Abstract

After recognizing the distinct relationship which Jesuits have had with philosophy in the course of their long history, three of its constitutive elements, which are fruitful and at the same time challenging, are presented here as viewed from a contemporary perspective: philosophical reflection is nourished and enriched by the spiritual experience of the distinct key-moments of the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius; philosophy has been, and will continue to be, part of the formation of Jesuits, and can be replaced or complemented by other sciences only with difficulty; although philosophy contributes much to the integral formation Jesuit universities are asked to offer, the author concentrates only on one aspect which has not been sufficiently explored up to now: philosophy teaches one to be silent precisely in the realm where the other sciences and disciplines close their discourse