“Good” Authors and “Bad”

Sometimes students wonder why we read books by authors who espouse mistaken views. In co-teaching the senior science courses, which contain readings by a number of these supposedly “bad” authors, I have frequently had occasion to ponder this question, and so I’d like to offer some brief reflections here. Why not restrict one’s studies to the “good” authors? There are three basic reasons.

First, an educated person must be prepared to deal with error, and this preparation requires some exposure to it. Modern society is rife with problematic “isms,” from moral relativism to metaphysical naturalism masquerading as science to militant atheism, and most of us cannot help but encounter such views from time to time. By learning about ancient and modern errors as they arose from their historical roots, and by seeing them set in contrast to the perennial philosophy and theology of the Catholic intellectual tradition, we can both avoid being taken unaware by these errors and be ready to respond effectively to them.

Second, through its very opposition, error sometimes manifests the truth. One form of this occurs when an author unwittingly reveals the error of his own principles by the absurdity of the conclusions he draws from them, by concluding, for example, that the material world does not really exist, or that we can have no knowledge of it.

Third, even authors who propose profoundly mistaken views frequently have a kernel of truth hidden in their positions. As Aristotle teaches, everyone says something true about reality, and hence we should be grateful not only to those with whom we agree but also to those with whom we do not. Francis Bacon greatly errs in trying to do away with formal and final causality in nature, but he offers worthwhile insights into the pitfalls of human nature, such as the temptation to favor evidence supporting one’s own view while ignoring evidence to the contrary. Through reading such authors, the liberally educated person learns to separate the wheat from the chaff, to gather kernels of truth wherever they may be found, lie in noxious surroundings though they may.

Dr. Michael Bolin is Assistant Professor of Theology and Philosophy at Wyoming Catholic College.