School of Athens
Modern Catholicism has roots all the way back to when Jesus Christ was alive, but the ideas and values of Catholicism originated long before Jesus himself. Plato, one of the first Greek philosophers, believed in two separate worlds known as the world of being and the world of becoming.
The world of becoming is where people shape themselves and they have mere beliefs of ideas rather than being certain about the idea, such as believing cake exists but the person has never seen a physical cake to prove it exists.
The world of being is where a person can have certainty over ideas such as the idea of Jesus Christ or the idea of treating each person equally. The world of being and the world of becoming are known as Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, where the cave represents the world of becoming (mere beliefs, shadows, etc.) and the world of being is represented by the sun or the outside world from the cave (certainty). How in particular do these ideas coexist or relate to modern Catholicism?
An example of a person who is in the world of becoming could be a person who has not fully experienced the passion and love of Jesus Christ, or perhaps does not fully understand it. This person in the world of becoming normally has a lot of questions about the love and passion of Jesus Christ, and typically has a lot of doubts about it as well. It is completely normal for all humans to start in the world of becoming, as it takes time to fully understand the love and passion of Jesus Christ.
An example of a person who is in the world of being could be a person who has experienced the love and passion of Jesus Christ in many different ways, such as a gift that they have, a near-death experience, or even through other people who have previously experienced the love and passion of Jesus Christ and want to spread it to other people. The world of being is extremely difficult to reach and it takes time and effort to reach the world of being, and Plato knew this very well as he knew that not everyone chooses to make the journey out of the cave.
Why does philosophy even matter since it comes from such a long time ago?
St. Thomas Aquinas, patron of Philosphers
Without philosophy, a lot of values and ideas that people have such as treating each other equally and being disciplined would probably have never existed in the modern world. In fact, philosophy also gives a fantastic explanation as to why an individual exists and how the individual’s actions affect the society’s actions. Philosophy assists each individual to define who they are and how they know they have existence and a purpose in life, and philosophy states that each action an individual takes has a direct effect on society as well as each action a society takes has a direct effect on an individual.
For example, if an individual is stuffing trash down the sewer system, which is illegal, the residents of the same neighborhood pay extra HOA fees to remove the trash from the sewer system. If a neighborhood decides to have mandatory meetings for all residents, that means that each individual must show up for all of the planned meetings. These are just two of many examples of how philosophy can be applied in day to day life as well as religion.
Philosophy can assist an individual to define themselves by really defining who God is and why there is a God.
The modern world has a lot of supernatural phenomenon that cannot be scientifically explained, which can explain why there is a God that could possibly be more powerful beyond any kind of explanation. Philosophy helps state who specifically God is and what the purpose God serves to everyday people.
For example, Philosophy states that to properly define Jesus Christ, an individual must acknowledge that Jesus is the Judeo-Christian God and that Jesus’ purpose is to support individuals through multiple ways such as the forgiveness of sins and making critical life-changing decisions. Can a person truly know who Jesus Christ is without knowing the philosophy behind why Jesus exists or what Jesus’ purpose is? Some people may have epiphanies where an angel, saint, or Jesus Christ himself appear to them, and epiphanies are something that cannot be scientifically explained as well. Once an individual has an epiphany, they acknowledge that Jesus Christ does in fact exist and they normally want to learn more about Jesus and what he did during his lifespan.
In fact, philosophy exists almost everywhere in modern Catholicism with a lot of the ideas, values, and traditions existing long before Jesus came to Earth. What are some examples of philosophy that you have experienced, witnessed, or can think of that occur in your everyday life or in modern Catholicism?
