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LOST PIECE
an undergraduate journal of letters

VOLUME I, ISSUE III

Worth All The While
 LOST PIECE: Issue III
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© Copyright, Lost Piece; All rights reserved.

No part of this journal may be used or reproduced by any means,

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in this journal are printed with explicit permission of their authors.

Lost Piece: An Undergraduate Journal of Letters

The University of Notre Dame
Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

 an undergraduate journal of letters
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LOST PIECE
an undergraduate journal of letters

VOLUME I, ISSUE III

Worth All The While

Stephen Lechner
Editor in Chief

Raymond Korson
Supporting Editor

Josef Kuhn
Conor Rogers
Editors
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Table of Contents
Lost Piece: Issue III

Something of a Mission Statement

From the Editors ....................................................................................5

Meet the Writers

Lost Piece................................................................................................6

The Virtue of Values and the Value of Virtues

Raymond Korson....................................................................................8

Virtue for the Postmodern Child

Beter Hlabse............................................................................................17

Transports of the Forgone Man

Josef Kuhn...............................................................................................22

Leaning not Learning

Nicholas Brandt......................................................................................22

On Notre Dame Student Values: What Comes First

Stephen Lechner......................................................................................24

Rev. William Corby, C.S.C.: Father of Respect

John Kelley..............................................................................................30

The 21st Century Gunslinger

Raymond LeGrand.................................................................................38

To the Immaculate Conception

Patrick Johnson.......................................................................................43

Virtue, Community, and Education

Samuel Cloghessy....................................................................................44
Cards for Mother’s Day
Scott Posteuca..........................................................................................51

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Something of a Mission Statement

From the Editors

Lost Piece exists to facilitate undergraduate reading, discussion,

and writing of an intellectual nature beyond course curriculum
and without distraction from the grade point average.

Lost Piece seeks to help undergraduates to complement

and even unify what they learn in their classes with
their own personally driven intellectual pursuits.

The goal of Lost Piece is to combat mediocrity in all

things, and particularly in all things intellectual.

Lost Piece holds that the goods proper to intellec-

tual activity are ends in and of themselves and are to
be sought regardless of whatever recognitions may or
may not be extrinsically attached to such activity.

5
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Meet the Writers
These groups have contributed
to the writing of the Fall 2010
Edition of Lost Piece. We
encourage you, as an undergrad-
uate, to contribute your writing
to future editions whether indi-
vidually or as part of any such
intellectual society. You can
send your writing and feedback
to the editor at slechner@nd.edu.
D holding profound conversa-
6
The Program of
Liberal Studies:
So it turns out that PLS
students don’t only like to talk
about such trivial things as
“free will” or “the meaning of
life” as approached through
the lens of certain Great
Books, but they also like,
even need, to engage ideas
wherever they can find them.
That’s why a few of them got
together to watch movies every
week, first as a social event
and later more as a discussion
group. They like to think they
are staying true to the spirit
of the word “seminar” (which
literally means “seedbed”) by
tions on their own from which
they hope to bear the fruits of
new ideas, serious dialogue,
and lasting friendships.
Istum:
(Also called That Thing) Three
years ago, a group of friends
decided to get together every
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weekend to start a literary
society. Its members include
students from the Colleges of
Arts and Letters, Science, and
Engineering, but strangely
none from the college of
Business. They write, simply
put, despite the obvious fact
that they are only tyro writ-
ers, and they criticize each
other’s writing as best they
can. One of their goals is to
bring back the essay (which
literally means “an attempt”)
as a form of writing and as
a rhetorical work of art. The
group takes its name from
one of Cicero’s orations.
The Philosophy Club:
The Philosophy Club is
a group of a few dozen
undergraduates who enjoy
arguing, using big words,
attempting to answer “life’s
great questions,” asking more
questions, and arguing.
7
T:
T is a group of undergradu-
ates who meet together to
discuss issues of importance,
ranging from theology to
philosophy to current issues
in any and all fields. It is a
casually structured, socially
engaging event that welcomes
the opportunity to find both
common ground and a mul-
titude of opinions on topics.
And they drink tea, too.
The Orestes Brownson Council:
As a club, OBC is focused
on better understanding
the Catholic intellectual
tradition and its interaction
with philosophy, politics,
and culture. It takes its
name from the American
Catholic political thinker
who is buried in the crypt
of the Basilica of the Sacred
Heart, Orestes Brownson.
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The Virtue of Values and
the Value of Virtues
An Introduction
Ray Korson
Class of 2011
Supporting Editor
Despite a nagging hesitation
to indulge an inclination to
make a bold, all-encompassing
statement on the world and
on human nature in general,
I will persist for the sake of
argument in this introduction.
For perhaps there is no better
way to initiate a conversation
than by making such a broad
and accessible assertion as this:
everyone values something.
I find it highly unlikely that
any individual could confess, in
all honesty, that he could find
nothing of value in this world,
not even himself. Even the
suicidal man, insofar as he acts
rationally, exhibits a genuine
sense of personal value by the
very fact that he is willing to
destroy himself for the sake of
freeing himself from a life that
is supposedly devoid of any
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value. The essential paradox is
that the suicidal man values
his life enough to end it.
I acknowledge that suicide is
a delicate and complicated issue
and it varies greatly on a case-
by-case basis. Therefore, I wish
to limit the example to a par-
ticular type: the type of suicide
in which one decides to kill
himself as the result of rational
deliberation. Though one may
think that this suicidal man
disproves the claim that “every-
one values something,” I argue
that there is a paradox in this
instance because the suicidal
person cares enough about the
state of his existence to do some-
thing about it. What I would
like to distinguish is the manner
by which he chose to preserve
the value of his own life.
When I make the claim
that everyone values something,
I say it with the confidence
of our shared experience, our
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mutual existence. Whether or
not we acknowledge it, life itself
contains the gravity of purpose,
and though we may be unable
to articulate that purpose, we
still believe we have it because
we have that innate sense of
value. Life, therefore, may
be described as an odyssey in
search of that purpose or in
fulfilment of our values. An
important notion to keep in
mind is the way in which we
attain those values. It has been
argued that this way is the life
of virtue whereas vice is the
obstruction of this same way. A
life of virtue essentially ensures
that these values and the
pursuit of them are rightfully
ordered and properly obtained.
With this in mind, our
attention may return to the
paradox of the suicidal man
who ends his life in order to
save it. If the man did not value
his life at all, he would not even
care enough about his life to
end it. Therefore, the suicidal
9
man reveals the consciousness
of his personal value. It is clear,
however that the suicidal man
was wrong in the manner by
which he chose to respect this
value because continuing to live
would have spoke of a greater
reverence or understanding
of his personal value.
What if the suicidal man em-
braced the virtues of humility,
patience, love, or hope rather
than wallowing in the vices of
hopelessness, self-loathing, and
despair? Though purely conjec-
tural, one may assume that he
would have found the strength
to persevere despite the despera-
tion of his circumstances.
In short, though values are
invaluable, it is not enough
simply to have them because
they are only natural. There
is value not only in values
themselves but also in the
way in which those values are
sought. There is value in virtue
(as opposed to vice) as a life
of virtue may be required for
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the proper discernment and if they are as sad as those of

appropriation of such values. Raymond’s Gunslinger. They
Yes, everyone values some- vary from person to person,
thing. But what is it that you but I would argue that their
value, and how will you go acquirement is all grounded in a
about achieving them? If you life of virtue. But don’t take my
are finding it hard to answer, word for it. I leave this intro-
start reading. Perhaps you will duction to the delight of your
delight in Pete’s reflections own ruminations. Allow it to
on the life of virtue in the serve as a rudimentary precursor
postmodern era. Stephen’s to the following collection of
essay challenging the values poems, essays, and papers that
and ethical convictions of the effectively expand upon this
Notre Dame community may brief meditation. Or, if you’d
provoke you. To satisfy your rather, let’s have a conversation.
poetic muse, look to Patrick’s V
poem praising a model of true
virtue. And for your intellectual
palette, consider reading Sam’s
paper on the philosophy of
virtue by Alasdair Macintyre
and what this means for uni-
versity students here and now.
If, by chance, none of these
works tickle your fancy, take
a moment to think about your
own set of values and a method
by which to obtain them.
Everyone has values, even

