The Spring '24 semester, scheduled to begin January 16, has been postponed by the weather. See you on Thursday. Students, introduce yourselves in the comments section below. Who are you? Why are you here (at this school, in this course, on this earth...)? Include your section # (1, 2, or 3). See you TuesThursday.
300 James Union Building (JUB)
phil.oliver@mtsu.edu *
* A note on OFFICE HOURS:
Spring '24 T/Th 11:15 am--12:45 pm on campus (in 300 JUB or at another designated location, call to confirm location before coming in)... (615) 898-2050... (615) 525-7865-only during office hours please. Other days on Zoom, by appointment.
Hello! My name is Adriana and I’m in section H03. I’m a political science major and psychology and honors minor who graduates in May! I’m also enrolled in MTSU’s AEMT program and will be finishing that up next month. I chose MTSU to save money and be close to home and I’ve really enjoyed my time here! I just finished up Classical Political Theory so I’m interested to see how this course differs. See y’all Tuesday!
ReplyDeleteThanks for going first, Adriana.
DeleteI was a poli-sci major as an undergrad at Mizzou back in the 70s, but wasn't getting enough Classical Political Theory so I switched to philosophy and discovered Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Mill...
Hi, I'm Eliah, and I'm in section H02. I'm an audio production major and Spanish minor. This is my second year in college/at MTSU. I chose to take this class because I like thinking about existence and the world. I like making music, watching movies, or reading in my free time.
ReplyDeleteAnd I chose MTSU because it was close and I didn't know where else to go. I also have a passion for music, so it worked out, although I was a Physical Geography major for my first year.
DeleteNot close enough, these days, for those of us with a Nashville commute! But as is true of most schools, you can get an excellent education here if you do your part.
DeleteAs I said to Adriana, I also changed majors as an undergrad. The counseling/state funding system at our school discourages that, but I'll always encourage students to do what's best for them. There's much talk about "career readiness" these days, by academic adminstrators and state legislators, but not nearly enough about LIFE readiness. Get a good education and you'll be ready for anything.
Hello! My name is Keira and I'm in section HO2. I'm a biology major with a minor in military science. I am a freshman that is currently contracted into the ROTC program. I came to MTSU for it's location being close to Nashville and to escape my small town living.
ReplyDeleteYounger Daughter was a biology major. Now she's working in a bakery. I told her to watch/read "Lessons in Chemistry" on netflix and follow Elizabeth Zott's example. (But really I told her to follow her bliss, as Joseph Campbell said.)
DeleteM'boro can still feel small, though not during rush hour... and small-minded in some ways. But it did make a list of most-desirable-to-live-in mid-sized cities recently.
DeleteHello! My name is Charlene (Carly) Coleman, I am a freshman, and I am in section H02. I'm a digital marketing major and a Buchanan Fellow! I chose MTSU because it is only two and a half hours from my home town, Cleveland, TN, and my mom went here!
ReplyDeleteSeems like a crowded field, digital marketing... to judge by how many digital marketing appeals we all encounter constantly. DId that field even exist, prior to Google? But I don't guess you guys remember a time before Google, as I do.
DeleteTo you Buchanan Fellows: congrats on that distinction! But... I'm not a fan of your fellowship's namesake. Have you read "Democracy in Chains" by Nancy McLean?
Delete"Behind today’s headlines of billionaires taking over our government is a secretive political establishment with long, deep, and troubling roots. The capitalist radical right has been working not simply to change who rules, but to fundamentally alter the rules of democratic governance. But billionaires did not launch this movement; a white intellectual in the embattled Jim Crow South did. Democracy in Chains names its true architect—the Nobel Prize-winning political economist James McGill Buchanan—and dissects the operation he and his colleagues designed over six decades to alter every branch of government to disempower the majority.
In a brilliant and engrossing narrative, Nancy MacLean shows how Buchanan forged his ideas about government in a last gasp attempt to preserve the white elite’s power in the wake of Brown v. Board of Education. In response to the widening of American democracy, he developed a brilliant, if diabolical, plan to undermine the ability of the majority to use its numbers to level the playing field between the rich and powerful and the rest of us.
Corporate donors and their right-wing foundations were only too eager to support Buchanan’s work in teaching others how to divide America into “makers” and “takers.” And when a multibillionaire on a messianic mission to rewrite the social contract of the modern world, Charles Koch, discovered Buchanan, he created a vast, relentless, and multi-armed machine to carry out Buchanan’s strategy.
