The Unexamined Life
A Look At the Philosophy Department
Nick Bonelli
Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: News
Why take philosophy courses at North Georgia College?
This was the first question asked of Dr. Troy Catterson, Associate Professor of Philosophy in the History and Philosophy Department.
It turns out that there are numerous reasons, most being practical.
Students with degrees in philosophy, on average, score the highest in the MKAT test, GRE verbal section and come in second, only to math majors, on the GRE math test. These are practical reasons for any student interested in pursuing advanced degrees.
In addition, logic, a subset of philosophy, is the single best way for students to learn critical thinking and analytical skills. In turn, this can help out with just about every job imaginable.
There are, of course, less materialistic reasons for taking courses in Philosophy.
"Philosophy," Catterson said, "means the love of wisdom. It helps us to discover what truly motivates us." Which, he adds, "can get us that much closer to attaining happiness."
With all these great benefits for philosophy students, you would expect the department to be doing great.
Sadly, according to Catterson, the philosophy department at North Georgia is lucky to stay afloat.
In fact, Catterson sees this decline in interest as a, strangely enough, philosophical problem.
"The pragmatic spirit in America wrongly sees a division between science and philosophy, which is actually a philosophical judgment," he said.
Catterson also believes that this current lack of interest in philosophy is responsible for the dumbing of American art. Pointing to American cinema as an example, he commented that, "We see much less intellectual movies these days."
Although lower division courses, such as ethics, tend to have large classes due to their status as elective courses, upper division courses stay relatively small. In a climate of nationwide budget cuts, poor enrollment could spell disaster for any department.
"The best way to increase funding for the department is to increase enrollment," Catterson, who expressed his hopes for a BA program some day at North Georgia said. Currently, the school offers only an associates degree.
Considering the success rate of Philosophy students, it is puzzling why enrollment is so low.
As the Greek philosopher Socrates once said, "The unexamined life is not worth living."
This was the first question asked of Dr. Troy Catterson, Associate Professor of Philosophy in the History and Philosophy Department.
It turns out that there are numerous reasons, most being practical.
Students with degrees in philosophy, on average, score the highest in the MKAT test, GRE verbal section and come in second, only to math majors, on the GRE math test. These are practical reasons for any student interested in pursuing advanced degrees.
In addition, logic, a subset of philosophy, is the single best way for students to learn critical thinking and analytical skills. In turn, this can help out with just about every job imaginable.
There are, of course, less materialistic reasons for taking courses in Philosophy.
"Philosophy," Catterson said, "means the love of wisdom. It helps us to discover what truly motivates us." Which, he adds, "can get us that much closer to attaining happiness."
With all these great benefits for philosophy students, you would expect the department to be doing great.
Sadly, according to Catterson, the philosophy department at North Georgia is lucky to stay afloat.
In fact, Catterson sees this decline in interest as a, strangely enough, philosophical problem.
"The pragmatic spirit in America wrongly sees a division between science and philosophy, which is actually a philosophical judgment," he said.
Catterson also believes that this current lack of interest in philosophy is responsible for the dumbing of American art. Pointing to American cinema as an example, he commented that, "We see much less intellectual movies these days."
Although lower division courses, such as ethics, tend to have large classes due to their status as elective courses, upper division courses stay relatively small. In a climate of nationwide budget cuts, poor enrollment could spell disaster for any department.
"The best way to increase funding for the department is to increase enrollment," Catterson, who expressed his hopes for a BA program some day at North Georgia said. Currently, the school offers only an associates degree.
Considering the success rate of Philosophy students, it is puzzling why enrollment is so low.
As the Greek philosopher Socrates once said, "The unexamined life is not worth living."
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