description:
Page Three - THE SKYSCRAPER - December 1,1967 In quest of the 'examined life'... Philosophy department revamps format Sister Dolores Dooley Skyscraper Photo by Kathy Flynn Mrs. Susan Fitxer Fr. Norman Senski H 1 1 /- I*3HB rtJBKfJtTTttal '*fifftHTi-Xtl tg -- by Mary McMorrow It was Socrates who said, The unexamined life is not worth living. The Mundelein philosophy department has listened to this prototype of all philosophers and is attempting to establish a meaningful course sequence to give the student grist for the examining mill. The members of the philosophy department this year are Sister Dolores Dooley, chairman, Mrs. Susan Fitzer, Michael Loux and Father Norman Senski, who also teaches theology. Skyscraper Photo by Kathy Flynn Mr. Michael Loux Just as other courses In the basic studies have been re vised to accommodate the changing needs of students, so the philosophy department has been receptive to the need for change within the philosophy course structure. Due to a certain amount of static from students who did not find philosophy of God the most meaningful second course, a course in approaches to value theory was inaugurated this fall as a substitute, according to Sister Dolores. We found that the question of God could be handled broad ly in theology, Sister con tinued, and the larger ques tion of value seemed to be plaguing students. The de partment therefore set up ap proaches to value theory, hoping that the course will speak to students' questions of value-making and their ethical concerns. The new course is also intended to provide a more serious continuity be tween Philosophy I, Approach es to Man, and Philosophy II. Value Theory. The matter of course con tinuity presents a problem for the student when she is de ciding which teacher to choose for the second philosophy course because of the great diversity in the teaching of Philosophy I. In Approaches to Man, for example, Mrs. Fitzer concen trates on Plato, Maritaln and Kierkegaard. Michael Loux, for the same course, presents Plato, Descartes, Barkely and Ryle. Sister Dolores begins with Plato, moves to Marx, Dewey, James, Merleau-Ponty, Sartre and Marcel. Father Senski takes books by Watts, Fromm, Huzlnga and Stybe. Thus, seeking a unity of pres entation, a, student may be tempted to follow one teacher through the three courses. Yet, Sister Dolores stresses that a student should emerge from any course of Philoso phy I with an awareness of problem areas and an under standing of the terminology relevant to the philosophy of man, rather than facts on any specific philosopher. Through a series of depart ment meeting, Sister Dolores remarked, the philosophy teachers have reached some consensus on the areas to be covered in any philosophy course. Thus, there Is now di versity within the department to allow for teacher pref erences but all teachers have agreed on problem areas rele vant to studying philosophy of man or value theory. We must agree that all ap proaches are valid, Sister Dolores said. Part of the unity is that we all use the problematic approach within the historical situation. Rather than following a spe cific teacher through the course sequence, a student should realize that, it is an enriching process going from one teacher to another, Sister Dolores concluded. Sister Ann Ida Gannon, phi losophy department chairman from 1951 until 1957 when she assumed the presidency of Mundelein. voices agreement on what a student should elicit from any given philos ophy course. The teacher must prepare ihe student to handle knowl edge, Sister Ann Ida said. This means not so much knowing facts as interpreting them. It is the duty of the philosophy teacher to stimu late the student to philoso phize rather than study philoso phy, Sister Ann Ida believes. There were four required courses when Sister Ann Ida was department chairman, three specified and one elec tive. Logic no longer is taught as a separate academic dis cipline. The gist of Aristote lian logic, argumentative rea soning, is now handled in Com munications n, comments Sister Dolores. The teacher in Philosophy I is necessarily faced with a group of students with no pre vious course experience in philosophy. Faced with this situation, where does the teacher begin? One common starting point might be that students are in terested in giving philosophy a chance, said Mrs. Fitzer, perhaps having no exlstential- ly grounded prejudices as they might have in other subjects. Sister Dolores commented that she likes to think stu dents come in with a desire to discover new questions and a variety of responses. This term is witnessing the Innova tion of allowing underclassmen to take the first course in the philosophy sequence. During past years Approaches to Man was ordinarily a junior course. An incentive to providing more courses in the future will surely be the 5250,000 grant the Carnegie Foundation has given to CSCA, to which Mundelein belongs, for the teaching of philosophy in high schools beginning in the fall of 1968. This experiment will allow CSCA philosophy teach ers, as visiting members of the high school faculties, to initiate courses on ethics, logic and theories of selfhood. With students perhaps en tering Mundelein with some philosophy credits from high school, a major In the subject seems feasible. The idea is germinating in our minds, Sister Dolores admitted. We are definitely not closed to the possibility of a major. A more Immediate concern to the present student is the large class size she is likely to encounter in any philoso phy course. Sister Dolores rec ognizes the discrepancy be tween large classes and the dlalogical method of teaching which she prefers to utilize. If classes continue to be large, Sister said, I am seri ously considering using one day for lecture and the other days for discussion in smaller groups. Besides the problems of course continuity and large classes, some students express concern over lack of teacher direction in any given philoso phy class, while other students would prefer less direction and more free-wheeling dis cussion. Mrs. Fitzer notes that while Socrates called for man to look inside himself, a new stu dent simply told to do this might not find much without some guidance from the teacher. The class is usually divided 50/50 into those who evaluate on their own and those who need the teacher, she ob served, and these groups most definitely help each other. EXClUSIVE Free removable carrying case Provides hygienic, convenient care for your lenses. One solution for complete lens care Lensine's special properties assure a smoother, non-irritating lens surface when inserting your contacts. Just a drop or two will do it. When used for cleaning, a unique Lensine formula helps retard buildup of contaminants and foreign deposits on the lenses. It's self-sterilizing and antiseptic. Ideal for wet storage or soaking of lenses. Lensine reduces harmful bacteria con tamination. FREE CARRYING CASE. Exclusive removable carrying case with every bottle of Lensine. The scientific and convenient way to protect your contacts. LENSINE from The Murine Company, inc. ...eye cars specialist for 70 years . '
title:
1967-12-01 (3)
publisher:
Women and Leadership Archives http://www.luc.edu/wla
creator:
Mundelein College
description:
Student newspaper for Mundelein College
subject:
Newspapers
subject:
Religious communities--Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
subject:
Students
subject:
Universities and colleges
subject:
Women's education
relation:
Mundelein College Records
type:
Text
language:
English
rights:
This image is issued by the Women and Leadership Archives. Use of the image requires written permission from the Director of the Women and Leadership Archives. It may not be sold or redistributed, copied or distributed as a photograph, electronic file, or any other media. The image should not be significantly altered through conventional or electronic means. Images altered beyond standard cropping and resizing require further negotiation with the Director. The user is responsible for all issues of copyright. Please Credit: Women and Leadership Archives, Loyola University Chicago. wlarchives@luc.edu
coverage:
Chicago, Illinois
coverage:
Mundelein College