Without Buchanan's ideas and Koch's money, the libertarian right would not have succeeded in its stealth takeover of the Republican Party as a delivery mechanism. Now, with Mike Pence as Vice President, the cause has a longtime loyalist in the White House, not to mention a phalanx of Republicans in the House, the Senate, a majority of state governments, and the courts, all carrying out the plan. That plan includes harsher laws to undermine unions, privatizing everything from schools to health care and Social Security, and keeping as many of us as possible from voting. Based on ten years of unique research, Democracy in Chains tells a chilling story of right-wing academics and big money run amok. This revelatory work of scholarship is also a call to arms to protect the achievements of twentieth-century American self-government." https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/30011020
Howdy!
ReplyDeleteMy name is Wyatt Andrews, and I am a freshman here the old MT.
I am studying Emergency Management and Homeland Security with a minor in Military Science. I am in Section HO1. I took History 1010 last semester where we dipped our toes into some of these ideas which is why I decided to take this course. I am very interested in how people look at the world and where their broader beliefs stem from.
These are times that call for Emergency Management, for sure. But people have always thought that.
DeleteMore important than where beliefs stem from, I'd say, is where they're taking us and whether they're justified.
Hey there! I'm Shelby Baltimore, and I'm in section H03. I am a Global Studies and Human Geography major with a minor in foreign language. I plan to use this class to deeper understand people and their habits and relate that to culture, geographic location, etc., (basically my major). I chose to come to MTSU because of its extensive connections in the study abroad program and am planning to go to Tanzania in the Summer semester.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure philosophy has helped me understand people more deeply, but it has definitely acquainted me with the varieties of ways of being human and the value of pluralism as a philosophical perspective. I guess that's related.
ReplyDeleteGreat name, btw.
Hi! I'm Aj Click, and I'm a part of the H03 section. I am a Sociology major and a Japanese minor here at MT. I am a freshman. I have always been interested in how the world works and why society as a whole does certain things which is why I chose my major. I have always had an interest in philosophy but my high school had very limited classes, so I was never able to take it which is why I have chosen to take it now. I chose MT because it was far enough from home to where I feel independent but also can easily get home if I need to. I also chose MT due to its study-abroad program. I am a language minor so it was important to me to have the ability to travel to expand my understanding of the language and culture I am studying.
ReplyDeleteMy HS didn't offer Philosophy either. I'd like to believe we'd be a better country if more of us had imbibed a philosophical education from the beginning. It's never too soon to start asking and discussing good questions, and learning that it's okay for people of good will to differ in their answers.Too many of us seem not to know that, these days.
DeleteIt's just been announced that the university is closed tomorrow, so everybody should have a chance to post an introduction here before our postponed Opening Day on Thursday.
ReplyDeleteHi I’m archer welch I’m in section HO2. I am a pro pilot major with a minor in military science. I am attending MTSU for the flight program in hopes to be a pilot one day along with having family in Murfreesboro.
ReplyDeleteA scrupulous philosopher of language (which I'm usually not) would point out the ambiguity in your statement: are you aspiring to a family in M'boro, or have you got one already?
DeleteHey! My name is Madison Yahn! I am in section H02 and i’m a freshmen. I am a biotechnology and genetics major and a buchanan fellow. I chose MTSU because of the fellowship but also because it’s not too far from home!
ReplyDeleteThat scrupulous ph'er of language would also ask: how many freshpersons are you?
DeleteHere's a question for all of you--so many!--who say you chose us because of our proximity to home: Is that because you're uncomfortable exploring unfamiliar places, prospects, ideas etc.? If so, be advised: philosophy, the love and pursuit of wisdom, is all about exploring new vistas. As the poet said (in Four Quartets), the end of all our exploring may be to return home "and know the place for the first time." But first, you have to go exploring.
That said, I went to my state flagship just a couple hours from home. It was comforting to know I could go home again pretty much at will. But by the time I got to grad school I was happy to be hundreds of miles away. It's all a process of growth, some grow faster than others.
Hello! I'm Ryan Taylor and I am in section H02. I am a freshman and a double major in Pro-Pilot and Aviation Management. Since MTSU is the only school in the state to offer flight training it was my only option, however, I am excited to be here!
ReplyDeleteJust curious: where's the nearest out-of-state flight school? Was that not an option?
DeleteI believe Ohio State and Auburn are the next closest. I wanted to stay in state and keep my Hope Scholarship though!
DeleteHi, my name is Grace Woods and I’m in section H01. I’m a freshman video and film production major and a Buchanan Fellow. I chose MTSU partly because of how close it is to my house and how good the film production facilities are.
ReplyDeleteNot just home, but house! Are you (like me) a peripatetic? I wish I could walk to school every day. Unfortunately it's 42 miles, I'd be late.
