Prologue

Some decades have elapsed since I first enrolled at M.U.  Indeed, I suspect my freshman "year" (which I finally wrapped up in the spring of 2002) might well be among the longest on record at that institution.  At that rate, I should obtain my B.A. at age 177.  Of course, there were a few early detours which are unlikely to recur:  four years in the military, an odd job or two, countless technical schools, and a career of thirty years with a major corporation—while my wife and I raised a family along the way.  Now that I'm retired, and my own "kid" is off on her own, there seems a grand opportunity for this young man to finish what he started back in the autumn of '62.

During my initial enrollment years ago, I declared a major in Physics, since that was my primary interest (not counting girls, cars, and food) at the time.  At the age of 18, of course, I knew everything worth knowing—except that I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to be.  My future livelihood seemed to lie somewhere between "neurosurgeon" and "welder."  This probably explains why I later became a communications technician, a position demanding some of the skills of each of the aforementioned, but—alas—paying considerably less than either.

Now that I've had a little time to think things over, I find that although I still have an interest in science, it's not what I really want to do when I grow up.  Sometime during the mid 1980s, I discovered a new interest when I first got my hands on a word processor.  Previously, I'd thought that technology was my calling, and I was smack in the middle of a solid, if less than hugely fulfilling, technical career.  Suddenly I encountered a magical device that caused ideas to pop out of my fingers and onto a screen.

I've been writing ever since—but seldom about physics.  Strange to tell, the topics that have captured my greatest interest are those I would have shunned earlier:  politics, philosophy, and religion.  Imagine my shock upon discovering, at the onset of middle age, that the motivating and guiding voice within me is not that of Albert Einstein, but of Bertrand Russell.  Egad!  I'm not even a "people person," and suddenly my head is full of ideas—not of vectors and stresses, but of humanity and ethics.  What am I to do with myself?  I've never studied such things.  What are these ideas doing inside me, of all people?

I still haven't completely figured that out, but at least I have an idea what I can do about it.  I have a little catching up to do; in fact, I might as well start over.  It's never too late to become a lifetime learner.

Present

My current program of study has no particular pattern or objective, other than general enlightenment.  At best, it might transform me into a vague approximation of a Renaissance Man—which is an admirable and valuable thing to be (in my view), but one in rather low demand in this age of specialization.

Collectively, the courses on my docket probably would not significantly enhance my résumé; they are spread over too broad a range of interests to bolster my marketability in any specific field.  They are simply topics which I find interesting and challenging.  My reason for learning is simply curiosity.  I enrolled in a degree-seeking program only because the government is willing to pick up part of the bill for the earning of collegiate credentials—even in such a "non-profit" field as philosophy.  Indeed, I cannot imagine how my particular course of study would be of interest to anyone, save perhaps a psychologist.  But if you happen to be one of those, here it is, tastefully presented in anally-retentive tabular form.  Pray enjoy!

Selected Papers

Here I offer a sampling of my academic writings.  Like my studies, they cover a rather broad range of interests, and reasons for posting them here vary.  In most cases, it is because I feel a work makes a point that might be of interest to a broader audience, and such papers may be revised to suit that audience.  In others, it is because a professor has urged me to publish a paper as an example for other students to emulate; these are typically left in their original form, except to modify them to web-page format.  Sometimes I include additional notes, and sometimes I include a copy or paraphrase of the instructor's assignment, so the reader may judge whether the objective was achieved.

• Abortion Rights Dialogue: Right and Truth in Conflict (English Composition, 13 Nov 2000)

• Gedenken aus dem Kindergarten (German, 30 Sep 2003)

• My Favorite Mineral (Geology: Understanding Earth, 27 Aug 2002)

• Mythology as Communication (Classical Mythology, 2 Dec 2004)

• The Potential of Proteomics (Principles of Biology, 20 Oct 2003)

• Reflections on a Pond (Art History: Renaissance to Present, 7 Apr 2003)

Material from these papers may be cited with proper accreditation.  For advice and guidelines on how to do so, click here, or click the copyright notice at the top of the document page.

