As a Greek society, Phi Beta Delta reminds us that Greek thought has been enormously important to civilization, and that the rather mechanistic schemes of these days would have struck the Greeks as misjudgment or an over emphasis. The Greek philosophers spoke at length about such now little considered ideas as soul and virtue. The Greeks asked themselves some very basic questions about life, and what they talked about is still relevant.
So, since Phi Beta Delta is indeed a Greek society, we should reflect on what the Greek contribution to civilization was and is, and how their discussions of happiness and justice still have validity. A recent thinker who has made great use of the Greek tradition is Leo Strauss, whose work on human nature and human aspirations is well worth reading. A lecture on his work would be worth sponsoring.
The unconsidered life is not a life well lived. A Greek society like ours has a duty to sponsoring programs and events, which cause people to think. In a world where there is so much static, 400 channels on the TV and endless chores to be done, that is a much easier task to talk about than to deliver on. Still, our chapters should be places where there is intellectual life, where events that give the campus a chance to ponder the big issues of internationalism are put on the table. In that respect, we modern Greeks can emulate the ancient Greeks. Perhaps we are all in such a hurry to go somewhere we haven't asked enough just where we are going.
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