Finally, we need to get beyond a 'traditional' culture, a pragmatic view of what we understand 'profession', 'student', 'artisan' or young worker to be. The revision of the preventive system also demands overcoming a prevalently authoritarian culture, closed to free reading, personal research, confrontation and debate.1383Turin, with its advanced industrial culture and associated social issues, and the birthplace of the preventive system, has recognised some strong limitations of Salesian culture: strictly traditionalist and conservative!1384Of the three great words used to express the preventive system, it appears that 'reason' in particular needs to reclaim the fullness of its meaning and its theoretical and practical functions: understanding, explaining, judging and deciding. This way reasons can be the guardian of affectivity and religiosity, an enlightened practical guide for acting, key in turn to moral existence, and the place for timely, creative intuitions.1385
6. The preventive system came about and grew over millennia, in a religious, biblical and Christian
atmosphere. It now needs a new and vigorous anthropological and theological foundation, which might
restore and strengthen the fragile practical and moralis tic foundation of the 19th century. The
theological vision presupposes previous reflection of a rational character on the human being, on what
it means to be a young man or a young woman.
The opening gambit of Rousseau's Émile is not per se heretical. Christopher de Beaumont was able to grasp the opportunity not so much to condemn but to clarify Catholic teaching on the effects of original sin within Adam's race. A human being is God's creature; in his essential and original structure, a human being is a value, something good. This essential structure was not destroyed nor corrupted in its 'naturalness'.
Original sin stands for the condition of being deprived of the state of justice and therefore of being slaves of Satan (this does not mean that Satan has taken possession of man), of being exposed to suffering, death, lack of the original harmony between the senses and spiritual faculties. But these faculties still hold on to their intrinsic value and dynamism.1386
The disharmony expressed by the easy stray ing of passions no longer subject by grace to the law of the
spirit, through concupiscence leads to an actual weakening of reason and will as they strive to achieve
their proper object, namely, what is true and good, but it does not lead to their intrinsic corruption. Passions such as self -love, the tendency to love and defend oneself, sensitivity, and affectivity which is
food or sex -oriented, are not per se negative; they have simply lost their original subordination to the law of reason and grace. And therefore, thanks to the nature proper to all human faculties and thanks to the grace of redemption, all the possibilities of rebuilding God's original plan in every human being, in justice and holiness, remain alive, re-fashioned by evangelical newness.1387
7. Likewise, we can say the same thing about the second part of Rousseau's claim. Youth sociology and
1383 For some fragmentary consideration cf. F. Desramaut, Don Bosco e l'indifferenza religiosa, in C. Semeraro (Ed.), I
giovani fra indifferenza e nuova religiosità. Leumann (Turin), Elle Di Ci 1995, pp. 143-160.
1384 Cf. G. Pollano (Ed.), Cristiani e cultura a Torino. Acts of the Congress in Turin, 3-5 April 1987. Milan. F. Angeli
1988, pp. 41-44.
1385 Cf. M. Pellerey, La via della ragione...., pp. 385-396.
1386 “Love of self” is different in Rousseau's conception of it: it is the natural goodness of the individual. Education has
the task of allowing it to develop correctly since, as a result of a sick society, it should develop away from any contact
with it. This is Rousseau's strong point anthropologically speaking: through education ideas of wellbeing, goodness,
freedom, happiness are sublimated and become moral ideas. But that means being closed within Émile's selfishness,
deprived of true disinterest, social ability, sense of common humanity. The 'new schools' did not follow Rousseau in
this, opening themselves instead decidedly to social ability. (Cf. A. Ravier L'éducation de l'homme nouveau. Essai
Historique et Critique sur le Livre de l'Émile de J. J. Rousseau, t. II. Paris, Éditions SPES 1941, pp. 505-509. 1387 Elsewhere we have noted the moral emphasis of Don Bosco's pedagogical spirituality, with explicit lack of basic
dogmatic aspects: cf. P. Braido, La prassi di don Bosco..., also cited there a note by P. Stella, Don Bosco nella storia
della religiosità cattolica, vol II, pp. 116-117.