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Course: Fundamentals
of Philosophy
Duration: Semester
Type: Elective
Eligibility: Honors
The
unexamined life is not worth living! From the very beginnings
of philosophy in ancient Greece thousands of years ago to today, serious
thinkers have engaged in scrutinizing the views that we accept about our
world and ourselves. This course will bring to light what our
implicit beliefs are, what assumptions we make about our world,
ourselves, and our values. The major philosophic themes of the
Western world will be explored: logic, ethics, metaphysics,
epistemology, philosophy of religion, philosophy of art, and social and
political philosophy. The students will be introduced as well to
some of the classic philosophical writings that have helped to shape our
world view.
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Prayer of St Anselm
Dear Lord,
Let me seek you by desiring you,
and let me desire you by seeking you;
let me find you by loving you,
and love you in finding you.
I confess, Lord, with thanksgiving,
that you have made me in your image,
so that I can remember you,
think of you, and love you.
But that image is so worn and blotted out by
faults,
and darkened by the smoke of sin,
that it cannot do that for which it was
made,
unless you renew and refashion it.
Lord, I am not trying to make my way to your
height,
for my understanding is in no way equal to
that,
but I do desire to understand a little of
your truth
which my heart already believes and loves.
I do not seek to understand so that I can
believe,
but I believe so that I may understand;
and what is more,
I believe that unless I do believe,
I shall not understand.
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To Know Myself
Father, help me to know myself, what I am and what
I can become.
Enable me to see the good in myself and rejoice in
it, to see flaws and change them.
Teach me to live with myself, to accept myself.
Remind me that become what you want me to be is
more like cultivating a garden than chopping down a forest.
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Trust in
Providence
God has created me to do him some
definite service; he has committed some work to me which he has not
committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it
in this life, but I shall be told it in the next.
I am a link in a chain, a bond of
connection between persons. He has not created me for naught.
I shall do good; I shall do his work. I shall be an angel of
peace, a preacher of truth in my own lace while not intending it, if I
do but keep his commandments.
Therefore, will I trust him.
Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in
sickness, my sickness may serve him; in perplexity, my perplexity may
serve him; in sorrow, my sorrow may serve him.
He does nothing in vain. He
knows what he is about. He may take away my friends, he may throw me
among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits
sink, hid my future from me. Still, he knows what he is about.
- Cardinal Newman |
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