10
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Virtue for the ‘Postmodern Child’
An Essay
Peter Hlabse
Class of 2011
Istum
My evening out off campus,
attending a tri-annual religious
discernment group was coming
to a close when I asked Fr. Pat
when our next meeting would
be taking place. This would
be the date the discernment
group would be next scheduled
to meet and discuss everything
from religious vocations to
perhaps why the Notre Dame
football team might need to
implement a ‘Cover-2’ defensive
scheme in the upcoming foot-
ball season. He responded and
gave a specific date and time
– and I knew that if I failed to
take some kind of formal note
of it in order for me to remem-
ber it, I would surely forget it
by the time I walked into my
dorm room. That said, I pulled
out my trusty ‘iPod Touch’ (as
any college student that has a
Mac probably has), opened the
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‘Calendar’ application, scrolled
to the date that Fr. Pat had
scheduled, and began to enter
this event into my iPod Touch.
I understood this as a perfectly
normal sequence of events (as
I’m sure most undergraduates in
college would) – this ‘Calendar’
application, after all, is my
equivalent of a ‘real’ datebook
or whatever traditional method
some may be so used to see-
ing, expecting, and using. Fr.
Pat, upon seeing my digital
prowess, interjected somewhat
sarcastically, and said, ‘Pete, you
Postmodern child!’ Surely, Fr.
Pat did not intend his observa-
tion to be taken as an attack on
a person’s character or the like
(and I did not take it as an at-
tack in the least!), but the simple
fact that he was motivated to
respond to such an ordinary
habit is worth thinking about
– albeit perhaps, for a moment.
You very well may have heard
someone comment at some
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point that, as subjects of the
electronically and efficiency
driven culture are so prevalent
in the twenty-first century,
people (especially young people)
have lost the art and thus, the
fruits that activities such as
participating in solitude and
actual/physical/‘face to face’
personal interaction offer. For
us Catholic-Christians in
the audience, we have prob-
ably heard more than a couple
homilies touching on how God
can be found in the silence.
This is undoubtedly true,
but it can’t be the only place
people can be so moved in a
direction that is more virtuous
and fruitful than another.
Perhaps these same people
have offered the opinion that
in the wake of this isolating
culture in which emailing,
texting, Facebook, twitter,
and blogging have become the
predominant forms of com-
munication and ‘interaction’,
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people have become less enabled
to practice ‘virtuous’ acts. I
suppose one could even say that
these electronic ‘habits’ have
hindered our ability to ‘practice’
virtue on a concretely personal
level (this notion of ‘practice’,
for those who have not had
foundations in philosophy, or
for those who have forgotten, or
for those that need to be con-
stantly reminded – like myself,
was an idea first proposed by
the Greek philosophers).
Certainly these observations
should be taken seriously (and I
do assent to their validity to an
extent), but I would like to offer
another perspective, in which
both those pre-‘postmodern’
individuals and us ‘postmodern’
children can simply, explic-
itly, and successfully practice
and propagate ‘virtue’.
I would like to re-
visit the first sentence of
the second paragraph.
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“You very well may have heard someone comment that, as

subjects of the electronically and efficiency driven culture so
prevalent in the twenty-first century, people (especially young
people) have lost out on the art and fruits that silence and
actual/physical/‘ face to face’ personal interaction offer.”

Perhaps this sentence offers points is crucial in discovering

an insight into this perceived
dilemma of a culture conflicting
with a ‘postmodern child’s’
ability to practice virtue. I
would like to pose a few ques-
tions (the answers to which I
will not claim to have – nor will
I really try to gain ground on in
this essay) : What’s the difference
between my being a ‘subject’ and
my being a ‘participant’? Am
I one or the other – am I both?
How are my actions shaped by the
culture I am in and a part of?
While I will not claim that
I can prove whether we are not
one and indeed are the other, I
believe an examination of the
difference of these two vantage
a conducive way by which one
does not approach a culture
strictly as a ‘subject’ of it, rather
than an active ‘participant’
within it – and who’s actions
both are shaped and shape the
fellow members of the culture.
First, let’s set the record
straight on what exactly we
mean by virtue (at least in
this essay). Virtue in this
case should be understood
as a characteristic of one’s
habits – a disposition gained
primarily through fundamental
personal interaction with other
people. That is to say, virtue is
a positive characteristic of the
way we act. In Latin, one may

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be familiar with this notion turn to one of Notre Dame’s

of ‘ habitus’ – that is, virtue finest, Ralph McInerny (1929-
embodies a definite ability for 2010) for a clearer explanation
growth through activity. I’ll than anything I could offer.

“Thomas [Aquinas], guided by Aristotle, considers such habitual

dispositions - virtues and vices - as the sources of the actions we
perform. A human life is a history, and we dispose ourselves, by
the acts we perform, to do similar deeds in the future. Such a stable
disposition to act well or badly is what Thomas means, respectively,
by virtue and vice. There is, for better or worse, a predictability in
our lives, a stability of choice, an ingrained disposition to act in one
way rather than another. We are disposed, because of the actions
we have already performed, to perform similar actions in the
future. This is what is meant by habit: a disposition to perform
acts of a certain kind. “A virtue is quality of mind thanks to which
we live rightly, which can never be used badly.”  This is, in part,
Augustine’s definition of virtue, and it is with it that Thomas
begins his discussion of the subject in the Summa Theologiae.”1

The ways, or mediums in which
human interactions take place
are subject to change. There has
been (and still is) a face-to-face
interaction. There was and still
is the idea of writing a letter.
There was and still is the notion
of calling someone on the ‘tele-
phone’. But at some point, with
the rise of the internet and social
networking, emailing, texting,
‘Facebooking’, ‘tweeting’, and

14
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blogging all became prevalent.
The way in which we interact,
and thus act, has changed.
That said, what is crucial is
that we aren’t subject to change.
Human beings are not subject
to fundamental change. Our
social nature disallows for a cul-
ture as a whole to be completely
isolated from its constituents.
In this way, let’s not view
ourselves as ‘subjects’ of an age
that stifles every opportunity to
be virtuous simply because the
way in which we interact with
each other is not done in an
explicitly personal arena. We are
not simply ‘subjects’ of a culture
– we are ‘participants’ (and are
called to be active participants)
– and it is our responsibility
(check that, it is our privilege)
to employ the means (be it
electronic or not) to practice
and moreover, get in the habit
of being college students that
take the lead on creating a
virtue-woven cultural setting.
That cell phone you just
15
texted about getting din-
ner? – its rightful owner is a
person. That Facebook wall
you just wrote on/status you just
set? – the Facebook users that
see it, read it, and react to it –
those are persons. In the end,
no matter what ‘postmodern’
method you may use (frequently
or infrequently), it is going to
affect a person. In this, there
has been no change between
human relations and personal
connections that allow for the
practice of virtue. I would offer
that we are gifted in this ‘post-
modern’ age a golden opportu-
nity to utilize new and exciting
methods as means to practice
and propagate acts of prudence,
temperance, fortitude, and jus-
tice. Perhaps even when we get
quite good at it, we might even
be so fortunate as to practice a
bit of faith, hope, and charity.
As a good friend of mine
named Michael once said to
his acquaintance Ryan, “People,
Ryan…people will never go out
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of business”. So long as people all Christians), let’s turn to the

never go out of business, neither
will virtue. It’s just up to us,
the people, to discern the way
in which their habits, elec-
tronic or not, can carry virtuous
weight. Again, for us Catholic-
Christians in the audience (and
really, this message applies to
Pope (generally a helpful person
to turn to in times of question-
ing). Pope Benedict XVI,
in preparation for his Word
Communications Day on May
16, 2010 titled ‘New Media at
the Service of the World’ said,

“Thanks to the new communications media, the Lord can walk

the streets of our cities and, stopping before the threshold of our
homes and our hearts, say once more: “Behold, I stand at the
door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,
I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.”

