I find it interesting, that Rene Descartes studied in one of the best Jesuit schools, La Flèche in France. Descartes was heavily influenced by Jesuit theologian, Francisco Suárez, who wrote a book called Metaphysical Disputations. In that book, Suárez cannot stop citing Saint Thomas Aquinas, but he interprets him like a freestyle evangelical. In other words, Suárez makes a sui generis interpretation. I think Francisco Suárez was a man of God ─ don’t think it was intentional ─ but as a result, a lot of the modern rationalist philosophy comes from him.
There is also a precedent with Anselm of Canterbury. I read him because Dr. Farrell mentioned him several times. I discovered, that Anselm ontological argument to prove the existence of God was very criticized by Saint Thomas Aquinas. Anselm and Descartes main theme is that ideas are prior and superior to things. In other words, Mr. Kenny thinking that these two are entering Don Quijote de La Mancha territory, that blind idealism leads to disaster. Meaning, that the fundamental error in rationalism is thinking that reality must be governed by the idea and not the idea being governed by reality.
Rene Descartes was a fervent Catholic, in his quest for proving the existence of God through philosophy he ends up in disaster. We acquire ideas through experience, abstraction, analogy, a priori. This is what Saint Thomas Aquinas Five Ways tries to do. Everything that he writes is a posteriori, in other words, they start from things, from creation, not from previous ideas.
I think the trap is thinking that reality depends on the subject or individual, and not the object. This is subjectivism that reality, existence, and truth depends on the individual not the the object. That is Rene Descartes “I think therefore I am” reality depends on my thoughts. If “I think therefore I am” and reality depends on my thoughts, if a man perceives himself as a woman, then reality is what we think, not what is objective of things. That’s the basis of gender ideology and all these movements.
In my opinion, the Fideism of Martin Luther is a rejection of reason and human rationality. In his work, De Servo Arbitrio, Luther writes that reason is “Satan whore”. Fideism says that we can only know God through faith. We cannot know him through reason. There cannot be a rational understanding of God. The problem is that theology requires reason ─ with the help of faith─ to delve deeper into the divine mysteries of the Catholic religion. Then what happens? That deprive of reason, theology falls into sentimentalism. You can see this in many protestant sects and this is what is infecting the Catholic Church to a greater extent.
I watched Tucker Carlson interview with Ted Cruz. What a show ladies and gentleman and what a beating Mr. Carlson gave. When Mr. Cruz started referencing Genesis 12:3 hehe. What Israel? said Mr. Carlson. Is a tragedy because this is a Christianity that is foreign to me, is something else. This is why I don’t want conservative leaders anymore, we need the real thing. The question I have, is our culture capable of producing such people?
