1. What is the “crisis” in education ? Name a scholar who spoke about it as early as 1960s ?

The crisis of western education is twofold:

  1. The purpose of education is now understood as contributing to the economy. It is no more about teaching the child why leading a life of purpose is meaningful.
  2. Education is least interested in teaching children the historical and cultural legacy of the societies they live in. In the west, this in particular means that the children have no understanding of the contributions the Church has made to civilization.

Christopher Dawson was a Catholic historian of the 20th century who had extensively thought about this crisis.

2. What is meant by the “positivistic” view of reason ? Why does Pope Benedict think it deficient ?

This is a view that is almost taken as the truth today. This is nothing but the general understanding which equates rationality
to the empirical/scientific method.

This view, places confidence only in those things that can be empirically observed. Any application of reason beyond this scope is considered irrational.

The roots of this view can be seen in the philosophies of Emmanuel Kant, Auguste Comte.

An example: if a positivist sees a black sheep in the meadow, she will not say, “There is a black sheep in the meadow”. Instead, she will say, “I see a sheep in the meadow one side of which is black”.

Pope Benedict likened the exclusive focus on positivism to the experience of a “concrete bunker with no windows”.

He called it so because it stifles the human spirit.

3. What distinguishes liberal from servile education ?

Liberal education focuses on the ends of life, while servile education focuses on the means.

Servile education can teach someone to make money, but only a liberal education can teach how to use it.

4. Money is necessary to sustain the enterprise of Catholic education. Why is it never sufficient ?

Money is helpful to build infrastructure. But the crisis we are facing is not one of infrastructure, but one of the heart. Parents need a change of heart, to bring back authentic Catholic education, one which is an antidote to the crisis:

  1. To give their children an education that teaches the ends of life
  2. To recover our rich cultural heritage and to faithfully teach our children the same