DeleteHello! My name is Mera Ishak, and I'm in section H01. I am a freshman biochemistry major and a Buchanan Fellow. I chose MTSU because it is close to home, and because of the scholarship I was offered!
ReplyDeleteOne of my good friends in grad school already had a PhD in biochemistry, then she got one in philosophy. There's a path you might want to consider--you'd be the second person I've ever heard of doing that (maybe the second ever).
DeleteHello! My name is Ani Heng and I'm in section H01. I am a commercial songwriting freshman and chose MTSU because it has a good recording industry program and because of the Buchanan fellowship. Intro to Philosophy is a required Buchanan class, but I find philosophy interesting and am excited to learn more. As for why I'm on this Earth, I think about that a lot, but my general answer is that I'm here to just experience life.
ReplyDeleteThere aren't many schools, are there, where you can major in commercial songwriting? That would be a good reason to come here, wherever you were coming from.
DeleteHello, my name is Emma Parker and I'm in section H01. I am a freshman studying music industry. I chose MTSU because of the scholarship opportunities and good programs here.
ReplyDeleteThat's the best reason to go anywhere.
DeleteHi! My name is Jocelyn Bullock and I'm in section H01. I am a freshman majoring in Instrumental Music Education. I have a really deep love for music and for helping others, and the more I learn about my major, the more excited I get for my future. I am at MTSU because of the great music and education programs offered here.
ReplyDeleteI see a positive trend forming, good and great programs drawing us here... I wonder how many said "close to home" because others said it first. We humans are an imitative species, for better and worse.
DeleteHi! I'm Nat Shunk, and I am in section H01. I am a freshman majoring in commercial songwriting with a minor in music industry (voice focused) and university honors! I am in Intro to Philosophy because it is a required Buchanan class; however, I have always been very interested in philosophy and am very glad to finally be in a philosophy class. I went to Arkansas Governors School when I was 17 and was able to take a class then, and I really enjoyed it, so I am excited to see what this semester holds! I am at MTSU because of their phenomenal recording industry program, but within the past semester here, I have fallen in love with pretty much anything MTSU. I believe we are here on this earth to make a difference, so I can't wait to go into my field to make my mark on the music industry. Excited to learn from this class!!
ReplyDeleteGood for you, here "to make a difference"... that's meliorism, the desire to ameliorate (make better) our corner of the world to the extent we can.
DeleteAnd good for you, crossing state boundaries in search of opportunities to make your mark!
Hello! My name is Nicholas Perrone, but I am fine being called Nick or Nicholas! I am in section H02. To define who I really am, I need to look at my interests. I am someone who loves to learn; I feel this class will help me expand my knowledge since I do not know much about philosophy. Additionally, I am a hard worker and currently have two jobs in addition to being a full time student. Also, I am also a proactive person. The biggest reason I took this class was because I plan on attending law school after MTSU, and I have heard that philosophy and political science are great areas to study together. Before taking this class, I have always been interested in political philosophy, so hopefully this class can teach me to appreciate other areas of philosophy as well. I am excited for this class!!
ReplyDeleteI was on the same pre-law path back in the 70s, before switching from poli sci to philosophy. But philosophy was too much fun to move on from. I've not heard many lawyers use THAT f-word about their profession.
DeleteHaha! We will have to see! I'm excited for your class!
DeleteMy name is JT Hamilton, and I am in section H02. I'm an audio production major here at MTSU. I'm at the school mostly for the cheap cost of the tuition, but the fact that it has a highly regarded audio program doesn't hurt either. I'm in the specific class because I want to learn about different mindsets and walks of life, different reasonings as to why people may do what they do.
ReplyDeletePsychology also studies "mindsets"... but of course it used to be part of philosophy, until Wm James wrote its Principles...
DeleteHello there, my name is Jake Phipps and I am currently a Buchanen Transfer Fellow studying Video and Film Production as my major. I am in section H01 of this class. I am here studying film in order to spread a more positive message when it comes to life and life experience. I am excited to take part in this class, mainly because I want to look into deep questions and profound meaning to questions in life. This will most certainly help me when I write films in my future.
ReplyDeleteMore positive than...?
DeleteOlder Daughter studied film, is now in LA doing various things on her way to making her own positive contribution.
Hello! My name is Madison Reeves and I am an elementary education major. I'm in section H02 of this class. I'm here at MTSU mostly for the education program and the price of tuition but also because it's a far enough away from my house for me to be able to have a lot of independence. I chose my major because I want to help provide students with the foundations they need to succeed later in life. I'm pretty excited for this class because I want to learn more about the way different people might view the world.