With that said, I find it practice to grasp and buy into

only appropriate that on Notre
Dame’s campus, where the
motto ‘Play Like A Champion
Today’ is so often heard – that I
commend us post-modern chil-
dren to embrace this notion of
excellence. Certainly, if we can
grasp and buy into the notion
to ‘Play Like A Champion
Today’, we can certainly
the notion to ‘Text/Facebook/
Email/Tweet/Blog Like A
[Virtuous] Champion Today’.
V
1 Ralph McInerny, Ethica
Thomistica: The Moral
Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas
(The Catholic University of
America Press, Washington,
D.C., 1982) Ch. 6 : Character
and Decisions (see pgs. 91-92)

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Transports of the Foregone Man
A Story
Josef Kuhn
Class of 2011
Program of Liberal Studies
There goes the genius,
hair like a storm cloud and
eyebrows arched, irises flashing
lightning. Leaving the door
behind him, he enters gray
cobblestone streets, sheened
with rain—mazes of horses
and carriages, and people who
never go out without hats.
He has been troubled of late,
disturbed; he senses that his life
has been growing more distant,
fragmentary, cracked like the
irregular mosaics of the streets
he walks. He has been trying
to listen to God through a tin
can attached to a string. An apt
metaphor, he thinks grimly,
for his eardrums are becoming
muffled, dull like wet cotton.
A carriage flashes by, the
mares darkly intent on their
destination, and the wheel
splashes water from a puddle
onto his leg, jolting him out of
his ruminations. He could not
17
hear it coming from behind;
this only darkens his mood. He
thinks back to that morning,
when the lady of the house
sweetly flashed her eyes at
him, her brown curls dangling
softly and her lips moving, but
without anything that could
be called a sound penetrating
his ears. The passages into the
stronghold are all blocked, and
his head is now under siege,
a siege that will be long and
arduous. The stormclouds roll
in; the dusk continues to gather.
He still has the memory of
music—glorious cantatas and
oratorios continually stretch
their limbs, unfolding and
awaking in his mind. But try
as he might, he cannot stop
the memories from acquiring
a troubling musky odor, the
dullness of old silver. He has
been writing, writing now more
than ever, in a furious attempt
to ward off the twilight of the
sense. Yet still the onslaught
progresses, ominously, eternally.
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He is at the music-hall now.
His orchestra is inside, and he
knows that in several hours,
masses will be thronging here,
for him, to hear his newest
masterpiece. He clutches the
rolled score under his jacket,
protecting it from the rain. It
contains his final touches, the
pencil-stroke finishes to his
great symphony. And he knows
in his heart that it is great, even
though he will never hear it.
Inside, the hall is empty but
the stage is full. The maestro
mounts his podium, spreads
out his plans, and calls his
troops to order. A twinge of
loss pierces his rib cage as he
watches their movements and
remembers the shuffle of sheets,
the scrape of chairs, the tiny
ticks of instruments that he
cannot hear anymore. He issues
his last-minute instructions,
and pencils scrape mutely across
paper, writing little Italian notes
and adding one more cursive
18
f to the fortissimo of the final
fermata. He closes his eyes.
How much better to have been
blind. He would trade his eyes,
the overestimated organ of the
populace, for just a touch of
the sense that invades the skull
and permeates the soul—the
sense that allows one to feel.
For he feels nothing as
the adoring crowd shuffles
in and takes their places in
the auditorium. He scorns
their gazes, turns his back to
them. Why worship as a god
someone who cannot hear,
cannot receive? Someone less
than a man; someone who can
now only give. The masses
have no sense, he thinks. Nor
could he feel anything when
his lady, the one who gave him
a room and a home, touched
his hand in the kitchen that
morning, looking into his eyes
and silently mouthing, “Good
luck.” He knows that it is now
too late for him to love her;
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he can only offer his whole
self up to her, laying his sheet
of notations on her altar.
The exalted man raises his
wand, and the music starts.
He grips a white sceptre of
tremendous power, and only
he knows how to wield it; a
flick of the wrist here, a twirl
and eddy there. Sometimes he
brings it down with an ethereal
lightness, sometimes with a
thunderous force. He knows
that his orchestra, men and
women in communion with
him in pursuit of the ineffable,
are following his will with
the minutest perfection. They
are his appendages; he is their
authority. But still he cannot
hear a horn, a flute, a single
violin string as he makes his
arms rise and fall. He is lost in
an endless space of silence, an
infinite and timeless void. On
the ship bound through seas of
cloud, he is alone at the helm;
his crew is all down below.
He must recall the sound. He
19
surveys his subjects, his many
arms furiously drawing bows
across strings, his many mouths
exhuming their souls through
pipes of gold. They must go yet
higher, and farther. He works
his arms desperately, feverishly,
waving his thunderstick, beat-
ing the air. His blood is begin-
ning to boil; it rises into his
eyes. His vision begins to fall
away in swirls of black, violet,
and yellow. He doesn’t need
it, anyway. He is the shaman,
leading his tribe into ecstasy for
rain, and he would jump up and
down on the podium if his feet
weren’t bound to the earth by
a leaden weight. The silence is
his burden. But he moves faster,
harder, with more and more
rage. They must go yet higher,
and farther yet! Straining, he is
straining for that monument,
the mountain of stone than
man may set down where he
can claim, “Here, right here,
I stuffed chairs and pendants
and daggers and rags into a
 LOST PIECE: Issue III
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barrel, shoved them out to sea,

and then disburdened I leapt,
my feet left the ground, and
I went on up to the sun.”
So straining against dead-
locked ears and a walled-in
head, strains of a sound divine
begin to reach the foregone
man, first as if from afar, then
from closer. They were singing,
“All men then will become
brothers.” And for that instant,
he knew that they had made
it, that he, they had broken
through, and love came flooding
back to him. Finally, exhausted,
he dropped his arms, turned
around, and was amazed to
see a sea of standing people,
their hands creating ripples. A
small, gentle sound, like the
pattering of rain on a window
Monday morning, reached him.
V

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Leaning, Not Learning

A Poem
Nick Brandt
Class of 2011
T
He was ten feet tall and covered in gray,
With foresight golden as the day.
He walked up to me and tapped my head,
This is no world for saints, he said.

Sprinkler systems on starch green lawns,

Meet their doom in early frost.
In that same way we were the walking dead,
This is no world for saints, he said.

Downloading pixels ripe with sex,

Anticipating pleasures and pleasures ahead.
So also with a blast of cannon lead,
This is no world for saints, he said.

He was ten feet tall and covered in gray,

And wouldn’t you know it, he asked me to stay.
I would be player in his stead,
This is no world for saints, he said.

And then there rang a cacophonous boom

That shook the walls and lifted the room,
The dirt from below then showed its face
And revealed the worms of horrid disgrace.

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The foundation upon which they lived their lies,

Twisted their skins, insulting their bodies,
It force fed stale air when they crawled back to bed,
This is no world for saints, he said.

He was ten feet tall and covered in gray,

And only he knew what resulted on that fateful day,
When the whole world vomited what it had been fed,
This is no world for saints, it said.

“You see, my son” he said to me,

“The earth’s been leaning all this time,
And it just took a few years,
For the people to lean, too.”

Around and around on an axis we turn,

Seeking the hopes we hope we yearn.
And now the hopes have gone astray,
He was ten feet tall and covered in gray.

We lean, we hope, we know we want,

To make a sound in a cacophonic room,
But the sound we make is the sound of dread,
This is no world for saints, he said.
V

