Mark Montebello's blog

Some people draw pride from stating that the Maltese are a quiet nation. History seems to prove their case. On the one hand they produce a string of conquerors (Phoenician, Carthaginian, .. French, British), and on the other, a meek and yielding people who suffer it all out with a saint’s patience and endurance. Needless to say, this is a convenient paradigm (and, like most of its type, false) that is generally intended to serve the purposes of projecting an image of our environment as ‘naturally’ and ‘historically’ or ‘traditionally’ safe (for both locals and foreigners). This philosophy seems to believe that, due to our seemingly long track-record of being accommodating and obliging, we are a sort of a breed that possesses this marvellous and commendable quality that makes us submissive, acquiescent and dutiful. Why this ridiculous belief continues to retain its grip on most people’s mind is easy enough: it has always been the way by which the ruling classes preserve their consol...

Kienet tabilhaqq sorpriza, ghalija ghallanqas, meta l-Papa Benedittu XVI tkellem dwar l-imhabba erotika b’mod pozittiv. Li kienu smajnih jitkellem dwar din it-tip ta’ mhabba b’mod negattiv ma kont nistaghgeb xejn, ghax kont nistenniha. Imma b’mod pozittiv!? U f’referenza ghal Alla!? Din kienet xi haga gdida u, fil-fehma tieghi, ta’ min jixtarrha aktar. Specjalment meta wiehed iqis li, wara li semmiha l-ewwel darba, il-Papa Benedittu baqa’ kostantement jerga’ jsemmiha u jithaddet dwarha. Ir-raguni ghala jien jidhirli li dan il-kuncett jisthoqqlu kemmxejn tal-istharrig minhabba zewg ragunijiet. L-ewwelnett, ghax jifforma parti mit-taghlim tal-magisteru tal-Knisja; u ghaldaqstant irid jindika zvilupp aktar mit-teologi u l-filosfi Kattolici. It-tieni, ghax jidher li jista’ jitfa’ ftit dawl pozittiv fuq il-kuncett tar-relazzjonijiet tal-imhabba bejn il-bnedmin. F’dan li gej bi hsiebni li, l-ewwel, wara li nintroduci ftit is-suggett, nesplora dak li jghid Benedittu XVI dwar l-imhabba ero...

I would submit that Fr René Camilleri ( Times of Malta , March 5) has a very narrow concept of the nature of philosophy. He opposed Fr Peter Serracino Inglott’s contribution (February 24) that basically stated that philosophy is, beyond Scripture, a ‘guide for the perplexed’ by throwing in the idea of Church tradition. Fr Peter was justly incensed (March 9), maintaining – and rightly so – that Church tradition itself is, in part at least, the work of philosophical reflection. Of course, it is not only that, but this very fact further defeats Fr René’s assertions. For the nature of Church tradition is essentially, as Congar says (in Tradition and Traditions ), a ‘subjective sense, a kind of Catholic instinct, [which] is called “sensus fidelium”, “sensus fidei”, the sense of faith’. Fr René claims Scriptural objectivity, which, evidently, is not the case. Certainly, Scripture is the root and foundation of Church tradition, but, as a ‘handing on of a message’, as Rahner calls Church tra...

“Il-habs huwa post li jrid ixandar il-gustizzja fis-socjetà moderna. Kemm hi sabiha din il-funzjoni! Hija tfittex li tiskopri l-bniedem fl-aspetti l-aktar kumplessi tieghu. Forsi xi kultant ma jirnexxilhiex taghmel dan mill-ewwel. Forsi xi kultant il-fibra ta’ l-ordni jiddghajjef xi ftit. Imma huwa tant sabih dan l-atteggjament, li jfittex kif se jifhem lill-bniedem b’mod aktar profond, mhux biss biex jassiguralu ordni esterjuri, ordni li mbaghad irid iharsu bil-forza jew il-kastig, imma biex jiskopri xi possibbiltà, xi xewqa, mohbija fih li – bhala koncittadini, bhala ahwa, bhala nsara – tista’ u ghandha tigi mhegga u msahha.” ― PAPA PAWLU VI, 9 ta’ April 1964 (Mid-Dlam ghad-Dawl, Jien Qeghidt Ghajnejja f’Ghajnejkom , pagna 58). Din is-silta, mehudha minn diskors li l-Papa Pawlu VI kien ghamel lill-awtoritajiet karcerarji waqt zjara fil-habs ta’ Regina Coeli, Ruma, tigbor ir-rwol doppju ta’ kull detenzjoni: ir-restrizzjoni fizika u t-tishih tal-personalità. Dan ir-rwol doppju tal-hab...

In philosophy since the time of the Aristotelians a sharp distinction is made between science and narration. In ancient times, both were called ‘logos’, bringing together acumen and substance. In essence, science and narration both said something x about something else y , but in very different ways. Plato and Aristotle expressed their high philosophy as narrative, but after them the more scientific way of drawing up a philosophical discourse had to avoid narration or story-telling, and concentrate wholly on systematic treatises. Today we consider science to be a discipline of hard facts. Maths, for instance, or physics, would fully qualify as science. But other disciplines that based their conclusion on elusive truths are not deemed worth of the name. Such would be, for instance, medical theory, or even justice. Justice, and particularly criminal justice, is not a science. It is not about truth. It is not about certitude. It is about arbitrary and subjective laws, evidence, and in...

Some people, especially those hailing from the European, African or Middle East continents, sometimes seem to envy us islanders. Living on an island produces in them some kind of strange attraction that can be quite perplexing. It maybe has to do with that inkling that islands must be dainty, delightful places fairly immune to the craziness of the modern world. It is not uncommon that most of these people actually crave to come and live on an island such as ours, precisely when most of us want to get away, if only they could. It doesn’t seem to be the confinement within frontiers that seems to distress us most, for all countries have borders. Nor does it appear to be the smallness as such, for many other countries are also relatively small. Maybe neither the density of the population, for, surely, many cities are much thicker and compact than our entire country. What seems to really afflict us most deeply is our severance from mainstream culture. In fact, this detachment is really ...

Fil-harga ta’ l-orizzont tat-Tnejn, 23 ta’ Jannar, 2006, f’pagna 9, Dun Ang Seychell kiteb li “[ahna l-Insara] ma naccettawx li jitqies bhala ‘zwieg’ kull ghaqda bejn persuni ta’ sess wiehed jew li dawn jadottaw tfal taht l-età”. Dwar dan, u fid-dawl tar-rispett kbir li ghandi lejn Dun Ang, nixtieq naghmel xi riflessjonijiet ta’ natura filosofika: 1. Ghall-precizjoni, ma jistax jinghadd b’mod kategoriku li z-zwigijiet gay mhumiex accettati mill-insara KOLLHA. Il-kelma ‘nisrani’ tigbor fiha d-denominazzjonijiet kollha Kattolici, Protestanti u Ortodossi; u huwa fatt li, apparti l-pozizzjoni ufficjali ta’ kull denominazzjoni, mhux l-imsiehba kollha ta’ kull denominazzjoni ma jaccettawx iz-zwieg gay. Sahansitra hemm denominazzjonijiet insara li dan jaccettawh ufficjalment. Hemm ukoll Kattolici nfushom li, minkejja l-pozizzjoni ufficjali tad-denominazzjoni partikulari taghhom, dan jaccettawh ukoll. Ghalhekk, lanqas ma kien ikun preciz li kieku ntqal li ‘ahna l-Kattolici ma naccettawx, e...