Brag-Spring2021

By Glen Argan
BA ’73
THE EVOLUTION OF A
revolutionary
Alumnus Glen Argan reflects how Campion shaped his
journey from the 1970s to his recent retirement.
I
arrived at Campion College in the fall of 1970, a first-year student who thought his
vocation was to be a revolutionary. I had given up on the Catholic Church, viewing it
as a vestige of the hierarchical past which would soon be swept away. I didn’t know
how pivotal Campion would soon become to my life.
In fact, I was a hyper-critical, aimless and ungrateful soul. My attitude changed
marginally the following summer when I took Philosophy 100. George Marshall’s
enthusiastic teaching style and his clear explanations of the philosophies of Plato,
Aristotle, Heidegger and Wittgenstein gave me lots to ponder.
Over the next two years, I became disillusioned with the
uncritical Marxism I picked up from my studies in the social
sciences. Philosophy ― especially the Campion courses I took
from George, Ken McGovern and Germain Grisez ― began to
open my mind, if not my heart.
While pursuing a master’s in philosophy, a course in St. Augustine
resonated with me. Studying the Confessions, the story of
Augustine’s conversion, I pondered the saint’s famous insight
that “Lord, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are
restless, and they cannot find rest until they rest in you.”
My heart was restless. I believed in some form of transcendence
and I wondered how my soul might find rest.
Spring 2021 І Page 32
Photo: Nora Argan