Video – Dr. Ford – Fehlner on Newman and Scotus – CONF 304

Conferences #304 - ( 50min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

At the Symposium titled "Sursum Actio" at Notre Dame Univ. in honor of the life work of Fr. Peter Damian Fehlner, F.I., from Jun 8-9, 2015, Fr. John Ford, Ph.D., Professor of Theology at Catholic University of America, gives the third conference which he titles, "Fehlner on Newman and Scotus". It is a reflection on an essay called "Scotus and Newman in Dialogue" which Fr. Peter contributed to the book The Newman-Scotus Reader: Contexts and Commonalities by Fr. Edward Andrako and to which Fr. Ford also contributed. He focuses on the ascent of faith and the New Evangelization which Newman calls the grammar of ascent. He refers to two groups in our modern world the "nones" who belong to no church or religion and "STEMs" those whose background is science, technology, engineering and mathematics, neither of which have religion on their radar scopes. He describes how we should ideally approach faith and how we actually do it in real life.

Samples of what is covered:

• Middle way between passive and active intellect in apprehension.


• Eskimos and Hawaiians


• Enlargement of mind


• Grammar of assent 3 steps: Apprehension, inference, assent


• Data collection: can always find more info, this is temptation of STEM


• Assent, notional is almost automatic: 2+2=4


• but going from notional to real is not automatic, thus pivotal state in the current situation in our culture


• Theology is not enough for Assent need to have action of will.

The talk is followed by a commentary by Fr. Peter and then a round table discussion with the other presenters.

• Fr. Peter:
  
  
  
  • Phenomenological is Scotus' angle
  
  
  • Enlargement of apprehension is key
  
  
  • Knowledge is personal and so can not be used, just as people cannot be used
  
  
  • Refusing to assent is to lose a part of oneself, not being true to oneself.
  
  
  • Relation of Newman's assent to John Duns Scotus in this regard.
  
  
  • How it effects epistemology
  
  
  • Will is not an appetite of the intellect, independence of the will.
  
  
  • Bonaventure, finding God in intellect
  
  
  • Synderesis - avoid what is evil and do what is good.
  
  
  
  

This symposium, Sursum Actio ("Lift up your Actions" or more loosely "Lift up your Hearts", a term used by St. Bonaventure), was organized in honor of the life work of Fr. Peter Damian Fehlner after he won the Cardinal John J. Wright Marialogical Award of 2015 from the Mariological Society of America for his outstanding contributions to Mariology.

For a more complete list of all fourteen talks from this symposium:

http://airmaria.com/category/air-maria-shows/conferences/fr-peter-symposium-nd/

Link to the book "The Newman-Scotus Reader: Contexts and Commonalities":

http://academyoftheimmaculate.com/the-newman-scotus-reader-contexts-and-commonalities.html

Audio (MP3)

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