XXll JAMES A. WEISHEIPL 



saying this for over a century. Will there be no voice to defend 

 the nobility of man and the dignity of science? 



II 



We have every right to expect Catholic philosophers and 

 scientists to enter the arena in defence of human dignity, be- 

 cause they know from revelation and the perennial philosophy 

 that man's soul is spiritual, made to the image and likeness of 

 God. We also expect Catholic philosophers and scientists to 

 make positive contributions to science and its theoretical foun- 

 dations. In other words, we expect Catholic philosophers and 

 scientists to appreciate the true dignity of scientific knowledge 

 and research — not because they might be more gifted, but 

 because they have the advantage of the true faith and the 

 resources of a philosaphia perennis. This does not mean that 

 Catholics are in a position to judge scientific details a priori, 

 or without careful study. Scientific research and analysis are 

 laborious occupations for everyone, Catholic and non-Catholic; 

 and progress in scientific knowledge is a result of cooperative 

 effort, utilizing every means at one's disposal. Nevertheless, 

 Catholics start out with the assurance that the truths revealed 

 by God are absolutely certain and that no truth discoverable by 

 science can contradict them. These revealed truths include 

 both supernatural realities beyond the scope of reason and 

 certain natural realities within the competence of reason and 

 science, such as the existence of God and the immortality of 

 the human soul. Further, the Catholic starts with the assurance 

 that all truth is from God and can lead back to Him if the 

 whole pattern of reality is considered. Finally, the Catholic 

 has at his disposal a font of ancient wisdom which Leo XIII 

 called the philosophia perennis. This perennial philosophy, of 

 course, is not a matter of divine revelation; nor does it pretend 

 to contain all the answers. But it does propose true answers 

 to some of the more basic questions of science and human life, 

 answers which can be evaluated by natural reason, and which 

 can be accepted as a starting point for further serious investiga- 