ReplyDeleteThe rising cost of higher education really is an issue these days. When I was an undergrad, tuition at Mizzou was about $30 per credit hour. Never thought then that I'd look back on those as the good ole' days. Youneverknow (as the old Dominican pitcher said was his favorite word in English).
DeleteHello! My name is Hannah Ferreira. I am in section H01 of this class and I am a psychology and political science (pre-law) double major. I am at MTSU because of affordability and the abundance of opportunities offered to me here, among other things. I'm super excited to be in this class, I love learning about and discussing (my currently limited knowledge of) philosophy and finding out what makes humans "tick," which is mostly why I study psychology. I'd love to consider studying philosophy, maybe adding a minor or taking some related electives! Or just reading plenty of books about it! As to why I'm here on earth, I'll copy my answer from the Westminster Shorter Catechism: "To glorify God and enjoy Him forever."
ReplyDeleteWe'd love to welcome you as a minor. Come by the department (when school finally opens) and talk to our chair, Professor Magada-Ward, about it. Her office is right next to mine, 3d floor of the JUB (James Union Bldg--it was the original MTSU student union, I've been told).
DeleteHello, I'm Jackson Stewart and I'm in section H01. I started college at Chattanooga in 2020 but stopped the following semester as I wasn't really sure which career path I wanted to pursue and the Pandemic just didn't seem like the time for me to be going to school. I chose to enroll at MTSU as a psychology major with a minor in neuroscience and plans to go on to grad school for neuropsychology. MTSU seemed like a good choice for me due to its cost effectiveness and the positive feedback I've gotten from others who attend. As far as this course, I honestly chose to take philosophy out of sheer curiosity. I find philosophy intriguing but I've never taken a dedicated course on the subject so I'm really looking forward to it. Sorry for the late response, I got snowed in without my laptop.
ReplyDeleteYou started at UTC about the time Younger Daughter left there and came here. Pandemic was definitely not a good time for school but she plowed through it.
Delete"Sheer curiosity" is a great reason to study philosophy, which begins in wonder (a phrase variously attributed to all the old dead Greek philosophers).
Hey, my name is Allison "Ally" Gibbons. I'm part of the H01 section with the Buchanan Scholars and I am studying Environmental Science. "Who are you?" I am me :). "Why are you here (at this school, in this course, on this earth...)?" I am at this school because it was my last option out of the 10 schools I applied to but the only one that gave me enough money (crying on the inside because education is so inaccessible). I am in this course because it is required of me, however I am excited and curious about what I will learn, especially topics like Ethics, which I think will be very important for the field of work I want to go into (the field being conservation and restoration in a place like a national park or land reserve). I am on this Earth because I am the result of the combination of an egg and sperm which combined into a zygote that has now grown to become me, a conscious, living being.
ReplyDeleteI'd say the zygote explanation is more HOW you're here than WHY. Thy WHY question has to do with your experience of being conscious, thus far and going forward. We're looking less for a causal account of your origins than an existential account of your intentions... which you answer admirably with your conservation/restoration plans.
DeleteHi, my name is Will Slaughter and I'm in section H02. I am a music industry major and I came to MTSU for it's proximity to Nashville so I can pursue a music career. As for why I chose to take Philosophy, I took some rhetoric classes in High school that discussed philosophy and found that I quite enjoy talking about philosophy, along with general pondering, so this seemed like a good class to choose. As for why I'm on earth in general, because God put me here.
ReplyDeleteI think that might be another HOW answer. But it can be a WHY, if you internalize and genuinely act from a divine hypothesis. I choose the humanist and pluralist account myself, meaning there's room for us all.
DeleteBut I do worry about some of those, presumably unlike everyone in THIS course, who say god put them here and thus take themselves far too seriously and sanctimoniously-- "on a mission from god" etc. That's one of the ways humans behave dogmatically and un-pluralistically.
But as I say, I presume we're all pluralistic CoPhilosophers here.
Hey! My name is Katelin Burch and I'm a freshman majoring in Environmental Sciences. I'm In section H02! I came to MTSU because I graduated early from my high school, in December 2023, and wanted to stay close to home by my friends!
ReplyDeleteI graduated a year early back in '74. I was eager to get away and make new friends. Two hours away was maybe not quite far enough out of my comfort zone for optimal growth. So for grad school I made a point of leaving the state (of mind, as well as the state of MO).
DeleteHi! My name is Kendal Johnson and I'm in section H03. I'm a freshman and I don't have a major yet. I decided to come to MTSU because this school isn't that far from home.
