Principles of an Ignatian education
Canisius College is an institution of higher learning in the Catholic, Jesuit tradition that seeks to educate the whole person by caring for and developing the moral and spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and physical life of its students. The hallmarks of an Ignatian education, which are commensurate with the notion of a classical education, include the following concerns.
Educating the whole person To educate the whole person and to attend to instantiating in every way cura personalis.
Developing the intellect Developing intellectual excellence and integrity in an open and uncompromising pursuit and communication of truth.
Opening spiritual sensibilities Opening a persons spiritual sensibilities to concerns of personal integrity and conscience, developing concern for the sublime and reverence for all life.
Promoting moral virtue Promoting moral excellence by cultivating a sense of responsibility in service to and respect for the dignity and worth of our fellow human beings, including a respect for diversity.
Working to achieve social justice To promote a careful consideration of moral values and social justice to attend always to developing a richer appreciation of what it means to be men and women for others.
Preparing for work Preparing young persons for productive careers and meaningful personal lives.
Striving for more Cultivating a sense of always striving for something more magis.
Creating a community of care To become a genuine community of care, of love, trust, and compassion a community that embraces diversity, cherishes human beings, and provides a secure arena for seeking truth.
This tradition promotes Catholic intellectual life, spiritual development, and service to others all genuine characteristics of good leadership. In this connection, the Jesuit tradition of education, tracing its origins to the Ratio Studiorum, has always promoted the importance of philosophy for training the mind and for stimulating a love of truth and understanding as well as promoting its central place in an excellent liberal arts higher education.
Philosophy a cornerstone of Jesuit education
Philosophy, then, has been a cornerstone of Jesuit education since the founding of the first Jesuit universities in 17th century Europe. Educators at Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States continue to recognize the special province of philosophy.
Philosophy embraces our human powers to think abstractly and thus to cultivate models of mental discipline and to broaden our capacities to understand and to enjoy living.
Philosophy raises critical questions and uses reasoned argumentation to develop normative standards for guiding a persons relationship to his/her community.
Philosophy promotes reasoning about human nature and about human values to help provide bridges between religious belief and contemporary intellectual directions.
Philosophy values integrity and a commitment to truth, excellence, and understanding with an aim to enhance our expressive powers, our knowledge, foresight, and sense of direction.
Philosophy is an especially ennobling activity since it elevates what is common in being human while also nurturing individuality and self-esteem.
Philosophy holds a special place in a liberal arts curriculum at a Jesuit institution of higher learning just in its capacity to objectify the human condition and to contribute to our becoming more fully human. Philosophy helps to cultivate responsible citizenship by promoting thoughtful reflection on contemporary cultural and intellectual currents, by critically assessing the posturing of demagogues, and by identifying unfounded assertions and foolish opinions with an aim to replace them through reasoned argumentation.
Faith, reason, justice, and philosophical examination
As in earlier times, an Ignatian liberal arts education today continues to look to philosophy for the promotion of these skills and values recognizing its crucial responsibility to distinguish an Ignatian education by pursuing what matters. In this connection, philosophy ideally is both cultural and counter-cultural just in its principal capacity to raise difficult questions about a societys mainstream values and cherished beliefs. The philosophical habit of measuring systems of belief against standards of justification, consistency, and principle can put one at odds with his/her own community, but it can equally inform the evaluative power of vision essential for responsible citizenship. This classical tradition of philosophy is inspired by the view that the truth will not lead away from God, but will help further illuminate our understanding of God and the world. This tradition, therefore, welcomes many voices and approaches to the table of rational discourse and embodies the principle that all truth is one that every genuine discovery and contribution, no matter its origin, furthers our understanding of the world and our place in it. While those working in this tradition recognize that human understanding often has weaknesses and limitations, they are nevertheless inspired by the principles that reason has sufficient power to know reality, that the universe is intelligible, and that there is an overall meaning and purpose in human life. The Catholic tradition also holds that faith and reason, while sometimes at serious odds, neverthel complement each other reason challenges faith to understand itself philosophically, while faith is an important feature of the human condition that pushes reason outwards toward the transcendent. This tradition values scholarly debate and intellectual exchange and promotes working together to find solutions to the serious problems facing humanity in the modern world fraught with ambiguities and challenging complexities. Philosophy is especially important now that attention is directed toward the Ignatian ideals of the service of faith and the promotion of justice.
Philosophy at Canisius College
Philosophical Beginnings