CAMPUS

Should professors teach a system?

I am not sure if I agree with Paul when he writes, “I think the true purpose of professors is not to teach that one set of thinkers is categorically right, but to present the strengths and weaknesses of all positions.” I think that Paul’s concern is that if one learns Kant from a Thomist, the professor will spend the time explaining the problems with Kant. One needs to understand Kant on his own terms. This is a valid concern, but once one has a full grasp of Kant, should the professor allow his or her students to remain trapped within the confines of Kant’s world? I would argue no. One way around this is to study thought in a progressive manner, so that one begins with Socrates and see show Aristotle improves upon him, and then Thomas on Aristotle, then Descartes, etc. Of course, this only leads to the belief that whoever is most recent is most right.

On the other hand, maybe it is beneficial for professors to hold up one system as the most coherent and superior to the rest. I would argue that Aquinas is the best philosophical system, but that’s for another roundtable discussion. In the words of G.K. Chesterton, “The Catholic Church is the only thing which saves a man from the degrading slavery of being a child of his age.” This is because the Church holds up some systems as superior to others and does not believe that progress always means improvement. This is why professors should hold up some belief as categorically right, even if it is a synthesis of a few. Also from Chesterton, “A teacher who is not dogmatic is simply a teacher who is not teaching.”

So what about the problem of learning Kant from a Thomist? This is one of the reasons I support comprehensive programs like the Perspectives (one which I mentioned in my previous post). In such a program, one can learn Kant on his own terms and also over the course of several classes have a universal belief system proposed. Of course, students should always be allowed to pursue their own questions to their logical conclusions in class, as this is the real meaning of academic freedom, but positions need to be supported with reasoning – which professors should constantly be questioning. We are seeking wisdom here, not just knowledge.