Are You Infected with Materialism?

You might be more than you realize. Here's a test.

Not to be dramatic, but I struggle with Aristotelian natural philosophy as a chemist. That is the point, I suppose, of learning philosophy—to examine the way you view the world. I was utterly unprepared for just how much I needed to rethink things.

As I imagine must be the case for many a convert to Catholicism, learning about Aristotle seems like I am late to the game. When you read works like Physics, Metaphysics, and Nicomachean Ethics, you can see how much Western civilization was influenced by ideas from ancient Greece. I picture all the cradle Catholics nodding at me as if to say, It’s about time you caught up!

However, as I am also learning by talking to more people, it’s not a given that a cradle Catholic, or anyone else, just knows what Aristotelian natural philosophy is all about. This view was lost with the rise of modern science. Long story short: the revival of ancient Greek thought during the Renaissance of the 15th and 16th centuries gave way to the rationalism and empir…