Aquinas Society
‘Thus it is that divine science or theology
is of two kinds, one in which divine things are considered not as the
subject of the science but as principles of the subject and this is the
theology that the philosophers pursue, also called metaphysics. The
other considers divine things in themselves as the subject of the
science, and this is the theology which is treated in Sacred Scripture.’
– St Thomas Aquinas, Exposition of Boethius' On the Trinity, q. 5,
a. 4
The
Christian Theology department at Ampleforth is lucky, and has been for
several years, to have a steady stream of students choosing to take part
in its A-level offerings. These studies are divided into two strands:
philosophy and ethics. Under these headings, students study such things
as the relationship between science and religion, the rights and wrongs
of our actions with regard to the environment, and the moral philosophy
of Aristotle. But no curriculum, however comprehensive, can entirely
satisfy a curious mind (of which there are many at Ampleforth!). For
this reason, the CT teachers decided to set up an extra-curricular
theology and philosophy group (merging two already-existing groups: the
M6 theology reading group, and the U6 philosophy society). The group
would be student-led: their interests and curiosity would be the engine
to drive our reading and discussion. It didn’t take long to think of a
name: St Thomas Aquinas, a medieval philosopher and theologian who
devoted himself to the reconciling of these two disciplines, marrying
Aristotle and the biblical tradition, was the obvious choice as patron,
and so, the Aquinas Society was born.
Perhaps it seemed somewhat
optimistic to expect teenagers to give up their free time to speculate
on God, the Universe, and Everything, but if it was, our students rose
to the challenge admirably. The present U6 group has been meeting
fortnightly in the library all year, and the texts we have read included
Plato’s Cave analogy, George Weigel’s meditation on the beauty of
Chartres Cathedral (in Letters to a Young Catholic), and a
sociological commentary on belief and belonging in contemporary Europe.
This term (Lent 2009) sees the inauguration
of the M6 group. There has been an impressive amount of interest shown
so far, with 30 students signed up to take part. An exciting programme
of reading has been proposed by the group, ranging from political
philosophy (Plato’s Republic, Macchiavelli The Prince) to
philosophy of religion (for example, the question of how our language
can be used to refer to God) to biblical studies.
The main aim of
the group is to enable our students to float free in the broad waters
of theology and philosophy, and to develop and articulate their own
ideas, but it also has the more practical aim of giving them a taste of
the subjects at university level. Given the number of Ampleforth
students who apply to read philosophy or theology, this preparation
seems indispensable.