Man’s Participation in Order
In the seminal chapters of the book of Genesis we are told that God put man over the beasts and plants and told him to go forth, exercise dominion (RSV2CE, 2006, Gen. 1:28) In short, the Lord commanded Adam to go forth and order the world, or more precisely, maintain the order which God had set forth. It is in our original nature, to participate with God in creation through ordering. This is what I found to be the main theme in Fr. James Schall’s text, The Order of Things (2007), man is not all together separate from the order that is found in the cosmos, rather he is both a beneficiary of order and an actor in the process of ordering. “Sapientis est ordinare” as Fr. Schall quotes from St. Thomas Aquinas (Schall, 2007, p.23). To participate as an actor in this process of ordering, one must know one thing from another, one must think as Fr. Schall states (Schall, 2007, pp.15-16).
Education is the process of thinking, of coming to know things, so that we might see order and be directed to the higher order as well as have an understanding of how we ought to exercise our potential to order. Fr. Schall notes that it is within us to want to know. “We are moved by ‘the wonder of the world’- that is, we wonder at the world, how it is, that it is, why it is.” (2007, p.29) He quotes Joseph Pieper who wrote, “our longing for knowledge is beyond our control.” (Pieper, 1992, 16-17, as cited in Schall, 2007) We can see this clearly in the inquisitive child with unrelenting questions, “What? Why? Where?” Through a negative lens this love of knowing also presents itself in the sins of gossip, and detraction, or what St. Thomas calls the sin of curiosity. Whether they be good things, bad things, true things, or false things, it is precisely the desire to know, or perhaps the fear of not knowing, that leads to the culture of gossip. The desire to know is a good thing, but like all good things, it can be twisted for the bad.
In our current situation, post fall, or “Historical Man” as John Paul II labels us in his Theology of the Body, (2006, pp. 142–143), we are left with the struggle involved in learning. There is often a disconnect between the ideal and reality. It is more difficult for us to come to know one thing from another, and there is more difficulty in maintaining a focus on the final end. While we are still, “beings who want to know- and to know the truth,” (Schall, 2007, p. 29) it can be difficult to recognize order and to find the motivation to participate in order.
In his first chapter (2007, pp,15-16), Fr. Schall speaks of a “Tom and Jerry” type cartoon by S. Gross in which a cat is pulling a toy car on a long string. In the car, a mouse sits with his hands on the steering wheel, as happy as can be. Behind the car, a second mouse is seen yelling, “For God’s sake, think! Why is he being so nice to you?” This image is equivalent to the situation among many high school and college students today. The students frequently seem to be uninterested in the practice of study or thinking. If a topic is difficult to comprehend, or if there is any amount of work or struggle involved in an endeavor, even a miniscule amount, disinterest and laziness creep in. They are satisfied with simply being along for the ride, even if the vehicle is being driven by a potential enemy. Acedia is perhaps a label that can be placed on the current struggle of many students.
Wonder is possibly the best tool to overcome this intellectual sloth. Reintroducing students to the beauty of order in the cosmos, the order in the mind, the order in the use of our will, and the order that is within the creativity of man (Schall, 2007, pp.24-27) could reignite the natural desire within all of us to know. The experience of order will draw us into a higher order, and will also empower us to ourselves participate in the ordering of the world. The beauty found in order reminds us that God reveals himself to us and invites us to be like him. We are not simply mice riding in cars, but instead human beings who actively participate in divine activity.
Resources
(2006). Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition of The Holy Bible. Ignatius Press.
John Paul II (2006). Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body. Pauline Books & Media.
Schall, J. (2007). The Order of Things. Ignatius Press.