23
 LOST PIECE: Issue III
S X
On Notre Dame Student Values:
What Comes First?
An Essay
Stephen Lechner
Class of 2011
Istum
While conversing with many
of my fellow students here at
our Notre Dame I have often
noted a very noble quality
among my peers, and that is
that the vast majority of Notre
Dame students seem bent upon
saving the world from its great-
est threat of undoing. At first, I
thought this a highly admirable
trait, and it brought me to enjoy
a certain pride in my Alma
Mater. Soon enough, however,
I found this enjoyment to have a
somewhat shallower foundation
than I had hoped. I began to
think if a school is annually
producing two thousand well
formed individuals who are
truly bent upon saving the
world from its greatest threat
of undoing then that world
should not now be so undone
as the one we currently inhabit.
24
The tragic idea then came to
me that perhaps all of these
world saviors are not efficient
enough in their noble aspira-
tions to make any substantial
difference. Perhaps they are
in fact saving the world from
what is not its greatest and most
underlying threat of undoing,
but from what is at best one
or more of its lesser threats.
We should first investigate
the nature of these global-scale
threats that Notre Dame
students are most intent upon
battling. Their list is extensive
and variant. World hunger
seems to be the most com-
monly mentioned problem,
although intolerance of one
form or another is a competitive
second. In recent months,
global warming has been a key
target of many eager friends
and I might add animal cruelty
as another high flier. Tobacco
users often receive evil looks
 an undergraduate journal of letters
S X
as they try to find solace in the
warmth of the good leaf, which
I find humorous considering the
vast seas of Natural Light that
are guzzled down without so
much as a brow raise. I doubt I
can really do justice to a list of
evils that our friends here are
all focused on eradicating, but
perhaps mention is due to those
of cancer, abortion, drug addic-
tion, orphaned children, heart
disease, homelessness, over-
population, underpopulation,
AIDS, words that begin with
the letter “R”, etc, etc, etc…
Now the fact that most
members of our student body
are each determined to stop
evil and establish good makes
me very happy, so long as what
we are stopping really is evil
and what we are establishing
really is good. In fact many of
the things I have listed are real
evils and some real measure
ought to be taken in reforming
them; however, it seems to me
that if these sorts of evils are
25
all that we are fighting then
we are missing the mark and
missing it wide. These things
that I have mentioned are, for
the most part, the causes of
hardship in life. Hardship, I
agree, is always unpleasant and
in some cases should be avoided
even at great cost, but hardship
as such is not what we should
be most worried about. It is
very possible for people who live
under the burden of excruciat-
ing hardships to live happy lives
and lives of purpose. However,
a quick look at our society
today1—a society that is con-
fronted with comparatively little
hardship relative to the whole of
human history—demonstrates
that great numbers of people
1 This is, of course, assuming that
there is such a thing as “our
society.” And there are several
reasons to suppose that there
isn’t such a thing… I can think
of at least two. But hopefully
there remains enough meaning
in the words to continue the
argument.
 LOST PIECE: Issue III
S X
are not living happy lives, and
definitely not lives of purpose—
at least not of purpose worthy
enough to live satisfying lives,
lives at which they can look
back on from their deathbeds
and smile more or less uncon-
ditionally. If it is possible to
live happy lives and lives of
purpose even while enduring
excruciating hardships, then by
battling these hardships, are
we really fighting the greatest
threat of the world’s undoing?
Now I don’t claim to know
in any brilliant depth what the
problems of the world really are,
let alone how to solve them, but
I fancy that I can do a little bet-
ter than what we have thus far if
I break the matter down to two
words: purpose and ethics. I
propose that people are unhappy
first and foremost not because
they lack material wellbeing
enough to reach the peculiarly
high standards of living that
we Domers tend to enjoy, but
rather because they lack purpose
26
and direction in life. Without
purpose, human beings cannot
live happy lives because without
purpose all of man’s actions—
including that of existing—are
futile, floating in an abyss of
madness. Only an animal can
live under such circumstances,
not a rational animal.2
But we cannot coherently
speak of human purpose with-
out speaking, at least in some
way, of ethics. The inability of
a society to establish an ethical
system for human beings dem-
onstrates the inability of that
2 You may disagree with me
on this last point. If you do,
then you are a very interesting
kind of person, the kind of
person who Fyodor Dostoevsky
investigates in his Notes
from Underground and other
works. But know that if you
really are willing to say that
man can live happily under
such circumstances, you had
better be prepared to be called
a madman by many people.
There are prices to pay for being
an interesting person.
 an undergraduate journal of letters
S X
society to identify a purpose for
human beings. If you find this
statement hard, simply consider
the main question of ethics:
“how should I live my life?” A
question of purpose presupposes
this: “why should I live my life?”
All that ethics is, then, is the
way someone acts in order to
achieve their purpose—it is to
ask “how should I live” in order
to achieve their “why I should
live.” Unless a person is capable
of answering to some extent the
second question, “why I should
live”, he or she is likely incapable
of answering the first question,
“how I should live,” because the
“why” question presupposes and
necessarily leads to the “how”
question. Therefore, any person’s
inability to answer the question
of “how” suggests that they
are similarly unable to answer
the question of “why”.  And if
this is true for the individual
person, how much more is it
so for a society of persons?
Thus, if a society is entirely
27
without ethics and, as follows,
entirely without purpose it is
likely to promote an environ-
ment that is hostile towards
happiness—one might call it a
society entirely without peace.
We should note here that
our society is not entirely
without ethics and not entirely
without an understanding of
purpose and so there is hope
for some kind of happiness
in our society. However, our
social understanding of ethics
is sadly limited (and I know not
how I can use a more emphatic
word). This demonstrates that
our social understanding of
human purpose is sadly limited
as well. What little we have of
an ethical understanding in our
society does not go substantially
beyond the condemnation of
rape, murder, and in some cases
theft, and our political leaders
are too often uninterested in
avoiding even these last no-no’s
in their practical lives. What
this should demonstrate is
 LOST PIECE: Issue III
S X
that the happiness of our
society, while not entirely
absent, is sadly limited.
If what I have said thus far
is true, then if we are really
serious about combating the
most underlying of the world’s
problems we must help to
instill within our culture a
strong sense of purpose and to
establish that purpose clearly
within an ethical system. This
presupposes, of course, that we
know and can identify what the
purpose of the human being is
as well as how one should act in
order to achieve that purpose.
Humanly speaking, this
may very well be a ridiculous
presupposition; however, the
truly optimistic student might
now breathe a sigh of relief to
consider that our university
annually graduates somewhere
over sixteen hundred people
who should be convinced that
they actually can identify
man’s purpose and his means
of achieving that purpose and
28
even that they can do so in
a universal way: Catholics.
Where the Notre Dame stu-
dent reader ends up now, that is
if he is serious about saving the
world from its greatest threat of
undoing and if what I have said
in the last few hundred words
is true, is in one of two possible
scenarios. In the first scenario,
the student may not surely
know what the purpose of the
human being is or through what
ethical system such a purpose
is possible to achieve. What
this student must do if he or
she means to substantially help
the world is to search for solid
answers to these questions.
In the second scenario, the
student may be convinced, as
the Catholic is supposed to
be, that he knows the answers
to these questions. While
constantly seeking to gain a
more complete grasp of these
answers, what this student must
do is to vigorously try to achieve
his purpose and to help as many
 an undergraduate journal of letters
S X
people as he can to achieve it in
their own lives. If students act
thus, according to whichever
situation they find themselves
in, they will be assisting human
beings in achieving their pur-
poses and in living happy lives.
Perhaps as a way of filling in
the gaps, one might ask what
to do then with the problems
mentioned earlier—those real
evils which students have
already been addressing and
should continue to address. But
if this first problem of lack of
purpose and ethics is properly
and substantially addressed,
as I believe it is our duty as
Christians, as citizens, and as
future alumni of Notre Dame
to do so, I am convinced that
several of the other large
problems will disappear. Those
that do not disappear will be
much easier to cope with and
may also be easier to combat.
Perhaps Kevin Healy, a fellow
Domer and a good friend of
mine who recently died of
29
cancer, can demonstrate this to
us. He was better able to bear
his pain as a result of his fervent
Catholic faith which inspired
his life as well as his death with
purpose and meaning. In his
case, he was even able to take
his suffering—an example of
the very hardship that students
would like to vanish—and
transform it into an occasion for
his achieving for himself and for
others what it was that he was
convinced was the purpose of
every human being. His under-
standing of his natural purpose,
realized within his ethical
system, enabled him to convert
his cross into a treasure—a trea-
sure that no one and no thing
can take away from him now.
V
 LOST PIECE: Issue III
S X
Rev. William Corby, C.S.C.:
Father of Respect
A Research Paper
John Kelley
Class of 2011
History
Father William Corby served
the Irish Brigade of the Union
Army during the American
Civil War with devotion that
became legendary. In Memoirs
of Chaplain Life: Three Years with
the Irish Brigade in the Army
of the Potomac, his depictions
of everyday life in the Irish
Brigade and of the battles in
which the brigade fought are
fascinating and give an honest
account of what life was like for
the Irish Catholic soldiers of
the Irish Brigade. In addition
to being Irish, Catholicism was
a separating factor between the
Irish Brigade and the rest of the
Union Army. Fr. Corby person-
ally came to terms with being
Irish-American and Catholic in
a primarily Protestant society
by reflecting on the historical
30
feats of Irish-Americans and
Catholics in his memoirs, as
well as in a physical sense by
keeping the open practice of
Catholicism in the lives of
soldiers of the Irish Brigade and
using the Civil War itself as an
impetus for interaction between
Irish-American Catholics and
Anglo-American Protestants.
Fr. Corby recognized that
anti-Catholic sentiments in
America were largely unfound-
ed. Corby wrote that “The Pope
loves the United States, as he
has frequently asserted, and he
has other occupations, besides
uprooting national institutions
within her borders.”2 Corby
knew that the Pope felt no
antipathy toward the United
States. The Pope dealt with
more pressing matters than
the politics of a comparatively
young country with little global
influence. The Pope had no
 an undergraduate journal of letters
S X

reason to assert his influence stronger allegiance to the Pope

over American politics, and
he therefore did not do so. By
stating that the Pope had better
things to do than manipulate
American politics, Corby also
implies that the Pope respects
national boundaries; in this
sense, Corby considered him to
be another national leader with
priorities within his own realm.
Irish-American Catholics may
have been bound to follow
religious edicts decreed by
the Pope, but they had no
reason to follow the Pope’s
political decrees over those of
the government of the United
States. By pointing out the
erroneous Protestant perception
that Catholics in America had
than to the federal government,
Fr. Corby helped his readers,
and presumably soldiers who
were aware of his sentiments,
recognize that Catholics in
America adhered just as much
as Protestants to the principle of
separation of church and state.
Fr. Corby knew that Catholics
had been instrumental in
the founding of the United
States, and he proved this
fact in his memoirs by cit-
ing specific examples of
Catholic Europeans who had
fought under Washington.
Corby wrote that during
the American Revolution,

