Steve Jobs

Begun on October 12.

While I was in Manhattan I passed by the Apple store on 5th Ave. and saw the post-it notes people had left after his death. Scott Richert's article on Apple for the most recent issues of Chronicle has become available online: Success(ion). See the comments by Dr. Fleming, especially on Mr. Jobs's legacy.

There have been plenty of secular eulogies, even from Catholics who have benefited from Apple products, especially those for desktop publishing. I think it is undeniable that there is some celebrity worship taking place, especially among technogeeks and Apple fans and consumers. A lot of people posted this video on Facebook:



(with intro by the university president)

From the address

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

Does it take much for a pagan to recognize the finality of death and to praise the impulse to live well? But how is one to live? Following one's dreams and aspirations and being content that he did things "his way"? This doesn't even begin to approach the best of pagan morality. Life is not something to be conquered; rather we are to be humble and submit to Divine Providence and to struggle with the trials of life, given to us so that we might grow in charity and holiness. Becoming a free-thinker that does not live on dogma created by other people may be useful for inventors and scientists, but it is a lousy goal for one who wishes to live a moral and upright life.

He may have succeeded in the system, but is that really that praiseworthy? If we were to map the history of Apple in relation to other trends in the American economy and manufacturing, what would we see? (Especially since Apple products are manufactured primarily in China?) Did he not help promote the false idea of a "knowledge economy"? Can we really say that Steve Jobs did not help multiply unnecessary desires, with the creation of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad? He may have been a good American entrepreneur or businessman, but was he a good human being? Too many Uhmericans focus on the toys and not on the questions of social justice.

The prepared text for the 2005 Commencement Address at Stanford.
Wozniak Remembers Steve Jobs