Principia College - Sheaf Yearbook (Elsah, IL)

Page 37 text:

To Thine Own Self. . . It seems to me that the question of honesty, as it is defined in this school, really boils down to an honesty with one's self. Without it I cannot see anything being achieved in any area. I believe it is the key to everything academic and non- academic. Without self-knowledge, without knowing who you are, what you are, and what is motivating youg you are not being completely honest. You are in no position to criticize your peers, the faculty, the administration, the staff, or the in- stitution until you move from the groundwork of knowing something about yourself. One of the greatest plusses of this institution is that we ex- ude and perhaps develop a positive attitude to- ward ourselves and what we are doing. I think many of us have trouble letting go of old ideas and even opening up ourselves to any in- spection. That means to some extent that while we may not be dishonest, we are not being en- tirely honest. And very often not being entirely honest with ourselves. I encounter this a great deal in this discussion group session on black history where people find sides of themselves they really do not want to talk about at all. Nev- ertheless, they need to. I would say if you are completely honest with yourself you have really gained heaven on earth. I mean by that a well-rounded sense of giving, being needed, of a value system that is in pro- portion about things, a great love for people, an honest love for people. I think the whole thing boils down to loving our- selves, yet admitting, at the same time, the gap between what we would like to be and what we ap- pear to be, and being willing to do something about it. --Charles Hosmer

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Science - Application to C.S.? Physics, as one of the original liberal arts, continues to play a vital role in the mental development of second cen- tury Christian Scientists. They need to recognize both the potential and the limitations of scientific thought, and be able to communicate with a world more and more influ- enced by the inventions of scientific endeavor. As each one grows in his understanding of modern science, he dis- covers that the knowledge he acquires is less important than the impressions he gains regarding his own abilities and the thought processes he develops. One valuable impression to be developed is the indivi- dual's own ability to control a small segment of his envir- onment with mathematical precision. He emerges from a sense of subjection to a sense of domination in human af- fairs. ln so doing, he discovers that scientific thought is not superhuman or supernatural, but rather the establish- ment of simple precept upon simple precept until an un- derstanding is gained. Another valuable impression is fostered by the study of physics. This is the recognition of a sense of order with- in our surroundings--an order which suggests that human problems are understandable and indeed solvable--a sug- gestion that comes even before the problems are fully understood. One special outgrowth of participation in scientific thought pertains to the way in which ideas unfold from es- tablished postulates. There are two valuable contributions to Christian Scientists which result from a study of physics as a system of thought. First, outward appearances do not point toward the most valuable postulates. For neither the poet's View of the Second, any theory that is merely self-con- sistent is insufficient to meet the standards of modern scientific thought. To be of gen- uine value a theory must be demonstrable in human affairs and through demonstration its validity as a science is established. --Thomas Holzberlein setting sun nor the laborer's View of perpetual resistance can point to a rotating earth on Newton's first law of mo- tion which must be at the starting gate of space age thought. W --.,,-hh...

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A COMPUTER is a very useful machine which anyone can operate. Ninety per- cent of the population is ignorant of computers, yet, computers regulate our lives. If Prin's IBM 1130 broke down--students with jobs would not be paid, the register would be unable to issue grade reports, the library would have a huge tangle in its records, and departments such as chemistry, physics, geology, and sociology would lose an invaluable teaching and research aid. The aim of the FOREIGN LANGUAGE DEPART- MENT is to provide the student with the oppor- ttmity of acquiring an intelligent appreciation and understanding of foreign peoples through the medium of their languages--to enable him to be- come better acquainted with their social, cul- tural, historical, and literary backgrounds.