About Me

My photo
I hold a Master of Theological Studies from the University of Dallas' Institute for Religious and Pastoral Studies. God has called me to be a father and to teach, so I now serve through From the Abbey, my catechetical apostolate. Brother Thomas is the persona I created for the moral theology textbook Dear Brother Thomas.

Thursday, September 8, 2005

Tools for Knowing Truth

Tools for knowing objective truth
Science: the use of a standard method that applies sense observation and measurements to discover objective truth about the physical world

Philosophy: Philosophy is the use of a standard method that applies reasoning and logic to discovering the truth about the non-physical world

Faith: Trusting that what God has revealed about Himself is true

Scientific Method
1.  Make observations & define problem
2.  Form a theory
3.  Test the theory through experimentation
4.  Publish results

Philosophical Method
1.  Make observations & define problem
2.  Form a theory
3.  Test the theory through reasoning & logic
     a. Reasoning = providing evidence in support of a thesis to elicit the consent of a reasonably skeptical audience
     b. Logic: Clear thinking using a standard set of rules
4.  Publish results

Why do we need a method?
  • Enables you to count on other people’s findings

  • Keep our search for truth organized – ensure true findings

  • Helps eliminate bias

  • Methods simplify the process – reduce error

  • Narrows the information down to what is clearly understandable

  • Everyone does the same thing – we can verify the truth

  • Ensures facts rather than opinions

No comments: