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Monmouth University Students Trying To Bring Back Philosophy Major

Student team is attempting to bring back the philosophy major to campus after it was dissolved in the 1980s

Four impassioned Monmouth University students have banned together to form Philosophy Revolution, a team organized to bring back the philosophy major to the university since the original degree was dissolved in the 1980s.

The possibility for this to happen is more fathomable now than ever before thanks to the valiant combined efforts of sophomores Andrew Bell and Matthew-Donald Sangster and juniors Emily Curry and Mario Tridente. Together, these students have gained support from Monmouth’s philosophy department and have spread the word of philosophical revolution one classroom at a time.

“Philosophy is truly the basis of knowledge and it is such an intense and fluid and rich school of thought, and Rene Descartes said ‘I think, therefore I am,’ so what happens if we don’t think anymore?” Curry said.

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Each student has a specific role within the team. Bell is in charge of recruitment and advertisement while Tridente is their political science representative. Curry is in charge of organizations and publications and Sangster provides statistics and coordination.

The team believes that introducing the major would not only excite those interested in philosophy, it would benefit the university, a Liberal Arts school, at large because the campus would become more intellectually alive and expanded.

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“Since philosophical theories are fundamental to every discipline on campus, an expanded philosophy program would help to strengthen every other department,” Monmouth philosophy professor Stuart Dalton said.

Before coming to the university in 2001, Dalton taught philosophy at Penn State, the University of Hartford and Georgia State. He is impressed, grateful and proud of his students, who have all been moved and inspired by his classes.

“Philosophy has always been central to liberal education, which is the only thing that separates university education from any other form of education, so a university without a philosophy major is difficult to even conceptualize,” Dalton said.

The team also believes that earning a degree in philosophy is a safe resolution in these hard economic times. Sangster has thoroughly researched statistics, and has come to the conclusion that a philosophy major offers a student limitless possibilities and insight into their futures.

As the team has spread Mission: Philosophy throughout the campus, they have realized the lack of interest that was around in the 1980s is no longer the case for today’s students.

"Kids do want a philosophy major now, but they wane from their actual wants because they realize we don’t have a major," Curry said. "They either compromise by taking it as a minor or they just don’t come to Monmouth at all.  It’s just something that needs to be offered.”

This is why Bell and Curry have designed a three-credit course that combines first-year seminar with the philosophies within the incredibly popular show South Park. They consider philosophy classes to be an excellent way for first-year students to become acclimated to a broader way of thinking.

Bell can personally vouch for Monmouth philosophy classes, which have dramatically improved his life and transformed his ideas about education.

“If we can influence people to get into a subject of interest that is as important as philosophy, the amazing range of benefits is inconceivable," Bell said. "Philosophy changed my life, and changed the way I look at things.  It has made me a more responsible person and it’s made me more comfortable with myself.”

The team remains positive despite minor setbacks along the way, and Bell believes that, “even if we can’t have the major by the time we graduate, at least future students can continue with our efforts to make this dream a reality.”

Team Philosophy Revolution heavily endorses the support of Monmouth students and the local community. They can be contacted through their website http://www.mattsangster.com/philosophy/, or via their Facebook group, Mission: Philosophy.

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