I spent over a decade enrolled as a univeristy student. Though it was by-and-large a valuable experience, it was the odd time that I truly applied myself. The following is not coming from a place of: “Do this because it’s what I did and it worked for me”. But more from a place of: “I wish someone would have said this to me early on and that I have had the gumption to follow it”.

These are my top 5 reasons why you should take advantage of this study week (and for the rest of your university career) to … well … study.

Don’t waste your money

As a student at DUC, your tuition is more affordable than any other university in Ontario. But you’re still spending thousands of dollars. By doing the assigned readings and investing yourself in your studies, you’re getting your money’s worth. Make the $ you spend count.

Don’t waste your time

From the world of business we learn that the opportunity cost of an activity (i.e. going to university) is the next best alternative use of the resource. The time you spend enrolled in a program could have been put toward any number of Great Things. You chose to devote yourself to a university studies. The value you’re placing on education is evidently quite high: Great! Now it's time to make it count.

It’s time well spent

What happens as you go through the process, as you start to understand better what you’re reading and put your thoughts in order, is that you walk away with some very marketable skills. The skills gained from training in philosophy or theology are unique and sought after. Don’t underestimate the value of applying yourself to your education. It can pay off in life and in work.

You want to

As we hear in the first sentence of Aristotle’s Metaphysics,  “All men by nature desire to know.” When the papers are piling up and the winter seems to be endless drudgery, it’s hard to remember that you actually enjoy it. The spirit thirsts; and somewhere, buried in those 40 word-long sentences from Kant, or under some unending list of objections and replies to objections from Aquinas, we find that nugger which we are looking for. The line that makes the light go on and the soul say “Ahhh!”. It sometimes seems a twisted form of self-punishment. But if you’re persistent, somewhere in the slugfest is knowledge that will satisfy. 

We need you to

People become firefighters and paramedics because they care about saving lives. People become priests and evangelists because they want to save souls.

Why bother with the study of philosophy or theology?

Applying yourself to what the scholastics called “the Highest Sciences” gives you:

Training and formation to be able to delve into the big questions.

A framework to help others think through those questions.

And the ability to build community and society based on sounder principles.

Why study philosophy or theology?

We need you to.

It’s not just about you and a quest for your own enlightenment or a paycheck, we all benefit from you digging deep, barring down and understanding better. You gain prudence and wisdom. Whereever life takes you, you'll be able to shed light on how we can live better together.