Foundation of Good in Ancient Wisdom
Teasers > Axioms
1.1. Foundation of Good in Ancient Wisdom
The Book of Genesis states multiple times that the Creator saw that it was good (Genesis 1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25) regarding His work. And after the creation of man, He saw that it was very good (Genesis 1:31).
Logic and history teach us that the introduction of a higher axiom leads to the ability to explain a new vision of the observed real system.[1] Although critical reasoning may pose dilemmas or apparent contradictions, one recognizes a path while resolving the legitimate why questions; this reconnects extremes, contributing to a better understanding of the ethical system. This main axiom acts as an explanatory and simplifying principle, recalling the principle of parsimony known as Ockham’s Razor.[2]
Logic and Reason, when applied to material and transcendent reality, do not lead to contradictions; on the contrary, they are unitarily oriented toward the Truth.[3] Goodness and the Good are the primary references for actions that bestow upon the human person a particular and very good dignity.[4]
[1] For example, the history of science illustrates how the introduction of Relativity or Quantum Mechanics resolved classic scientific dilemmas.
[2] Cf. G. Ockham, Scriptum in Librum Primum Sententiarum – Ordinatio. Critical edition by G. Gal and S. Brown, St. Bonaventure (N.Y.), 1967: suggesting that entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity (Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem); given equal explanatory power, the simplest explanation with the fewest assumptions is preferred.
[3] Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Fides et Ratio, hereafter cited as: Fides et Ratio (1998), no. 34, AAS 91 (1999), pp. 34–35: The unity of Truth is already a fundamental postulate of human reason, expressed in the principle of non-contradiction.
[4] Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church (henceforth CCC), nos. 355–357 and 369–373, LEV, Vatican City 1997: on the dignity of man and woman as created in the image of God.