Natalie Wilson

President's GB Dinner Favor During the Great Books dinner at Presidents William's home, two GB 5 students spoke about what the main focus of their thesis is. I have been worried about the thesis that comes at the end of the proverbial tunnel ever since I found out about it. I had been told that I would have to write upwards of 40 pages and then defend it in front of many people. While I will still have to defend it, I learned that I have the option to do a project-based thesis that seems much more appealing to me. The two GB 5 students put my mind a little at ease through the explanation of their own thesis project. I am glad I attended this dinner and may perhaps be looking forward to the thesis, only a little.

Is All For The Best?  In the book Candide, the author, Voltaire,  portrays a story about a young naive boy and his journey where he is forced to discover the harshness of the world and that life is filled with many evils. The young naive boy, Candide, was brought up in a castle and was taught lessons by an oracle named Pangloss. Pangloss held and taught the philosophy that we live in the best of possible worlds, everything is necessarily for the best end, and everything that happens, no matter how bad it appears, is for the best. This philosophy seems apocryphal and unrealistic. However, from a Christian standpoint, the question arises that Pangloss’s beliefs may actually be true. Even though Pangloss’s philosophy has a questionable impression, it has the possibility to line up with the Christian view of God and the Bible.  When Voltaire is introducing the tutor Pangloss he says, “ Pangloss taught metaphysico-theologo-cosmolo-nigology. He proved admirably that the...