Studying for a Master of Arts Degree in Philosophy at Arrupe Jesuit University has been one interesting experience. It was an experience that pushed me to the boundary. I think I benefited a lot from the experience I had of critical analysis and the ability to ask relevant questions. I cannot really say that I could get answers to all or most of them but appreciate having asked them. My main interest has been in Metaphysics. I found Philosophy of Science very helpful and I used it in most of my other courses. During my time here, I attempted to do a Philosophy of Accounting and Auditing but I did not really have time to further my research. I look forward to continuing with research in this area. My regards go to all my lecturers and, more especially, to my classmates who were very instrumental in my learning. The greater challenge is now in applying what I have learnt in my work.
Studying for a Master of Arts Degree in Philosophy at Arrupe Jesuit University has been one interesting experience. It was an experience that pushed me to the boundary. I think I benefited a lot from the experience I had of critical analysis and the ability to ask relevant questions. I cannot really say that I could get answers to all or most of them but appreciate having asked them. My main interest has been in Metaphysics. I found Philosophy of Science very helpful and I used it in most of my other courses. During my time here, I attempted to do a Philosophy of Accounting and Auditing but I did not really have time to further my research. I look forward to continuing with research in this area. My regards go to all my lecturers and, more especially, to my classmates who were very instrumental in my learning. The greater challenge is now in applying what I have learnt in my work.
PHILOSOPHY is a study that seeks to understand the mysteries of existence and reality. It tries to discover the nature of truth and knowledge and to find out what is of basic value and importance in life. It also examines the relationships between humanity and nature and between the individual and the society. Philosophy arises out of wonder, curiosity, and the desire to know and understand. Philosophy is thus a form of inquiry - a process of analysis, criticism, interpretation, and speculation. It is, therefore, with great honour, yet with great humility that I am proud to have discovered and encountered all this at Arrupe Jesuit University Through these encounters and discoveries, I have come to a deeper understandtng of myself, others, the world, life and God.
I am filled with gratitude as I look back on the four years I have been at Arrupe Jesuit University. Although I have no clear thought of the person I have become during these years, what I am confident of is that Arrupe has awakened me from my ignoramus slumber. I have come to realize that while people live within a complex network of reality, they fundamentally desire life, sharing life and knowledge of the truth; ultimately the truth of God. A rational reflection on these basic desires yields them knowledge of the content of the supreme good of happiness which is the absolute end of all their efforts. With this mind set, I express my profound gratitude to everyone at Arrupe: staff, fellow Arrupeans and friends. You did not only fulfil your academic obligations, you equally dispensed academic justice to me. I am much in your debt. As I now proceed to theological studies at Holy Trinity College here in Harare, I pray that God may bless you all and bless Arrupe Jesuit University in all her endeavours.
Prior to my Philosophy studies at Arrupe Jesuit University, I was more certain about many things: life, knowledge, morality, belief systems, to mention but a few. The concept of certainty, forme, is now history. My conscious interactions with people from diverse cultural, moral and educational heritages have challenged me and remodelled a new worldview which I can now call my "Arrupe experience". My Arrupe experience, therefore, is twofold: The first was an experience of learning to learn from all those who challenged me enough to grow; and the second was an invitation to discover the wisdom and truth that lie within a world of uncertainty. In the world of uncertainty, no one has the monopoly of knowledge or truth and no idea is asymptotic. In that case, virtues such as acceptance, forgiveness and love not only abound but always find creative expressions. As I proceed to teach at St. Francis Catholic Secondary School, a Jesuit high school in Lagos, Nigeria, I earnestly hope to share this worldview with all I come in contact with and for the rest of my life.
I came to Arrupe Jesuit University with a lot of expectations. I am leaving Arrupe with a great deal of hope. After four years, I am sure of one thing: "Knowledge is never enough...but knowing stimulates the desire for knowledge". Philosophy is, for me, a fundamental tool and a means for a critical view on reality. Studying philosophy has granted me the opportunity to strive to ask the right questions and to seek critical and informed answers. As a student of Philosophy, I was fascinated by the methodological approach of the Philosophy of Science and the ideas of John .Rawls, Emmanuel Levinas and Amartya Sen. Through education, I hope to concretize and share these ideas with others so that we can do our best to conjointly bring about a better human society: a home for all.
One overstatement says: "I am the best that was, the best that is and the best that will ever be". Such bragging statements can be made by people who are still in their "Kantian slumber". My two years at Arrupe Jesuit University have awakened and induced me to overcome the sell It was a period of fusion of horizons cascading into the everyday experiences of life. Going to Beira for my regency will require me to climb down from the "Ivory Tower" of Philosophy and to greet the everyday "beings" of my situatedness.
I started Arrupe with Human skepticism. Once I learned this way of looking skeptically at the world, it increasingly dominated how I saw everything philosophically. The road to doing constructive philosophical work began when I got into the analytic philosophy class and began my dissertation - "The Universe: A Catholic Perspective on the Science of Astronomy and Religion." Though I was rather unimpressed with analytic philosophy and its ability to answer the most pressing philosophical questions to my satisfaction, it turned out that I spent more time doing analytic philosophy. In the end, I ask: What? So What? and Now What? What did I experience? So what did I learn? Now what will I do with the knowledge I have gained?
If ever there was a place that has moulded, reformed and sharpened my mind and the way I look at or analyze common experiences and reality at large, Arrupe Jesuit University is that place.
Arrupe can be likened to a healthy cow from which I have milked knowledge and discipline, particularly through Philosophy and Humanities studies. It is through the [academic] discipline Arrupe has taught me that I have been able to milk the cow substantially; otherwise I would have ended up with countless kicks. It is the knowledge and discipline that Arrupe has given me that will enable me to conscientiously carry on
with my life and pursuits now and in the future, anytime and anywhere in the world. Philosophy has helped me to clarify what I believe, what I say, and what I see and hear. Arrupe has introduced me and brought me 'closer to the world, particularly through my intermingling with people from so many countries and diversities - those that I have read about or interacted with physically. Indeed Arrupe has been a beginning of a fresh beginning. Long Live Arrupe Jesuit University!
The overall impression I have of my stay at Arrupe Jesuit University is a positive one. My study of
Philosophy at Arrupe Jesuit University was carried out with much passion and joy. As I graduate, I am convinced that I am not the same person as I was three years ago when I came to Arrupe Jesuit University. In fact, the experience of philosophy has made me more equipped for a more thoughtful apprehension of the multi perspectival nature of existence. That is, most, if not all approaches to life, though not perfect in themselves, carry some elements of wisdom which, if appropriately dealt with, become more life-giving. My heartfelt gratitude goes to all my formators, lecturers and fellow students for the colourful experience I had amongst them at Arrupe. Merci a tous.
