When junior Patrick Waddell’s brother entered the seminary, Patrick was a junior in high school, and he was able to get his first introduction to being around young priests and seminarians. As Patrick was attending his first year of college at Franciscan University, he too began discerning the priesthood, and realized the Lord was calling him to enter the seminary.
This brought him to Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary and Saint Mary’s philosophy program.
“I really enjoy the history sequence of philosophy,” he said. “Many universities today will stick with modern philosophy, but there are many problems with going with modern or postmodern philosophy. Here, there’s a deep dive into the basis of philosophy.
“Also, the program doesn’t just tell you what to think, it leads you through the process of doing the philosophy yourself. There’s discussion in the classes, and you’re able to come to the knowledge through your own reading and your own questioning.”
Waddell says philosophy is the groundwork for thinking. He believes all students would benefit from the courses. “Everyone has a philosophy in life whether they are conscious of it or not. Often they are influenced by the mainstream philosophies out there, whether they know it or not. It also hones one’s reasoning skills. People don’t think or reason well; philosophy teaches one how to think or reason abstractly while also concretely and shows us that there’s a relationship between the two.”
