Everything connects

In practical terms, what tin a academy practice to encourage the sense that "everything connects", that the private disciplines trouble organisation aspects of a "whole", that the important of those disciplines depends on that which transcends them? In many cases it is non possible to redesign the curriculum. Nevertheless, it must last possible to practice things inside existing structures that volition movement things gradually inwards the correct direction. We spoke, for example, of the importance of allowing opportunities for students to acquire first-hand sense of nature, whether through gardening or plain trips, as well as too of other cultures
and points of stance through excursions, pilgrimages, visiting speakers as well as debates. Film, drama, literature, music as well as fine art too brings people together across the university. Interdisciplinary enquiry projects as well as discussions tin ever last encouraged as well as facilitated.

Christopher Dawson would fighting that nosotros take away to innovate to a greater extent than written report of cultural history. Every dependent plain has a fascinating historical dimension, through which the pupil tin glimpse a broader human as well as cultural important beyond the acquaint content as well as procedures of the field. But nosotros must non "abstract" the dependent plain inwards to a greater extent than or less other way, past times forgetting that it lives inwards us as well as inwards the students, non just inwards a develop of textbooks or fifty-fifty inwards a history. There are personal reasons as well as experiences which choose led us into this plain of study, as well as oftentimes these are linked to the search for truth, beauty as well as meaning. Admittedly many students volition respond that they choose come upwards the college for economical as well as vocational reasons, just to earn a qualification for a profession. Yet certainly they take away to enquire themselves to a greater extent than or less deeper questions well-nigh the profession they choose chosen as well as its ultimate important as well as purpose.

Thus inwards add-on to the focus on history, as well as the tillage of a broader imagination, as well as the facilitation of contact across disciplines, a telephone commutation role volition last played past times philosophy, just inwards helping to awaken those deeper questions as well as aid inwards finding answers to them. What makes philosophy as well as therefore of import is the fact that, piece nosotros may non all last chemists or medical students or mathematicians, nosotros are all philosophers, whether nosotros realize it or not. We all endeavour or pretend to recollect rationally, nosotros all travel on philosophical assumptions, nosotros all choose moral views - the to a greater extent than unexamined, the less coherent these are probable to be. Thus equally good equally a historical dimension, each dependent has a philosophical dimension that cannot last evaded, as well as to a greater extent than or less exploration of this dimension must atomic number 82 inwards the management of the "whole truth" where the University finds its regulation of unity.

As for theology, it cannot last separated from spirituality as well as from the life of prayer as well as service. Thus, equally i of the faculty pointed out to me, nosotros should non forget friendship as well as too humility equally playing an essential role inwards the healing of the university. It is friendship that actually transcends the barriers betwixt i dependent as well as another, as well as humility that enables each of us to participate inwards the community as well as tradition of scholarship, keeping us opened upwards to the possibility that nosotros may choose something to a greater extent than to learn, fifty-fifty (or mayhap especially) from colleagues inwards to a greater extent than or less other field.

These thoughts are beingness develop downwards during my enforced layover with my novel friends inwards Houston, piece the ash cloud hangs over Europe. Readers may non last aware of an earlier discussion of Beauty for Truth's Sake on our community pages. There I endeavour to listing the detail books from my bibliography that would especially aid with farther as well as deeper written report of these questions - i is certainly Vance Morgan's fantabulous mass on Simone Weil's approach to mathematics as well as geometry, Weaving the World (summarized as well as reviewed here), elements of which are woven into my 4th chapter.

Illustration - The University inwards 1350, past times Laurentius de Voltolina, from Wikipedia Commons.

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