Ireland sent her brave sons to do battle in the cause of

liberty. Poland sent an illustrious Kosciusko. Alsace sent
a noble DeKalb. From France and her Catholic king
came the great and patriotic Lafayette and the noted
Rochambeau, with thousands of French Catholic soldiers.3

31
 LOST PIECE: Issue III
S X
Irish Catholics made up
a sizable proportion of the
Continental Army, so they
helped establish the country
in which the Protestants lived.
In addition to these Irish
Catholics, Catholic countries
on continental Europe sent
military advisors and troops to
help the Revolutionary cause.
Without European Catholics, it
is arguable that the Protestants
would have no country in
which to create anti-Catholic
sentiments; Fr. Corby used
this argument as a tool in his
memoirs to help him show that
the Irish and Catholics are just
as American as everyone else.
Fr. Corby dealt with ethnic
and religious tensions by
showing that Irish-Americans
and Catholics had remained
as loyal to their country as
the American Protestants had
been since the inception of the
United States. Corby asked
“Wherein have the Catholic
Church and the Catholic people
32
in this country failed in patrio-
tism?”4 At that point in history,
the main Catholic contingent in
the United States was the Irish,
and Irish-American Catholics
as a group had never par-
ticipated in rebellious activity
directed against the state. Many
of the Catholic immigrants
coming to the United States
tried to integrate themselves
into American society and
adopted American ways of
life and political thought.
The tensions between
Protestants and Catholics in the
United States were more super-
ficial than in other countries to
which the Irish emigrated, and
as a result most Protestants were
not afraid to engage with Irish-
American Catholics amicably.
Corby wrote that “some of the
finest tributes I ever read to our
faith came from Protestant pens
– from honest, well-meaning
men.”5 He then stated that
“Men of this kind are more
numerous in our happy and
 an undergraduate journal of letters
S X
prosperous society than in any
other country in the world.”6
Many American Protestant
writers were very accepting of
Catholicism in America and
were even praiseworthy of it.
They knew that they made
significant contributions to
American society and helped it
become a place of opportunity.
Religious freedom is a central
tenet of life in the United
States, and Fr. Corby showed
in his memoirs that most
patriotic Protestants adhered
to this principle by accepting
Irish-American Catholics and
their contributions in American
wars such as the Civil War.
The Civil War made coming
to terms with being Irish-
American and Catholic much
easier by bringing huge numbers
of Catholics and Protestants
together. Fr. Corby wrote that
“When men stand in common
danger, a fraternal feeling
springs up between them and
generates a Christian, charitable
33
sentiment that often leads to
most excellent results.”7 The
Civil War united Catholics and
Protestants, Irish-Americans
and Anglo-Americans, in a
conflict against a common
enemy. This unity helped Fr.
Corby deal with being Irish-
Catholic and Catholic in an
Anglo-American Protestant
army because these two groups
were willing to work together
to accomplish the common goal
of preserving their country.
Fr. Corby’s actions at the
Battle of Gettysburg in July
1863 were the culmination of
his coming to terms with ethnic
and religious tensions. On the
afternoon of the second day of
the battle, Fr. Corby performed
a general absolution to the Irish
Brigade. According to Corby’s
memoirs, he “noticed that all,
Catholic and non-Catholic, offi-
cers and private soldiers showed
a profound respect, wishing at
this fatal crisis to receive every
benefit of divine grace that
 LOST PIECE: Issue III
S X

could be imparted through the many of them were about to

instrumentality of the church
ministry.”8 The soldiers of
the Union forces fighting at
Gettysburg were deeply im-
pressed by the inspiring sight of
Fr. Corby giving absolution to
all forces on the field; even the
famous Major-General Winfield
Scott Hancock “removed his
hat, and, as far as compatible
with the situation, bowed in
reverential devotion.”9 The fact
that the absolution was given
by a Catholic chaplain was not
an issue with the soldiers – they
were awed by the powerful
gesture. Whether Catholic
or Protestant, all Christians
on that battlefield believed in
the same God and knew that
die. The manner in which God
was worshipped and in which
they were absolved of their sins
was irrelevant in their eyes – it
was merely a means to an end.
There were differences between
Protestants and Irish-American
Catholics in the United States,
but they were largely superficial;
Fr. Corby’s very public absolu-
tion at Gettysburg was proof
that most Protestants were
tolerant of Catholics and were
not afraid to show admiration.
Fr. Corby’s general absolu-
tion gained greater respect for
Irish-American Catholics in
America. Fr. Corby wrote that
after the battle of Gettysburg,

a captain, a non-Catholic, rode up to me, and… said: “Chaplain,

I would like to know more about your religion. I was present on
that awful day, July 2, when you ‘made a prayer,’ and… I never
witnessed one so powerful as the one you made that day”.10

34
 an undergraduate journal of letters
S X
This officer, like the rest of
the soldiers who witnessed the
absolution, came to admire Fr.
Corby and his religious zeal.
The Protestant officer wanted to
learn about Catholicism, which
is a sign that he respected the
religion and had put any previ-
ous reservations aside. Fr. Corby
and the Irish Brigade therefore
inadvertently came to terms
with being Irish-American
and Catholic in Protestant
American society through their
battlefield absolution – they
openly practiced their religion
during the greatest battle of the
Civil War in front of Protestants
and were shown respect.
The Civil War also helped
Fr. Corby and the Irish Brigade
deal with being Irish-American
and Catholic in the United
States by establishing a link
between patriotism and
Catholicism. “Military Masses”
celebrated by Fr. Corby involved
“several thousand men and
officers on whose bright, neat
35
uniforms the gold ornaments
sparkle in the sunlight, while
dress swords... make a pleasing
contrast to burnished sabre
and polished steel bayonet.”11
At Masses celebrated in Army
camps, the soldiers wore the
equivalent of their Sunday best
– their dress uniforms. They
looked as patriotic toward the
United States as they possibly
could, yet they were preparing
to worship God. The Irish
Brigade openly worshipped
God at Fr. Corby’s Masses as an
overwhelmingly Catholic unit
while proudly wearing the uni-
form of, and fighting fiercely for
the preservation of, the United
States as a political entity.
The celebration of St.
Patrick’s Day in 1863 by Fr.
Corby and the rest of the
Irish Brigade was another key
moment in Fr. Corby’s coming
to terms with being Irish-
American and Catholic in
America. Fr. Corby wrote that
“The novel and daring nature of
 LOST PIECE: Issue III
S X
the celebration… was, indeed,
so brilliant and creditable that
I heard distinguished soldiers
claim that their grandmothers
or grandfathers were Irish.”12
Fr. Corby celebrated a Mass
on St. Patrick’s Day, and then
there were massive sporting
events and festivities. While
celebrated in Ireland and many
other countries with Irish
populations, St. Patrick’s Day
has special meaning for Irish-
Americans and was enthusiasti-
cally celebrated at the time of
the Civil War; the holiday
therefore could have caused
heightened tensions between
Irish-American Catholics
and Protestants in the Union
Army.13 However, primarily
non-Catholic units in the Army
were excited to take part in
it. Some were even proud to
claim Irish ancestry! With his
celebration of the St. Patrick’s
Day Mass and his participation
in the following entertain-
ment, Fr. Corby bridged a
36
divide between Protestants
and Irish-American Catholics
in America – he showed that
Protestants and practicing
Irish-American Catholics
could gather together peace-
fully and interact positively.
Through the audience-
directed reflections in his
memoirs and the maintenance
of an active Catholic spiritual
life in the Irish Brigade during
the Civil War, Fr. William
Corby came to terms with being
Irish-American and Catholic
in a mainly Protestant army
and nation. In Memoirs of
Chaplain Life, Fr. Corby showed
his readers that anti-Catholic
Protestants at the time of the
Civil War were a minority and
most American non-Catholics
recognize the great contribu-
tions that Catholics, and in
particular Irish Catholics, had
made to the establishment of
the United States. Fr. Corby’s
religious practices and contribu-
tions to Catholic-Protestant
 an undergraduate journal of letters
S X

relations within the context of

the Union Army during the
Civil War increased the fame
of the Irish Brigade, and thus
gained both Irish-Americans
and Catholics great respect.
V
2 Father William Corby, Memoirs
of Chaplain Life: Three Years with
the Irish Brigade in the Army of
the Potomac. Lawrence Frederick
Kohl, ed. (New York: Fordham
University Press, 1992), 67.
3 Ibid, 68.
4 Ibid, 66-67.
5 Ibid, 70.
6 Ibid, 70.
7 Ibid, 186.
8 Ibid, 184.
9 Ibid, 184.
10 Ibid, 185.
11 Ibid, 100.
12 Ibid, 142.
13 Patrick Griffin, “The History of
St. Patrick’s Day,” Lecture, The Irish-
American Experience, University
of Notre Dame, 17 March 2010.

