ABSTRACT
This French story contrasts objective and pragmatic comprehension. A nearsighted Saint preaches to and baptizes a group of people, not realizing they were Penguins. When they died, the Penguins went to Heaven, but all the Saints argued over whether to let them in. Some Saints said that only humans can enter heaven, but others insisted that baptism guaranteed entrance. Finally, everyone turned to Saint Catherine, and asked for her advice. She said, “Give them souls, but only little ones.”
The Saints use objective comprehension, focusing on the faithful being true-to their covenants in all situations with no exceptions. By contrast, Saint Catherine uses the pragmatic comprehension mode, seeking a solution only to the problem at hand. It is local and practical, not universal, and abstract. This contrast in comprehension modes helps us with contemporary disputes, e.g., abortion. The objective mode asks whether a woman is pregnant or not, and whether abortion is wrong or not, seeking universal rules. In the pragmatic mode, the focus is on the consequences to a particular woman in a specific situation and a solution for that situation. It is a practical, local solution, not an abstract, universal one.