A WORD TO THE WITLESS (since the wise already know better):  Remember that simply copying material and misrepresenting it as your own work is plagiarism.  This is not only unethical and illegal, but also ridiculously easy to trace on the Internet.  Thus it is ridiculously stupid even to contemplate.

Perspective

At this stage of life, my motives for study are quite different from what they were when I was still in my teens.  In those days, it was pretty much the same as everyone else, I suppose: Do the minimum to get an acceptable grade, so you can get a degree, so you can get a nice job, so you can get lots of money, so you can enjoy your fair share of headaches and ulcers.  Somehow, I didn't find that sufficiently motivating.  Besides, back then it was still possible to land a respectable career—one that would permit a comfortable (if less than lavish) lifestyle—with just a high school education.

Nowadays, what prompts me to study is not ambition, but rather an abundance of curiosity that has accumulated over the course of living.  Although I am relatively unschooled in a formal sense, I am neither inexperienced nor unlearned, for I have traveled a bit and read a fair amount on my own in a variety of fields.  However, my hit-and-miss self-education has produced an intellectual fabric containing an annoying number of holes and imperfections.  My aim is to fill in those gaps and mend those flaws, as well as to expand into new dimensions, so that the whole acquires both broader perspective and deeper coherence.  I am not chasing a career, a degree, or even a grade.  I learn because I earnestly want to; I yearn to discover, hunger to assimilate, crave to comprehend.  My objective is no longer a diploma, but understanding.  Now, as I gleefully pursue this personal goal, there is the pleasant consequence that I consistently exceed even the highest expectations of the university.  This is something that I neither sought nor expected, so (except that it seems to induce scholarship groups to want to pay me for having fun) I cannot seem to take it very seriously.  It is just an amusing side-effect, some of whose manifestations are listed below.

• Award: Humanities & Fine Arts Dept. - Philosophy (MU Middletown Campus, 2003

• Induction: ΦΘΚ (Phi Theta Kappa) Honors Society (two-year) Beta Epsilon Delta Chapter, 2004

• Award: Scholastic Honors (MU Middletown Campus), 2004

• Nomination & Acceptance: National Dean's List, 2004

• Induction: ΦΚΦ (Phi Kappa Phi) Honors Society (four-year), 2008

Still, I do not mean to belittle such recognition.  For many people, it provides motivation and reward for superior ability and effort, and this is especially important in a world that has come to despise individuality, to value mediocrity, and to reward conformity.  To me, such recognition by schools, businesses, organizations, and individuals comes as a warming reassurance, that there are still some in our society who care seriously about intellectual development and achievement, and who recognize and appreciate its value to humanity.  While I do not consider myself to be actively competing for such recognition, I must admit it's cheering to get an "attaboy" now and then, especially when it's unexpected.

Potential

Okay, does anyone know of a reputable institution that's looking to hire an eccentrically rounded philosopher?

What do you mean, "Do you have your own clown suit?"

But, to be serious about this (for once), let's consider this:  Philosophy is widely considered the most difficult academic program in which to attain a degree.  Anyone who successfully does so at an accredited school has demonstrated himself or herself capable of logical reasoning in depth about complex issues both abstract and concrete, and of comprehending and arguing concepts that most people simply find too difficult to wrap their minds around.

Now, this is not to toot my own horn, since as a happy retiree I anticipate little gain from it, aside from a deepening of my own perspective and the personal satisfaction of accomplishing something challenging.  Rather, it's a tip to the insightful employer, who could hardly go wrong by augmenting his or her work force of specialists with a philosophical mind or two.  Granted, much of the subject matter of philosophy itself might seem pointless from a practical standpoint; yet focusing on that alone misses the real point.  In successfully grappling with such material, philosophy majors clearly demonstrate the ability to assimilate, analyze, integrate, and communicate complex ideas—an ability much sought after by astute business managers.  Coupled with both liberal education and expertise in other specific areas, such a talent constitutes a significant asset in any field in which clear comprehension, in-depth conceptualization, and disciplined reasoning would serve the advancement of the business, as an integral and interactive component of the economic environment, the social sphere, and the natural world.

=SAJ=