Philosophy, a major field of study at Colby-Sawyer, seeks to open students' minds and sharpen their critical reasoning skills, as well as hone their reading, writing and oral communication skills. This issue of Currents features essays written by students from Associate Professor of Humanities Craig Greenman's philosophy courses in which students demonstrate many of these essential skills.
Sartre's View of 'The Square'
Pradipti Bhatta, a first-year student from Nepal, wrote this essay for her Introduction to Philosophy class with Professor Craig Greenman. Students were asked to select their own topics for an essay based on their class readings and to defend their points of view.
The Beauty of the Stars
Sara Maloney '13, a history, society and culture major, has contributed an essay titled, The Beauty of the Stars, which she wrote for her Philosophy of Art, Love and Beauty course. The assignment was to take a piece of music that students found powerful and apply Friedrich Nietzsche's theories to it. In the class, we looked at works by ancient philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato, 19th- and 20th-century philosophers such as Nietzsche, contemporary artists such as Klee, and contemporary philosophers such as Kosuth to better understand how theories of art and beauty have evolved through the years," explains Maloney.
Existence Precedes Essence
Kristen Tran '13, a business administration major, has contributed an essay called Existentialism, which she wrote for her Introduction to Philosophy class with Professor Craig Greenman. For this assignment, students chose their own topics based on class readings and had to defend their positions on the topic. Tran has found that some of Sartre's views mirror her own."Essentially, human beings are nothing other than what they make of themselves," she says. "For example, I cannot claim that I am brave because I want to be. I need to choose to be brave and prove that I am through my actions and choices."