What does it mean to study philosophy? Is it the act of studying philosophical texts (whether ancient or modern)? Does it predominantly involve memorizing arguments and counter-arguments about the big questions, and then trying to make some positive case for one’s own vision? Moreover, what is a philosopher? Is it simply someone who does the above in a more rigorous way? Is a philosopher, in other words, a kind of professional?
Taking our cues from the inception of Western philosophy, as well as the Christian inheritance and transformation of the same, this course seeks to explicate the relationship between philosophical discourse and being a philosopher. With the ancients, we will consider philosophy as a way of life, a project of attuning the whole of ourselves to the whole of reality as guided by the sanctified mind. To be a philosopher is to possess this task in a unique and rigorous way as part of one’s vocation. When the philosopher Justin converted to Christ in the second century, he did not remove the philosophical robes which were the public mark of his vocation. Rather, his vocation was raised up in the way of Christ. And so it can still be today.