37
 LOST PIECE: Issue III
S X
The 21st Century Gunslinger
An Essay
Raymond LeGrand
Class of 2011
Istum
I am a cowboy and a gunslinger.
You may laugh because I live
in the middle of a big city and
drive my sports car to work
every day, but it’s no joke. The
only difference between the
Western gunslinger and me is
that his certification was based
on how fast he could draw his
six-shooter, whereas my weapon
of choice is a piece of paper that
states “This person is qualified
because he graduated from
Generic University USA.” Our
lives would be the same, except
the cowboy of the wild west
would’ve been afraid to use the
technological wizardry that I
have, and I would be afraid to
stand up to him in a bar fight.
In the past, gunslingers had
to be quick on the draw. With
modern technology, I don’t
have to be quick, because my
iPhone will let me know there’s
38
danger before the bad guy even
realizes that he is thinking
about attacking me. That was
why he lived as a hired gun, and
why I work as a hired business-
man who hopes someday to
be a CEO. The fact is that I
can type away on computers
faster than I can think. That
is certainly better than riding
horses all day and shooting
your neighbor next door.
In some ways, gunslingers
back in their day and age
might have been even greater
pragmatists than I am in mine.
I spend all day worrying about
practical ways to ship products,
liquidate inventory, and outsell
the competition. The gunsling-
ers would have made it even
simpler: kill or be killed. If
you’re a hired gun, there isn’t
much of an alternative to this
train of thought. In that sense
I am a lesser son of greater
sires. But to be fair, the more
independent I become, the
 an undergraduate journal of letters
S X
more like them I become and
the less I have to depend on
other people. This is easier said
than done, of course, since our
culture places so much emphasis
on people being nice to one
another. But then again, that
comes in pretty handy when
it allows me to do whatever I
want to do, when no one will
hinder my freedom because they
are afraid of being perceived
as anything less than the nice
person they’re supposed to be.
They say that money is power.
With one swipe of my plastic
credit card, I can purchase
almost anything I see. That
is the power of plastic money.
All that happens after that is
some numbers in a computer
go down, reflecting a deduc-
tion from my bank account.
Sometimes I wonder what it all
means, since the numbers magi-
cally go up with every paycheck
and down with every impulsive
purchase. But then again, how
long will it be before someone
39
catches on to the game and puts
an end to it? All it would take
is some hacker or a little glitch
in the computer program, and
then I’m out of money. How
can people call that power when
it could so easily vanish or be
taken away? No wonder why
the gunslingers of old didn’t
really trust money. They knew
it was necessary in order to
survive without stealing food,
but they didn’t seem to give it
that much importance. Instead,
they carried their guns around
at a jaunty angle that nothing
except death could take away.
Their independence meant that
they would take orders from
no one except themselves. That
is what I consider real power.
The gunslingers walked around
carrying power strapped to their
hips. I walk around exercising
control over my subordinates
and employees with the push of
my thumb on the Blackberry.
This may not be the same
level of power because it seems
 LOST PIECE: Issue III
S X
almost impossible to remove my
dependence on other people, but
I am getting closer every day.
I imagine the westerner of
old left home when he was
real young and set out for
adventure. With some of the
stories I’ve heard, maybe these
cowboys never had a home. I
did the same thing when I left
for college. I packed up my
bags and set off for a world of
adventure. Oh sure, I love my
parents and family, I’m a good
American boy in that sense. But
the job I found after graduation
placed me ten thousand miles
away. Of course I chose the
job, since independence seems
to be the primary American
virtue. In reality, I’ve long
since given up those ties to my
past, both location and family,
even though I do visit them
occasionally. I even post ‘happy
birthday’ on the Facebook walls
of some of my old friends. Sure,
I could’ve settled down with
my college sweetheart, but the
40
job offers we received placed
us on opposite sides of the
continent, and that’s when we
discovered that we were really
just “good friends.” I think I can
understand why the gunslingers
of old didn’t have a family. It is
very easy to go from one town
to the next, drifting from one
job to the next when the only
one you need to care about is
yourself. As long as I keep up
this lifestyle, no one wants to
marry me and have a family,
because I would probably be
gone with the wind on a whim.
I chose long ago to live the
excitement of climbing the
rungs of the corporate ladder
and occasionally enjoying the
night-life. Most of my friends
have chosen the same lifestyle,
and they hope to avoid thinking
about marriage until they turn
thirty. It is something that we
gave up a while ago, a sacrifice
for the sake of mobility. People
who aspire to be the next CEO
do not become one by accident.
 an undergraduate journal of letters
S X
You just get used to the lone
nights in front of your desk,
just like the cowboys of old on
patrol in the saddle. Sometimes
I wish for a home: a permanent
place to rest my head, but
usually a hotel room suffices.
Besides, I’m really close to
making it big. Maybe I’ll even
be remembered. Yes, we will be
remembered by history, just like
people remember the west. They
shot the cowards, the bandits,
and anyone else who got in
the way. But now things have
become more civilized. We fire
and hire employees based on the
whims of the market. We take
out other companies using price
controls, mind-numbing effi-
ciency, and lawyers. Will we be
remembered by name? Probably
not, just like many of the great
gunslingers of old. But if I do
manage to get that CEO posi-
tion, then I’ll have a fighting
chance. There is always the hope
that someday I will be among
the ranks of people like Donald
41
Trump, Lloyd Blankfien,
Terry Gou. They remind me
of legendary figures like Billy
the Kid and Black Jack.
I don’t go wherever the wind
blows me, like some kind of
tumbleweed. Instead, I go
wherever the company sends
me. I guess in the past most
gunslingers probably believed
in God and something more
than blind destiny. They might
not have been certain about why
they were traveling around, but
I guess they did think there was
a reason for their existence. Of
course, being an enlightened
man, I don’t take God too
seriously, and instead I have
tremendous faith that the next
place my company sends me
will lead to another promotion,
and another, and another.
Why do I pursue this
lifestyle? I suppose that it is
for the same reason that the
gunslingers of old engaged in
such a life. They left home at
an early age to pursue their
 LOST PIECE: Issue III
S X

destiny. After a while, you just

get used to not settling down
and pursuing anything less than
legendary. It’s not the money
I care so much about, seeing
as I’ve already got plenty of it
and no reason to spend it on
anyone but myself. But the
adventure and the independence
that it provides—I reckon
that’s what keeps me going.
V

42
 an undergraduate journal of letters
S X

To the Immaculate Conception

A Poem
Patrick Johnson
Class of 2011
Program of Liberal Studies

Mary our Mother, and Church our Mary,

In you all good will concentrate,
And drink peace: open, not wary,
Breathing childhood, immaculate trait.
V

