Wednesday, September 24, 2008
To be a philosopher ...
"There are nowadays professors of philosophy, but not philosophers. Yet it is admirable to profess because it was once admirable to live. To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but to so love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust. It is to solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically, but practically." -Henry David Thoreau, Walden
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What? You mean philosophy has to be in my life before it can plausibly be in my classroom? Hum....
As I recount the countless classes I had in many of the disciplines (including philosophy, of course), those that made a lasting impression were from instructors' whose lives were clearly embedded at every turn with the love and practice of their discipline.
Great quote, Robert!
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