because, on the one hand, being subalternated to theology, considered not only in its role of rational defense of the faith but in its fullest scope, it utilizes principles issuing from the sphere of revelation; whereas apologetics proceeds by means of a purely rational kind of proof. Then again, its object is not at all to defend the faith or to lead souls thereto. Such an aim may engage the philosopher—and also the scientist or the artist—as a human being; it will never have any interior or consubstantial link with philosophy. From which we may conclude that as a science (a speculatively-practical science) apologetics must be regarded exclusively as a part of theology.

It is possible for philosophical systems (even though suffering from more or less serious defects) and above all for that Christian philosophy of human acts, that practical philosophy in its perfected state of which we have spoken, to abound in precious apologetical values and even to set forth apologetical conclusions of great importance; these values and conclusions remain extraneous to the proper task of philosophy.

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