What is Truth? Sacramentality

Material epistemology appeals to the human ego in the sense that the knowledge gained through material epistemology, episteme, is within the boundaries of human comprehension and control. This episteme serves to process the world within the dimensions of human comprehension. The knowledge of the Authentic Self, on the other hand, requires a phronetical experience where one acquiesces to a Truth greater than one can comprehend. Knowledge of the Authentic Self requires us to tie those ropes around our waist and let God pull us out of the Pit. This, again, does not suggest material epistemology to be without merit as the pursuit of Truth through episteme does, indeed, suggest greater Truths. The ropes, after all, can be observed and studied. Further, as I teach students later in the course, if we perceive or think about God as Creator, then all material things, all Created Things, have in them the potential to be a sign of a greater Truth. To view the created world in such a way is to view the world Sacramentally. The ideas and material of this world hint at or suggest Truth of Authentic Self, which one can understand in term is relationship with self, with others, with creation, and with God.

Light shining through a stained-glass window. The material Truth of the light on the wall symbolically or Sacramentally suggests there must be a window filtering the light. (P. Smith)

This section of the course appeals to many of my students. They have heard about how in Smith’s class they will study psychology, and sociology, and philosophy. These are all subjects that they think they will Love and a lot of them will end up spending $150,000 on a degree in one of these subjects when they go to college. But what they do not know before coming into this class is how I will use some elements of psychology, sociology, and philosophy (and really any science) to suggest how we, as humans, can find in the material world, the Pit, evidence pointing to some greater Truths of how we are and who we are meant to be. Essentially, I will teach my students to start looking at things like psychology, sociology, and philosophy as being Sacramental, especially in how they all seem to suggest the centrality of relationship, Trinity, as part of the Authentic Self.