ReplyDeleteHome is sweet, but again I encourage you all to push yourselves to expand your horizons and your conception of home. Growing up means making yourself at home in the wider world. Carl Sagan said it best: to be a true cosmopolitan is to be a citizen of the cosmos, no matter where you hang your hat.
DeleteHi, I'm Jaylin Moore and I'm a biology major in section H01. I'm at MTSU mostly for financial reasons, and its proximity to home doesn't hurt. Honestly, if there is a purpose for my existence on this planet, I hope I never find out about it. Seems like that'd lead to a lot of expectations, and I don't do well under that sort of pressure. I'd like to think that if there is a reason for me being here, it's just to experience life, and to try to get as much joy out of it as I can. Probably not, but it's a nice thought.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you think your purpose is something necessarily imposed externally, rather than something you yourself discover, fashion, and have a personal stake in. Not to have a purpose that you've made your own and internalized is to court nihilism. Or, it's to turn yourself into a robot like that forlorn little guy on Rick and Morty who learns his purpose is to pass the butter. Thing is, whether we're originally "programmed" (by nature, genetics, experience, god) with a set purpose or not, being conscious, reflective, and free means we get to regulate and possibly even re-write the program. I hope you'll come to see philosophy as an invitation to do just that, to find and follow the purpose-driven life. Otherwise, your answer to why you're here is: don't know, don't want to know, don't care. Doesn't matter. I say it matters.
Delete"You pass butter" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7HmltUWXgs
DeleteHi! My name is Riley Webb, and I'm in the H01 section. I'm from Clinton, Tennessee and I'm majoring in Computer Engineering Technology. In my free time I go hiking, play video games, and hang out with my friends. I am here because I am required to take this class but I look forward to seeing what I can learn during my time in this class.
ReplyDeleteOn pretty days I hope you opt for the hike rather than the screen.
DeleteIn a better world (not utopia I hope), no one would have to be "required" to study and practice the pursuit of wisdom.
Hi, I am Tessa Wallace, and I am a Hotel and Hospitality Management with a double major in Business Administration. I am in section H03. I chose this class because I needed an honors credit and was interested in this class. I chose MTSU because it was close to home and familiar with the majors I wanted. I am excited to see where this class goes this semester!
ReplyDeleteAs I kept saying yesterday, I hope we all learn to think that everyplace is "close to home." That too would be a better world.
DeleteWhat up y'all? I'm Silas Borck, I'm a Global Studies and Human Geography major with an Aviation minor. I fix airplanes at the Murfreesboro airport. I dream to one day live in a developing country and help isolated tribes as a bush pilot. MTSU is close to home and near the base where I drill every month for the Tennessee National Guard. I love philosophy and chose this class because I wanted more time to discuss the material in a smaller class setting.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the H03 Class
DeleteIf present trends continue, we may all soon all be living in a "developing country... close to home." But I'm still hopeful we'll turn that around, and we will if enough of us love philosophy too.
DeleteH3: Well, my name- is Sean. Who am I is a much more nebulous question. I study biology, I'm a musician, I play soccer--but these are just things I do. Put simply, I am me, at this moment, in this place. I came to mtsu because it was the cheapest option for a good education in the life sciences. I chose this class because I believe it is of vital importance not just to consider my reality, but to analyze my perception of my reality. In other words, why it is that I think the way I do, and what hypocrisies or inconsistencies do I exhibit that I may be unaware of.
ReplyDeleteInstead of "cheapest," how about we say most valuable? And instead of "my reality" etc., how about ours? We're all in it together, even those trapped in fantasyland.
DeleteHey! My name is Riley Shrout, and I'm actually a theatre education major. I didn't need philosophy for my major, but I did need an honors credit and this class seemed really interesting! I'm in section H03.
ReplyDelete"I didn't need philosophy..." Oh, but everybody needs philosophy. Everybody has one, many need a better one.
DeleteMy name is Spencer Whitney, and I am in section H02. At the basest level, I am a thinker, dancer, storyteller, and musician. On a much more introspective level, I feel I am a vortex of human emotion and cognitive thought endowed with a physical presence- a vessel for storytelling. I am in this class because I love mind enriching conversations and discussing moral philosophy and ethics. I am at this university as it was the financially sound opportunity that was presented, and was therefore the most advantageous to attaining my purpose. I am on this earth to tell stories. To convey the deepest and most sacred parts of the human spirit through theatre, dance, and songwriting. I am a performer- a caricature of everyday life.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Makenzie Edwards (H03). I am at MTSU to get my bachelor's degree in political science with a pre-law concentrate. I chose MTSU because it is cheap and I will not have to go into debt to go to school here. I am currently interning at a law firm and I plan to go to law school after my time here.
ReplyDelete