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The new way of thinking that I developed during the semester has led to a drastic change in the way I go about my life. During school I now understand that the purpose of all the work I do at school and the homework I do at home is not simply to get an "A" on a test and get into a good college, that is part of it, the real goal is to understand the subject matter to an extent that i can easily apply it to future situations and to help my Faith grow. Outside of school, this new way of thinking has sparked a change in my habits and tendencies in driving, the way I speak to my parents, my interaction with the opposite sex, and how I choose to spend my free time.
The new outlook on Faith I have developed during the semester is one of deep refelction and pure thought that I have not previously delved into. When I went through R.C.I.A. in the third grade with my older sister, I never really understood what the point was, it was something my mother and sister encouraged me to do so I never put much thought into it. Having gone to public gradeschool and having a short attention span at mass left me largely clueless about common ideas and stories of the Roman Catholic religion. In this class I finally began to know and understand the Catholic Faith. My new outlook on Faith has not inspired me to start attending mass regularly but it has forced me to reflect deeply and thoughtfully on why I should or should not. I now have my own reasons for being a C.E.O. Catholic as Father Marco, SJ. would say. I am able to form an aruement for or against many belifs of the Catholic church.
Faith, Reason, and Revelation has taught me how to live an examined life. The importance of Aristotle's idea "The unexamined life is not worth living" will be on my mind for years to come. This idea that was brought up over and over throughout the course has led to me to really stop and look at my life instead of simply continuing to go through the motions. The next time I am tempted to speed on the highway I will take a moment to consider "Is it really worth the risk?" and the conclusion that I come to will probably be the best one because it will be an examined one. This course has taught me that if genuinely ponder a tough moral or social decsion the right answer will present itself, in most cases. The various movies and clips we watched in class also sparked me to think about things like the economy, politics, big business, and theology when I had previously not bothered to know even the basics of them.
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This course gave me a great deal of knowledge and understanding of many philosophical and theological ideas that I can use and add to for the rest of my life. The knowledge I gained of Aritstotle, Ignatius, Aquinas, Plato, Kavanaugh, and many other great thinkers in this class led to many fruitful discussions with my classmates and my dad. Plato's Allegory of the Cave, explanations for the problem of evil and for the existence of God, and natural law have all had a profound influence on me. I have thought, reflected, and truly focused on these ideas for hours, something I would never have thought to do before this course.
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