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April 15, 2008 03:02 pm
Philosophy conference signals trend
``Philosophy is just understanding the way people think.''
By Denise Richardson
CNHI News Service
ONEONTA, N.Y. — Students argued about sincerity, genetics, free-will, No Child Left Behind law, Christianity and common-sense morality. They cited history, posed questions and made constructive criticisms.
``I like to question things - why we do things, why people think a certain way,'' said Jeremy Redlien, 24, a junior majoring in math and philosophy at the State University College at Oneonta.
Redlien, of Otego, presented a paper at the recent 13th annual Undergraduate Philosophy Conference at SUCO. The conference attracted 325 to 350 people, including 200 to 250 SUCO students, organizers said.
More college students are studying philosophy, professors at State University College and Hartwick College in Oneonta said. The increase reflects a national trend reported a week ago in The New York Times, which said Rutgers University, recognized for a top-ranked philosophy department, has 100 philosophy majors graduating this year, up from 50 in 2002.
At the Oneonta conference, selected students presented 27 papers, organizers said, and participants came from schools across North America.
Douglas W. Shrader, distinguished teaching professor and chairman of the philosophy department at SUCO, said: "The term `philosophy,' which means `love of wisdom,' was coined by Pythagoras to describe his passionate quest to learn about himself as well as the world in which he lived. Philosophers are frequently concerned with basic issues of human existence, worth and happiness.''
Of about 5,500 students at SUCO, 40 are philosophy majors this year, an increase of 29 percent since 2002, Shrader said. The number of majors has doubled since 2000, quadrupled since 1990 and grown eight-fold since 1980, he said.
``Many people tend to think of philosophy classes as small seminars for an elite few, but statistics tell a rather different story,'' Shrader said.
Students clamor to enroll in classes, he said, and although the collegewide student/faculty ratio has decreased 4 percent during the preceding three years, the ratio for philosophy has increased by 27 percent.
Philosophy courses are ``notoriously difficult,'' Shrader said, and there was only one department last year in which it was harder to earn an A.
Joseph Karpel, 19, of Owego, a junior at SUCO and chairman of the conference committee, is majoring in political science with a minor in philosophy. Philosophy teaches analytical skills and focuses thinking, he said.
``You're able to explore what you're interested in,'' Karpel said. ``Philosophy is just understanding the way people think.''
Corin Fox, a senior at Virginia Commonwealth University, said college generally is the first time students are exposed to philosophy. He said studying philosophy has changed not only the content of his thoughts but also how he forms them.
``It's meaningful in a way that no other discourse is,'' Fox said. ``I've learned that the question of how should one live, though one of the most basic questions, is one of the most difficult.''
Robert Talley, 21, a junior from Memphis studying at St. John's College in Annapolis, Md., said he aims to become a professor of philosophy, which he said is not a conquering of information but a search for wisdom and truth.
Some philosophy majors become professors, but most build careers in other areas, such as law, according to the College Board website, which cited Bill Clinton, Angela Davis, and Pope John Paul II as examples.
Students who do well in philosophy usually do very well on law school exams and in medical school, Stanley Konecky, professor of philosophy at Hartwick College.
Hartwick, which enrolls 1,480 students, has 28 philosophy majors this year, double the 14 in 2001, Konecky said. He attributed the increase in part to ``young, vital'' staff who have started a philosophy honors society and the Roundtable, a weekly discussion group.
Last week, the group talked about consciousness, he said, and the week before, the topic was global warming.
But another reason is that young people have questions about what's the right thing to do - decisions such as whether to protest war or become vegetarians, Konecky said.
Philosophy doesn't advocate positions but provides a background to help make decisions, he said, and it helps students reflect on ideas and identify priorities.
``They're trying to decide their lives,'' Konecky said. ``Our job is to give them the tools to think about a problem without taking sides. ... They want a little clarity in their lives - philosophy aims at that.''
Matt Cedar, 22, a SUCO senior from Dryden, said he enrolled to study earth sciences and education. Now he has a dual major in earth studies and philosophy, and he wants to volunteer in AmeriCorps after graduation.
Philosophy has provided training in ``different modes of thinking,'' a process that helps understand different cultures and being in someone else's shoes, said Cedar, co-chairman of the conference.
``Philosophy is one of the all-encompassing subjects,'' Cedar said. ``It's fun.''
Denise Richardson writes for The Daily Star in Oneonta, N.Y.
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