43
 LOST PIECE: Issue III
S X
Virtue, Community, and Education1
An Essay
Sam Cloghessy
Class of 2011
Orestes Brownson Council
The work of Alasdair
MacIntyre has been the subject
both of much praise and of
much criticism. Important and
controversial, MacIntyre’s work
is relevant not only to those
interested in ethics and politics,
but to all, especially the young
people of today. Furthermore,
since MacIntyre is an emeritus
professor at the University of
Notre Dame, as students at this
university we especially should
be familiar with his work.
Therefore, the purpose of this
paper is both to introduce to
MacIntyre those who may not
be familiar with his work, as
well as to prompt students to
begin thinking about the ways
in which MacIntyre’s ideas can
begin to be put into practice.
In his groundbreaking
work After Virtue, MacIntyre
presents a powerful critique
44
of modernity. Beginning with
the observable irreconcilability
of almost all contemporary
moral debate, MacIntyre does
not argue on account of this
observable fact that there is no
objective moral truth, no way to
rationally argue about morality.
Instead, he argues that our
inability to rationally evaluate
moral rules can be explained
by the loss of an understanding
in the modern period of the
context within which these
moral rules originally existed.
1 I would like to begin with two
disclaimers: first, the author of this
paper is in no way an authority on
the work of Alasdair MacIntyre
and apologizes in advance for any
mistakes almost certainly made in
interpreting and speculating on
MacIntyre’s ideas. Second, given
the limited space, this paper is
necessarily a very brief and cursory
explanation of MacIntyre’s ideas;
as such, for a proper explanation of
MacIntyre’s philosophy and for any
questions, the reader is referred to
MacIntyre’s own work, especially
After Virtue and all that follows.
 an undergraduate journal of letters
S X
Furthermore, he argues, any
successful attempt to restore ra-
tionality to morality and moral
debate will require a renewed
understanding of such contexts.
In After Virtue and in his
subsequent work, MacIntyre
attempts to facilitate this
renewed understanding of the
contexts within which certain
moral rules arose, and in which
they can again become intel-
ligible. To do this, he relies
upon an account of the virtues
in which the virtues are the
means by which we attain our
end, our good as human beings.
The good for man is the seeking
of the good life in cooperation
with others, and so MacIntyre’s
account of the virtues imagines
individuals entering into com-
munities in which they help
others cultivate the virtues in
order to achieve their good that
is the good life, and in which
they are helped by others in
the same way. The modern
nation-state being incapable
45
of providing the individual
with the means to seek the
good life, MacIntyre urges us
to construct the “local forms
of community within which
civility and the intellectual and
moral life can be sustained”.14
What might these local
communities look like? It is
worth highlighting a few of
their particularly important
features. The first feature is the
virtue of integrity. The ability
of the members of a community
to properly order the practices
in which they engage and the
goods they pursue into a unified
whole is precisely the standard
by which they are judged by
their fellow citizens. Individuals
and groups of people within the
local community will interact
with one another in a variety of
different capacities; for example,
at work, then at a church func-
tion, then as neighbors, and
finally in the deliberation of the
political process. In interacting
in all these different capacities
 LOST PIECE: Issue III
S X

individuals cannot avoid being in the modern world.15

judged for who they truly are,
and so honesty and integrity
become central virtues to the
local community. There is no
room here for the elaborate
“self-presentation” so prevalent
One of the most imme-
diately recognizable features
of MacIntyre’s local political
communities is its size. “Such
societies,” MacIntyre explains,

need to be small-scale so that, whenever necessary, those who hold

political office can be put to the question by the citizens and the
citizens put to the question by those who hold political office in the
course of extended deliberative debate in which there is widespread
participation and from which no one from whom something might
be learned is excluded – that is, from which no one is excluded.16

This idea of access to the it is here that the most important

political process being available
to all members of the community
is central for MacIntyre. Since
these communities share an
understanding of the human
good,17 and this understanding
of the human good is the com-
mon good toward which the
community strives together, it
makes sense that each member
of the community should have
access to the political process, for
46
questions for any member of the
community, questions of their
goods as humans, are addressed.
It is important to be clear here
about what Macintyre intends,
for it is quite different from the
modern conception of access
to the political process. While
it is true that citizens in liberal
democracies have access to the
political system primarily via
voting, the truth is that, since the
 an undergraduate journal of letters
S X
available alternatives are chosen
by political elites, the ordinary
citizen’s real access to the
politics of the state is severely
restricted.18 On the contrary,
in the local community that
MacIntyre envisions, “there
will…be institutionalized forms
of deliberation to which all
those members of the com-
munity who have proposals,
objections and arguments to
contribute have access.”19
The final feature that should
be highlighted is education. In
the context of MacIntyre’s local
community, education plays a
indispensable role, providing
preparation for entry into the
political life of the community
as well as a common base from
which deliberations regarding
the nature of the good for the
community can take place,
and can take place in a way
such that differing positions
can be rationally debated and
evaluated. For MacIntyre,
education is much more than
47
what takes place in a university.
MacIntyre’s local community is
characterized by lifelong teach-
ing and learning engaged in by
all members of the community,
from the youngest to the oldest,
everyone aware that they might
have something to learn from
anyone they meet. Formal edu-
cation, MacIntyre argues, must
be thought of not as a means
to some other end, a career for
instance, but instead as “the
beginning of, and the providing
the skills, virtues and resources
for, a lifelong education directed
toward and informed by the
achievement of the good.”20
The question one ought
now to ask is what should be
done with all of this. There
are two levels on which this
question can be answered. The
first, which will not be treated
explicitly here, is with a view
beyond graduation from this
university and a consideration of
how one might begin to bring
about small, virtue-centered
 LOST PIECE: Issue III
S X
communities wherever one lives.
The highlighting of the features
of the community above is
meant as an aid in that regard,
to give a picture of what such
a community might look like.
The second level on which
this question can be answered
is to consider what can be
done by current students at
this university, while they are
here, to help create this sort of
community here. In many ways,
a university about the size of
Notre Dame would be an ideal
place to create such a commu-
nity, and many things could be
done to help bring this about. A
unified curriculum, for example,
specifically designed to provide
a broad and complete education
to students and which could
serve as the common ground
from which discussions of any
kind could begin; emphasis in
48
the classroom on understanding
the relation between disciplines;
and reorganization of campus
and student life so that students
study, live, pray, eat, and spend
time in recreation together with
a more or less established group
of students, and unify these ac-
tivities into one comprehensive
life. Since these sorts of things
are unlikely to happen in the
foreseeable future however, the
responsibility falls upon current
students to build up these sorts
of communities wherever they
can. Some specific suggestions
might be helpful in this regard,
and here you, the reader,
especially the undergraduate
reader, are being addressed.
First and foremost, study
and take courses in the
subjects that will make you
a fully educated human be-
ing. MacIntyre suggests
 an undergraduate journal of letters
S X

a lot of history and a lot of mathematics, including both the

calculus and statistics, some experimental physics and observa-
tional astronomy, a reading knowledge of Greek, sufficient to
read Homer or the New Testament, and if English-speaking,
a speaking knowledge of a modern language other than
English, and great quantities of English literature, especially
Shakespeare. Time also has to be there for music and art.
Philosophy should…be introduced at the undergraduate level.21

