REGISTER BELOW
1:00 p.m – 4:30 p.m. (Detailed Schedule Below)
This event is designated for current graduate & advanced undergraduate students and faculty from the University of Chicago & regional colleges and universities. Others interested in auditing should contact William Hurley at whurley@lumenchristi.org.
This project is made possible through the support of In Lumine Tuo: Expanding and Sustaining the Catholic Intellectual Tradition Nationwide (grant #63614) from the John Templeton Foundation and the generous support of our donors.
Description:
Shūsaku Endō’s novel Silence was published in Japanese in 1966 and translated into English in 1969, immediately generating acclaim and intense debate. The conversation surrounding the novel was reinvigorated a decade ago with the release of Martin Scorsese’s 2016 film adaptation. This most recent round of discussion was dominated by two opposing answers to the question: Was Fr. Rodrigues’s climactic action justified? Did he sin or simply do what Christian charity demanded?
In this master class, I will argue that neither side in the debate has it quite right because both sides are posing the wrong question. In order to make this argument, we will begin by asking the question: What is a question? What does it mean to ask the right question, and how is a good question related to philosophical and theological inquiry? After investigating the nature of a question, we will turn to the philosophy and theology of Robert Sokolowski, especially his articulation of the “Christian distinction,” which will enable us to pose the question that opens the door to the deepest dimensions of Endo’s novel. Finally, in light of Sokolowski’s recapitulation of fundamental metaphysical truths in the Catholic tradition, we will discuss what Endo’s novel might reveal to us about ourselves.
Syllabus:
- Endō, Silence (at least p. 129-189 in the Johnston translation, Picador Modern Classics, 2016)
- Aristotle, Metaphysics, VII.17, 1041a5-1041b35
- Robert Sokolowski, “Creation and Christian Understanding.”
- 1 Kings 19
(Metaphysics & Sokolowski can be found here)
Schedule:
- 12:30pm – Optional Lunch
- 1:00pm – First Session
- 2:30pm – Break
- 2:45pm – Second Session
- 4:15pm – Close
- 4:30-m – Wine and Cheese Reception
