THE ROLE OF SCIENCE IN LIBERAL EDUCATION 489 



ation of various schools of interpretation can be found in a 

 scholarly article by Fr. Benedict Ashley, O. P/ In opposition 

 to positions that would divorce philosophy and science, Father 

 Ashley distinguishes between metaphysics and the philosphy 

 of nature, and maintains that there is a single science of nature 

 which includes philosophical and positive aspects. This point 

 of view necessarily assigns to natural science the key position 

 wathin the educational curriculum and determines the expanse, 

 the order and the orientation of the entire program. A science 

 curriculum so conceived goes beyond the mere listing and ex- 

 plaining of discoveries and accomplishments; it goes beyond a 

 facility to apply logically particular data to the theory of 

 another. It is conceived to lead the student to a habit of mind 

 capable of penetrating animate and inanimate phenomena in 

 the light of true unifying principles. This habit of mind, how- 

 ever, is not innate intuition, for its acquisition requires vast 

 experience with the facts of nature, great acumen with the 

 tools of thinking and expression, and a systematic considera- 

 tion of the fundamental theoretical systems of science. Each 

 portion of the science continuum, consequently, has a specific 

 role to play appropriate to the academic level of instruction 

 and related to other subjects in the curriculum. Elementary 

 science cannot be diluted general high school science, and 

 secondary science must not be an enthusiastic caricature of the 

 college science courses. INIoreover, to be successful, there must 

 be a constant interplay between science and the student's other 

 subjects, and a continuous orientation of the science class 

 toward the ultimate goal of education: true wisdom. 



An Experiment in Science Education 



Saint Xavier College of Chicago has attempted to realize a 

 program based on these philosophical principles and, conse- 

 quently, is receiving nationwide attention from educators. The 



^ B. M. Ashley, O. P., " The Role of the Philosophy of Nature in Catholic Liberal 

 Education," Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association, XXX 

 (1956), 62-85. 



