God and the Good Life

In the second virtual event of the Good Life Method series, Ryan Cook, a recent Notre Dame graduate and former student and fellow in the God in the Good Life course, moderated a discussion between Meghan Sullivan and Paul Blaschko, both teaching professors in the Philosophy Department at Notre Dame and co-authors of the Good Life Method. The conversation aimed to address the relationship between religion and philosophy and how God plays a part in the good life.

Cook led the discussion, then took questions from the audience for Sullivan and Blaschko. Cook’s first question was about how philosophy plays a role in the religious person’s life. Sullivan answered that she and Blaschko try to make a point that philosophy has a place in our daily lives. Rather than philosophy being a separate “sport” than religion, philosophy can help explain the faith we seek in our everyday lives. Blaschko added that for him, philosophy helps find ways to defend his beliefs. Blaschko alluded to Thomas Aquinas’ five proofs for God’s existence. Blaschko said we can think as highly about faith as math and physics. The book explores philosophers who support and oppose this method of faith seeking.

Cook added that when one over intellectualizes their faith, it can become less personal. To him, faith is more than just hard evidence; there is a personal connection and experience that can’t always be explained easily. Diving deeper into this idea, Cook asked Blaschko and Sullivan to explain how they might reconcile Aquinas’ proofs while still maintaining a personal relationship with God. To answer this question, Sullivan referenced Stephen Colbert, who lost his brothers and his father in a plane crash. After the incident, many asked Colbert where God was in this incident. Colbert’s answer is that even through the tragedy, he is still innately grateful for his life. His experience in loss has also made him deeper in his faith.

Cook built off this story by asking Blaschko and Sullivan to speak about the idea of death. Blaschko and Sullivan explored the concept of death and how it relates to the good life in the final chapter of their book. Sullivan said that this section was the most difficult to write because it forced her to think about how she thinks of death in her own life. Sullivan said that Plato has a famous remark about death, that “philosophy is preparation for death.” Philosophy can help us prepare for the inevitable, but it can also help us understand why we might fear death. Blaschko says that thinking about death can help us understand what we love about our lives. However, if we lived forever, the life we do have would be less valuable. 

During the audience questions, one viewer asked how creation is related to the existence of God. Sullivan and Blaschko responded with how it is possible for us as individuals to have a hand in creating someone else and shaping their lives for the better. We can use creation as a way to get involved in someone’s life by learning about them, what they value, who they are, and what they believe in.