To the
members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
MAN'S
DIGNITY STEMS FROM HIS SPIRITUAL NATURE
27 October 1998
Man, "the only
being on earth that God willed for his own sake, has a dignity stemming from
his spiritual nature which bears the mark of the Creator, for he was created in
his image and likeness (cf. Gn 1:26) and endowed with
the highest faculties a creature can possess: reason and will", the Holy
Father said on Tuesday, 27 October, to those taking part in the plenary
assembly of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. The academicians were
discussing modern concepts of nature at the their annual meeting, and the Pope
underscored the unique status and dignity of human nature in the natural order
created by God.
Here is a translation
of his address, which was given in French.
Mr President, Dear Academicians,
1. I am pleased to welcome you this morning and
to offer you my cordial greetings during the plenary assembly of the Pontifical
Academy of Sciences on the changes concerning the concept of nature. I thank
Prof. Nicola Cabibbo for his kind words. I cordially
greet Archbishop Giuseppe Pittau, former Chancellor
of your Academy, and I thank Mons. Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, who has agreed to succeed him. The interaction of
disciplines can be very fruitful. The reflection you are engaged in is
particularly fitting. In ancient times, Aristotle crafted certain expressions
which were taken up and enriched in the Middle Ages and used by St Thomas
Aquinas in developing his theological doctrine. One would hope that scientists
and philosophers will continue to make their contribution to theological
research and to the different forms of human knowledge, so that the mysteries
of God, of man and of creation may be more and more deeply understood. The
interaction of disciplines, in fraternal dialogue (cf. Encyclical Fides et
ratio, n. 33), can be very fruitful, for it broadens our vision of what we are
and what we are becoming.
2. Down the centuries, the concept of nature
has been at issue in many ways, especially in theology and philosophy. The
concept developed by Ulpian reduced nature to man's
biological and instinctual aspect (cf. Inst., I, 2). In a certain number of
current theories, we again find this temptation to reduce the human being to a
purely material and physical reality, making man a being who merely behaves
like other living species. The broadening of the scientific field has led to an
increase in the senses of this term. In some sciences, it refers to the idea of
law or model; in others, it is linked to the notion of regularity and
universality; in yet others, it suggests creation, taken in a general way or
according to certain aspects of living being; finally in others, it explains
the human person in his unique unity and human aspirations. It is also linked
to the concept of culture, to express the idea that the gradual formation of
man's personality, in which the elements he has been given - his nature - are
combined with the elements acquired from contact with society - the cultural
dimension by which man fulfils himself (cf. Aristotle, Politics, I, 2, 11-12).
Recent scientific and technological discoveries about creation and man, in what
is infinitely small or is infinitely large, have significantly altered the
meaning of the concept of nature applied to the visible and intelligible
created order.
3. In view of these conceptual differences in
the area of scientific and technological research, it would be good to ask
ourselves about the senses of this concept, because the repercussions for man
and for the way scientists look at him are far from negligible. The principal
danger consists in reducing an individual to a thing, or regarding him in the
same way as the other elements of nature, thereby relativizing
man, whom God has placed at the heart of creation. To the extent that one is
primarily interested in elements, one is tempted no longer to grasp the nature
of a living being or of creation in their entirety, and to reduce them to a
series of elements with multiple interactions. Hence man is no longer seen in
his spiritual and corporal unity, in his soul, the spiritual principle in man
which serves as the form of his body (cf. Council of Vienne,
Constitution Fidei Catholicae,
DS 902).
4. In Catholic philosophy and theology and in
the Magisterium, the concept of nature has an
importance which it would be good to point out. First of all, it calls to mind
the reality of God in his very essence, thus expressing the divine unity of
"the holy and ineffable Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, [who] is one
God by nature, of one substance, of one nature, and of one majesty and
power" (11th Council of Toledo, DS 525). The same term also explains
creation, the visible world which owes its existence to God and is rooted in
the creative act by which "the world began when God's word drew it out of
nothingness" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 338). According to the
divine plan, creation finds its purpose in the glorification of its maker (cf.
Lumen gentium, n. 36). Thus we see that this concept
also expresses the meaning of history, which comes from God and advances
towards its end, the return of all created things to God; therefore history
cannot be understood as cyclical, for the Creator is also the God of salvation
history. "It is the one and the same God who establishes and guarantees
the intelligibility and reasonableness of the natural order of things upon
which scientists confidently depend, and who reveals himself as the Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ" (Encyclical Fides et ratio, n. 34).Through reason
and the various intellectual operations belonging to the nature of man as such
(cf. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, I-II, q. 71,
a. 2), man "by [his] nature can discover the Creator" (Encyclical
Fides et ratio, n. 8) from contemplating the work of creation, for the Creator
makes himself known through the greatness of his work. Its beauty and the
interdependence of created realities spur scientists to admire and respect
creation's own principles. 'Nature, philosophy's proper concern, can contribute
to the understanding of divine Revelation' (ibid., n. 43). This rational
knowledge does not, however, exclude another form of knowledge, that of faith,
based on revealed truth and on the fact that the Lord communicates himself to
men.
5. The concept of nature acquires a particular
meaning when applied to man, the summit of creation. The only being on earth
that God willed for his own sake has a dignity stemming from his spiritual
nature which bears the mark of the Creator, for he was created in his image and
likeness (cf. Gn 1:26) and endowed with the highest
faculties a creature can possess: reason and will. These make him capable of
free self determination and enable him to communicate with God, to answer his
call and to fulfil himself in accordance with his own
nature. In fact, because he has a spiritual nature, man can receive
supernatural realities and attain the eternal happiness freely offered by God.
This communication is made possible because God and man are both spiritual
beings. This is what Gregory of Nazianzus meant when
he spoke of the Lord having assumed our human nature: "Christ heals like
by like" (Oratio 28, 13). In the view of this Cappadocian Father, the metaphysical and ontological
approach enables us to learn the mystery of the Incarnation and Redemption, by
which Jesus, true God and true man, took on human nature (cf. Gaudium et spes, n. 22). Speaking
of human nature also reminds us that there is a unity and solidarity belonging
to the whole human race. For this reason, man is to be considered "in the
full truth of his existence, of his personal being and also of his community
and social being" (Encyclical Redemptor hominis, n. 14).
6. At the end of our meeting, I encourage you
to continue your scientific work in a spirit of service to the Creator, to man
and to the whole of creation. Thus human beings will praise God, since all
things come from him (cf. 1 Chr 29:14); they will
respect the dignity of every individual and will find the answer to the
fundamental questions about their origin and their ultimate end (cf. Encyclical
Fides et ratio, n. 1). They will care for creation, which "God willed as a
gift addressed to man, an inheritance destined for and entrusted to him"
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 299), and which is good by its nature
(cf. Council of Florence, Bull Cantate Domino, DS
1333).In wishing you fruitful work in a rich dialogue between the different
disciplines you represent, I cordially give you my Apostolic Blessing.