Truth, Beauty and Goodness are key to authentic humanism

By Catherine Sheehan

How to rescue Australian culture from secular humanism and replace it with authentic humanism, was the topic of discussion at the ninth annual Dawson Centre Colloquium held on 6 July.

Hosted at the Italian Club in North Hobart, the event attracted 58 attendees and an array of eminent speakers from around the country.

In keeping with the Dawson Centre’s ethos, there was a strong focus on education and the need to form young people with a humanism derived from Christianity.

Author and co-founder of Campion College, Karl Schmude, spoke about Christopher Dawson’s vision for a Christian humanism. Drawing on the thought of Dawson, Mr Schmude said the current pervasive secular humanism “shuns the transcendental” and instead embraces “transcendental substitutes”, as evidenced by ‘wokism’.

Mr Schmude concurred with Russian novelist Dostoyevsky, arguing that ultimately Beauty would save the world.

Dr Bella d’Abrera, Director of the Foundations of Western Civilisation Program at the Institute of Public Affairs, spoke about the current trend sweeping the western world of tearing down statues, describing it as a “cultural revolution” carried out by “a very powerful minority”. Every confederate statue in the US has now been removed, she said, as part of a “dreadful ideology” aimed at de-colonisation by de-valuing “white western ways”.

Dr d’Abrera said this same ideology had taken hold in Australia, with a statue of King George V in Melbourne having been decapitated earlier this year, and a statue in Hobart of former Tasmanian Premier, William Crowther, having been torn down in May. “It is a destruction of our past,” she said.

“We’re being taught a very twisted, and a very wrong version of Australian history,” Dr d’Abrera warned.

Secondary school teacher from Melbourne, Lucas McLennan, proposed ways of incorporating Western Civilisation perspectives into the national curriculum, while fellow teacher, Natalie Kennedy, held the audience captive with her exploration of how the beauty of poetry can restore a sense of awe and wonder in students.

The advent of the smart phone and social media has wreaked havoc on the mental health of young people, retired school principal from Queensland, Richard Brown, said, with these “new and radical changes” to how people interact leading to a loss of understanding about what it means to be human. He said the remedy lay in reviving a sense of purpose and community in students, building character through virtue, and attaining wisdom through seeking truth.

Executive Director of the Thomas More Centre, Anna Krohn, spoke about the classical tradition of ‘paideia’—a system of education or formation—and Dawson’s notion that such an education needed to be informed by Christianity.

Sydney based lawyer and bioethicist, Dr Anna Walsh, presented results from her doctoral research showing that there was insufficient education on the importance of freedom of conscience for doctors, particularly in relation to abortion, a matter of great importance for Catholic health institutions.

In his presentation on ‘The Salvation of the West: A return to the Enlightenment or the embracing of Tradition’, Sydney priest Fr Matthew Solomon, asserted that, “To be a follower of Christ means to take on the habits of Christ”. This imitation of Christ was the foundation of Western Civilisation, he said.

Archbishop Julian Porteous delved into his love for the poetry of T S Eliot, speaking on ‘T. S. Eliot and the future of Western Culture’. He referred to the “remarkable change” in Eliot’s poetry after his conversion to Christianity and his realisation, demonstrated in his poems, that liberalism promoted a false freedom.

The closing address was given by Emeritus Professor Stephen Schwartz AM, author of 13 books and over 120 scientific articles. Professor Schwartz emphasized the need to study the past and avoid a “self-loathing” in respect to Australian history which “only leads to despair”. He expressed hope for the future, observing that patriotism in Australia was “reviving”, as demonstrated by the enthusiasm for occasions of national pride such as ANZAC Day.

“A society that preserves its culture, preserves its faith,” Professor Schwartz said.

Dr David Daintree AM, Director of the Dawson Centre said he was pleased with how this year’s Colloquium went.

“Colloquium numbers have been increasing and reached nearly 60 this year,” he said. “We have our loyal regulars, but every year we attract lots of new people.  It was good to see so many teachers there, because they are the key to the survival of the culture. 

“The atmosphere was happy, positive and full of hope.”