JESSIE GAMBRELL
STAFF WRITER

USC professor Dallas Willard spoke to students, staff and faculty about his philosophical views on Thursday, March 8.

Once everyone was seated, the event’s emcee, Timothy Mosteller, addressed the audience about Willard’s history. He went on to share about how the two first met; Mosteller was a student of Willard’s at USC back in 1989 where Willard has taught since 1965.

Willard has also written many books and articles and has been involved in many boards, committees and organizations, including the C.S. Lewis Foundation, Biola University and the Western Association of Schools.

During the lecture, Willard spoke of many of his philosophical views including the human quest for adequate, life-basing knowledge, acting without sufficient knowledge and the concept of authority.

Good authority is authority you can question and test,” Willard said.

Regarding good authority, he used the example of times tables; everyone knows their multiplication tables, but he wondered if we know how we got them. He concluded that we don’t question it, we just take it as is.

He then spoke about faith and knowledge.

“Knowledge is always objective. Knowledge is always political in its effects. You believe something when you are ready to act [in appropriate circumstances] as if it were so. You always live up to your faith, but you do not always live up to your profession,” Willard said.

Willard then took the lecture in a different direction, speaking on the lighter subject of spring break. He shared that ever since he started at USC, spring break was called Easter break.

“I am all for celebrating spring, but something has gone wrong in our society to deny that Easter is about someone who died and came back to life. We need to return to thinking about the basis of life,” Willard said.

The Arts & Lectures Series sponsored the lecture. For information on more upcoming events from Arts & Lectures, visit www.csusm.edu/al.

For more information about Dallas Willard, visit www.dwillard.org.