Foundations of the Catholic Worldview
is a one semester senior level class taught in the
Theology Department at
Cardinal Gibbons High School. The course introduces students to the Premodern Western Philosophical tradition upon which the Catholic Worldview is based. For more information, click on the headings below.
"Entire ignorance is not so terrible or extreme an evil, and is far from being the greatest of all; too much cleverness and too much learning, accompanied with ill bringing-up, are far more fatal."
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the philosophical foundations of Catholicism by examining the lives and thought of philosophers and theologians who have contributed significantly to the establishment of that foundation. Emphasis is placed especially on Plato and successive Christian 'Platonists' like St. Anselm, St. Augustine, and St. Bonaventure, and on Aristotle and Christian 'Aristotelians' like St. Thomas Aquinas. The relationship between these philosophers and their Christian successors is used as a model for understanding the relationship between (1) Catholicism and secular culture, (2) reason and revelation, and (3) Catholic thought and life. Contemporary Thomistic Catholic philosophers and the Church's responses to Modern and Postmodern worldviews are also considered.
All documentation for this course is linked below. Keep in mind that the information on this site is supplemented by the information found on the
CGHS website and on
Google Classroom, both of which are accessible only to students enrolled in my classes.
- Introductory Documentation for Students
- Back to School Night Information for Parents
- Virtual Learning Policy
- Grading Policy
Below you will find links to Video and PDF versions of the presentations used in my class, with a link to a PDF copy of the corresponding notes pages. Keep in mind that the PDFs of my PowerPoints do not always contain everything you will need to complete the notes. In some cases, the notes may refer you to readings or other sources to find answers to questions, and in other cases, questions may have been answered in class but not in the PowerPoint. Also, note that the page numbers for notes sometimes overlap from one topic to the next. This is because each new note sheet is not always the start of a new topic, and I've provided all pages that would be relevant to a specific presentation.
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|
Title |
|
|
Notes |
| 01 |
Foundations: |
The Problem of Perception |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 02 |
Foundations: |
Worldviews: Premodernism |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 03 |
Foundations: |
Worldviews: Modernism |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 04 |
Foundations: |
Worldviews: Postmodernism |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 05 |
Foundations: |
Worldviews: Morality I |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 06 |
Foundations: |
Worldviews: Morality II |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 07 |
Foundations: |
Worldviews: Morality III |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 08 |
Foundations: |
Worldviews: Morality IV |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 09 |
Foundations: |
Worldviews: History I |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 10 |
Foundations: |
Worldviews: History II |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 11 |
Foundations: |
Worldviews: History III |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 12 |
Foundations: |
Worldviews: Aesthetics I |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 13 |
Foundations: |
Worldviews: Aesthetics II |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 14 |
Foundations: |
Worldviews: Science & Religion I |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 15 |
Foundations: |
Worldviews: Science & Religion II |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 16 |
Foundations: |
Presocratics: Introduction |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 17 |
Foundations: |
Presocratics: Ionians |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 18 |
Foundations: |
Presocratics: Xenophanes |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 19 |
Foundations: |
Presocratics: Pythagoras I |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 20 |
Foundations: |
Presocratics: Pythagoras II |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 21 |
Foundations: |
Presocratics: Heraclitus |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 22 |
Foundations: |
Presocratics: Parmenides & Zeno |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 23 |
Foundations: |
Presocratics: Pluralism |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 24 |
Foundations: |
Presocratics: Atomism |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 21 |
Foundations: |
Presocratics: Sophistry |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 22 |
Foundations: |
Classical Realism: Socrates |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 23 |
Foundations: |
Classical Realism: Plato |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 24 |
Foundations: |
Classical Realism: Republic I |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 25 |
Foundations: |
Classical Realism: Republic II |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 26 |
Foundations: |
Classical Realism: Republic III |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 27 |
Foundations: |
Classical Realism: Republic IV |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 28 |
Foundations: |
Classical Realism: Republic V |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 29 |
Foundations: |
Classical Realism: Republic VI |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
| 30 |
Foundations: |
Classical Realism: Republic VII |
Video |
PDF |
PP: |
|
|
Title |
|
Assigned |
Due |
| 01 |
Q1 |
Nagel: How Do We Know Anything? |
RQ |
08.00.20 |
08.00.20 |
| 02 |
Q1 |
Descartes: Meditation I |
RQ |
08.00.20 |
08.00.20 |
| 03 |
Q1 |
Descartes: Meditation II |
RQ |
08.00.20 |
08.00.20 |
| 04 |
Q1 |
Descartes: Meditation III (Kreeft Chapter) |
RQ |
08.00.20 |
08.00.20 |
| 05 |
Q1 |
Jones: Samoa Lost |
RQ |
08.00.20 |
08.00.20 |
| 06 |
Q1 |
Crimes and Misdemeanors 1 |
VQ |
08.00.20 |
08.00.20 |
| 07 |
Q1 |
Crimes and Misdemeanors 2 |
VQ |
08.00.20 |
08.00.20 |
| 08 |
Q1 |
Crimes and Misdemeanors 3 |
VQ |
08.00.20 |
08.00.20 |
| 09 |
Q2 |
Tarnas: The Greek Worldview 1 |
RQ |
08.00.20 |
08.00.20 |
| 10 |
Q2 |
Tarnas: The Greek Worldview 2 |
RQ |
08.00.20 |
08.00.20 |
| 11 |
Q2 |
Tarnas: The Greek Worldview 3 |
RQ |
08.00.20 |
08.00.20 |
| 12 |
Q2 |
Tarnas: The Greek Worldview 4 |
RQ |
08.00.20 |
08.00.20 |
| 13 |
Q2 |
Medved: A Declarations of War |
RQ |
08.00.20 |
08.00.20 |
| 14 |
Q2 |
Plato: Republic, Intro |
RQ |
08.00.20 |
08.00.20 |
| 15 |
Q2 |
Plato: Republic, Book I |
RQ |
08.00.20 |
08.00.20 |
| 16 |
Q2 |
Plato: Republic, Book II |
RQ |
08.00.20 |
08.00.20 |
| 17 |
Q2 |
Plato: Republic, Book III |
RQ |
08.00.20 |
08.00.20 |
| 18 |
Q2 |
Plato: Republic, Book IV |
RQ |
08.00.20 |
08.00.20 |