It might well be the case Second, read, study, and learn

that students are unable to
study all of these subjects to
the level suggested, especially
considering that ideally for
MacIntyre these are the things
one would study up until one’s
entry into the university as an
undergraduate.22 The intent
here is simply that you study as
many of them in as much detail
as possible. If you are studying
a subject with more stringent
course requirements, such as
science or engineering, then it
is all the more important that
you use as many free electives
as possible to take courses in
the abovementioned subjects
outside your field of study.
49
as much as possible on your own
outside of class, in any and all
of the abovementioned subjects.
Much, if not all, of your abil-
ity to receive a full education
will depend upon your own
efforts, which will almost
necessarily extend beyond the
classroom. This is particularly
important for those students
previously mentioned whose
fields of study have strict course
requirements, as your personal
effort will be even more im-
mediately necessary if you are
to receive a full education.
Third, and of critical impor-
tance, engage in conversations
with your friends about the
 LOST PIECE: Issue III
S X
subjects you are studying and
about subjects of substance and
importance outside of class. Talk
about these things regularly
over dinner at the dining hall.
Get a group of your friends
together regularly for the
specific purpose of discussing
one of these subjects; this is
in fact already happening on
campus. These meetings can
be as formal or informal as you
choose; the purpose is simply
to get the serious discussion
of subjects of importance to
continue beyond the classroom
and into your everyday lives.
Finally, resolve to ensure
that your education continues
throughout your life, and
that your undergraduate
experience is the begin-
ning of a life of learning.
V
50
14 MacIntyre, After Virtue, 263.
15 MacIntyre, “Politics, Philosophy
and the Common Good”, 248-249.
16 MacIntyre, “Politics, Philosophy
and the Common Good”, 248-249.
17 Alasdair MacIntyre, “The
Privatization of Good: An Inaugural
Lecture”, The Review of Politics, 351.
18 MacIntyre, “Politics, Philosophy
and the Common Good”, 236.
19 Alasdair MacIntyre,
Dependent Rational Animals: Why
Human Being Need the Virtues
(London: Gerald Duckworth
& Co. Ltd., 1999), 130.
20 MacIntyre, “The
Privatization of Good”, 359.
21 “An Interview With Alasdair
MacIntyre,” Cogito, 5 (1991), 72.
22 Ibid.
 an undergraduate journal of letters
S X
Cards For Mother’s Day
A Story
Scott Posteuca
Class of 2011
The Philosophy Club
“Hey Jack, you know it’s
Mother’s Day on Sunday.”
I curse under my breath.
Dad catches my look and
asks, “What was that for?”
“Nothing, I just forgot.”
This isn’t true—in fact, I
have been dreading the day
for weeks—but it’s enough
to make Dad happy.
“Oh, don’t worry. You still
have five days to get her a
present. I’m sure you’ll pull
something together like you
always do. Like that bracelet
you got her last year.”
“That was Jim,” I re-
mind him coldly.
“Well, then, the ear-
rings you got her.”
“That was Joe. Two years ago.”
“Well, I dunno. Give her a
card then. She’ll like that.”
“Yeah. Just like she
always does,” I point
out matter-of-factly.
51
He tries to put me at ease,
but it doesn’t work. By now
I’ve heard that “it’s the thought
that counts” stuff way too many
times to take it seriously. I
understand; Dad doesn’t get it.
He was an only child who could
make his mother scream with
joy—and yes, Grandma is the
type that screams with joy—just
by smiling. I, on the other
hand, have two older brothers,
both of whom are straight-A
students, are captains of their
varsity sports teams (one soccer
and one baseball), and among
countless other talents, have
two well-paying jobs by which
to buy great Mother’s Day
presents—which they don’t by
the way. Earrings? Bracelet?
Wal-Mart purchases, both of
them. Of course, I struggle
to keep a B average, went to
cross country after being cut
from everything else, and am
fifteen—one year too young to
have a legitimate job in the state
of Indiana. I run paper routes
 LOST PIECE: Issue III
S X
every morning, but the two
dollars and eighty-five cents I
pull in on a daily basis doesn’t
promise much competition for
the eight-fifty-an-hour weekend
shifts of my two older brothers.
Story of my life as the third
of four brothers: try all you
want, get overlooked… but
by Joe and Jim of all people!
Dad sighs, having given up
to the fact that I’m not exactly
thrilled about the situation,
and turns toward the kitchen,
saying as he does, “Your
mother loves you, Jack. Don’t
beat yourself up over a little
Mother’s Day present.”
I know he means well, but I
also know there’s no way he’ll
really understand. After all, it’s
not like Mom is his mother, so
he really doesn’t have to worry
about it at all. He may be fine
giving her a card, but I’m not.
A couple hours later and I
find myself rummaging through
old newspaper and magazine
52
ads for something she’d like.
There’s Kohl’s, J. C. Penny’s,
Marshall’s—I’ve looked through
all of these before, of course,
but I’m just praying something
will catch my eye that’s almost
affordable. I see all kinds of
necklaces, bracelets, earrings,
pins, and God knows what
else, all glittering in gold,
silver, pearl, diamonds and
the like. Problem is, I know
nothing about what any of
their descriptions mean other
than $299 and $449 and all
kinds of out-of-range figures.
Sure there’s a couple of things
within three months’ pay, but
they’re not much to look at.
I spend a full hour looking
through the pile of papers this
time until I start to get upset. I
really thought this might be the
year—now that I finally have a
job to get money of my own—
that I could get something for
Mom, even outdo my brothers
a little, maybe. But here I
am. Two eighty-five a day just
 an undergraduate journal of letters
S X
doesn’t get you far. Until…
My eyes widen as I come to a
new ad in a J. C. Penny’s maga-
zine titled, “DiamonArt® 4.95
CT. T. W. Pear Cut Pendant.”
I don’t really gather much from
the description of the necklace
as I read it—something about
simulated diamonds and a pear
shaped gem—but the picture is
beautiful… and it’s on SALE!
Originally $199, it’s been
brought down to $89! It’s got
to be four times what Jim or Joe
would ever get for her. I recheck
the date of the ad and am re-
lieved to find that it’s only three
days old. How it has managed
to fall to the bottom of the
age-old newspaper pile was
beyond me—perhaps because it
was all crumpled up—but what
matters is I found it! A chance
to get a real present for Mom,
even with my meager income!
Two days later, I’m at the
J. C. Penney’s two miles from
home with the magazine ad and
53
one hundred and twenty dol-
lars, just in case the taxes push
the price up (I’ve been thwarted
by the mysterious increase from
taxes before). It took the nearly
two months of paper-boy money
I’d saved along with four lawn-
mowings in the neighborhood
over the last two days, but I’ve
managed to collect enough.
The lady at the desk is one
of those older ladies who wear
about four-inches of makeup in
a vain attempt to hide their age,
but she’s nice enough, so I try
hard not to judge her. I show
her the ad and the money in
my hand with a lost look on my
face as though I were from some
foreign planet trying to barter
for a little loaf of bread, and she
tells me to sit still as she runs in
back to the inventory. After a
nervous ten minutes, she returns
holding a small black box with
a slightly pear-shaped pendant
in it, glimmering silver as she
turns it. She hands the necklace
to me and further demonstrates
 LOST PIECE: Issue III
S X
the luck I had in getting it.
“It’s a good thing you came
when you did, darlin’. It was
the last one like it in our stor-
age. I could’ve sworn we’d
sold our last two days ago.”
I happily collect the seven-
teen dollars of change and
decide to stop by the Walgreen’s
on the walk back home to get
a Mother’s Day card to go with
it. Just for kicks, I pick out one
with a lot of glitter to comple-
ment the gift it accompanies.
Mother’s Day arrives and
I am jumping with nervous
excitement. Every so often I
start to wonder whether or not
Mom will like the necklace,
only to convince myself that she
will when I remember the way
it glistened as I held it in my
hands. Then I imagine what
it will look like when Joe and
Jim come up with whatever
they bring only to be followed
by little brother with a two
hundred dollar pendant. The
54
day passes by pretty quickly
until the fated moment just after
lunch when everybody brings
out their presents. I place the
little box with the necklace
in my pocket for an added
element of surprise and walk
downstairs holding the card.
Joe is the first to give Mom a
present. He has some flowers,
which are nice and make her
very happy. Jim gives her a jar
of his favorite caramels, and
several people in the room
smile with prospective delight.
I smile too. The two older
brothers have spent thriftily
this year—Jim is getting ready
to go off to college next fall,
and now I remember Joe’s
been looking for a car. They
each give her a card, of course,
and Mom is as happy as she
always is to see her children’s
generosity. Anticipation grows.
I put my hand in my pocket
to retrieve the box when sud-
denly Dad holds out a small
package to Mom. Everybody
 an undergraduate journal of letters
S X
looks at him and he explains
with a little embarrassment.
“Er, here honey. I, uh,
thought it’d be nice to get you
something a little nicer this
year.” I swallow hard as Mom
unwraps a familiar black box.
She opens it carefully, and
there is a “DiamonArt® 4.95
CT. T. W. Pear Cut Pendant”
glittering in her hand.
Despite my efforts, I give
a little moan of dismay, but it
gets lost in the gasps of surprise
from the others at the gift. It
takes a few seconds for me to
realize what’s happened—was
I robbed?—but before long,
the reality of the situation sets
in. Mom has her necklace,
and is very pleased with it.
She hugs Dad and thanks
him warmly—and now it’s
my turn to give Mom a gift.
For a moment I hold the box
tightly in my fist, not really
knowing what to do with it.
But a few seconds pass and I
let it fall back into my pocket,
55
holding the card up for Mom to
take instead. She accepts it with
a smile and reads it aloud…
Dear Mom,
I hope you have a won-
derful Mother’s Day. This
may seem like a lot, but
I just wanted to give a
little more this year to let
you know that I love you.
Keep up the good work.
With Love,
-Jack
P.S. I hope it’s
shiny enough.
Mom smiles and hugs
me, just as she always does.
Nobody really gets what the
message is about, and nobody
really understands why my face
turns the color that it does,
but I play along as best I can:
Here Mom, here’s a glittery
 LOST PIECE: Issue III
S X

card for Mother’s Day—hope

I’m not overdoing things.

I never did return the

necklace. It sits buried away
in my room to this moment.
After all, I decided, it was
the thought that counted.
V

56
 an undergraduate journal of letters
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57
 LOST PIECE: Issue III
S X

LOST PIECE
an undergraduate journal of letters

VOLUME I, ISSUE III

Worth All The While
 an undergraduate journal of letters
S X

Colophon:

This journal is compiled entirely from the

works of undergraduate scholars at
The University of Notre Dame.

The editors of Lost Piece: An Undergraduate Journal of Letters

are indebted to Dr. Cecilia Lucero for her invaluable assistance on
behalf of The Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement.

The editors also extend thanks to the

Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program,
and the Institute of Scholarship in the Liberal Arts,
both of which are directed by Dr. Agustin Fuentes.

Stephen Lechner, Editor in Chief;

Raymond Korson, Executive Editor;
Joseph Kuhn and Conor Rogers, Associate Editors

Lost Piece was designed in Adobe InDesign, CS5;

its body copy is set in 12 pt Adobe Caslon Pro.
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