Philosophy Beyond the Classroom

Introduction

In this blog post, I share my experiences as an undergraduate student navigating the daunting world of philosophy, from the exhilarating experience of presenting at a philosophy conference to the unsettling reality of confronting systemic barriers within the field. This piece will explore how I discovered philosophy, the process of creating my poster for the APA conference, my perspectives on professional philosophy, and the challenges the philosophy classroom faces.

Discovering Philosophy

I started my college career as a psychology major which I’ve greatly enjoyed; I’ve always been interested in the brain and how we think. It was only by chance that I signed up to take Introduction to Philosophy as an elective during my first year’s first semester. My enamorment with philosophy was not love at first sight. I did not fall in love with philosophy when sitting in an uncomfortable chair with a desk the size of a book, listening to a lecture at 11 am in a room full of 100-plus students—instead, it was in my recitation. I had an excellent TA, Amanda Loeffelholz, a Ph.D. student at CU Boulder. She made me realize that philosophy is not merely a history lesson on a bunch of older white men but rather a compilation of lessons on living. Philosophy had started to answer the questions I had yearned to find the answers to in my psychology classes: why do humans behave in an immoral nature at times? What is virtue? What is happiness? I never thought that the contemplation of these questions would be found in the spines of Spinoza or the pages of Plato. Looking back in retrospect, I had assumed these things because I had not been exposed to philosophy before.

The APA Poster Process

During my fall semester of 2023, I took two philosophy classes: Modern Philosophy and Critical Thinking and Writing. I was nervous going into these classes. They were my first high-  level philosophy courses, and beyond that, I only became a philosophy major in April of 2023. However, despite the novelty of the philosophy world, I knew I wanted to explore what it entailed further.

My writing professor, Zak Kopeikin, had us fill out a Google Form at the beginning of the semester. The last question box in the form contained the following statement: “Please share any questions with me. These can be about myself, our class, or philosophy.” Despite my lack of expertise regarding philosophy, I had heard of conferences before and knew they were something I wanted to look into. Thus, my question came quickly: “Can undergraduate students (like myself) get involved in philosophy conferences?” Soon after, Zak answered my question. He informed us of the American Philosophical Association (something I had never heard of before), commonly known by its acronym (APA). He let us know that the APA was accepting undergraduate paper abstract submissions for the potential to present at one of the conferences. Without hesitation, I knew I wanted to pursue it.

I attended Zak’s office hours and bombarded him with numerous potential poster ideas. One possibility I suggested inspired Zak. I was toying with the idea of wanting to write on the patriarchy, specifically a component I believed to be overlooked: how it is harmful towards men. Zak encouraged me to pursue this but challenged me to make the idea more applicable to myself. I considered where I had most seen the impacts of the patriarchy, and I instantaneously thought of the philosophy classroom. Even though I’m only in my second year of university, the negative effects of the patriarchy have already been made blatantly obvious to me, and I wanted to talk about it (I further expand on these thoughts in my “Challenges in the Philosophy Classroom” section of this piece). Consequently, my poster idea blossomed: “Unmasking the Patriarchy: bell hooks’ Insights in Philosophy Education.”

The simplest step of the process was creating the poster. I filled out a blank slide on Google Slides with my paper’s essential components, such as the abstract, core questions, crucial examples, and more. A few weeks later, I was able to submit it to the APA. It was accepted to all three divisions of the conference. While this allowed me to glimpse into the reality of professional philosophy, I still have an immense amount to learn. Philosophy conferences are just a sliver of the whole pie, and I have yet to discover what all of the slices encompass.

Perspectives on Professional Philosophy

When I first think of professional philosophy, one word instantly comes to mind: intimidating. From the complicated jargon to the challenging climb to make it in philosophy, it seems like an improbable feat to achieve. I presume that this is due to a lack of resources for undergraduate students pursuing philosophy—while professors are willing to help you, information on potential careers and graduate school is scarce.

Furthermore, opinions on professional philosophy vary widely. Professors and graduate students agree that the most common career is becoming a professor. However, I’ve also heard of people working in IT, business, computer science, AI, and so much more. Beyond the workforce, I’ve also heard a wide range of information regarding graduate school. One professor tells me that my GPA matters, the next one says that my GPA is only meaningful if I have strong letters of recommendation, and the third states the only thing universities even look at is the writing sample.

Moreover, no common consensus can be found online. I’ve tried turning to Google, YouTube, and even TikTok to try and crack the code behind what graduate school and philosophy careers look like, and I’ve had little success. There are very few easily accessible materials regarding how to get involved in philosophy. Sometimes, I feel the professional world of philosophy is unapproachable—like a secret society no one can quite figure out how to join.

This leads me to question how the lack of easily accessible resources may be resolved. One cannot rewrite the entire internet in an evening. However, accessible online information could be beneficial to provide students with more guidance. For example, professors and TAs have encouraged me to look into podcasts or other blog posts regarding people’s experiences with philosophy. Though, these have never been materials I’ve been able to find on my own. One idea I’ve been teasing out is for undergraduates interested in philosophy to have the opportunity to shadow a professor or a graduate student. I call this the Philosophy Mentorship Initiative (PMI for short). The PMI would be challenging and take much work on the department’s end; however, I believe it could help students tremendously. To better understand, picture this: a professor or a graduate student takes on around 3-5 students a semester. They meet every two weeks and look through what the teacher is working on. Perhaps this is a TA-like position, in which students help grade, or maybe it’s centered around research, where the undergraduates assist in citations or help look for new materials. This would be up for discussion amongst the individual groups to determine what works for the professors and what the students would like from the experience.

Nearly all of my friends are not philosophy majors, and I see them being able to achieve hands-on experience in their field, from becoming a lab assistant to a teacher assistant for their favorite class. This interactive work is not offered in philosophy. Of course, undergraduate students can participate in things such as conferences, yet those usually involve multiple hurdles for the student to overcome (travel, funding, being accepted into the conference). I would love to see more achievable and approachable immersive experiences available to philosophy students, the PMI being just one potential idea.

Despite the difficulty of attempting to crack the philosophy field, I know one thing is sure: philosophy students love philosophy. They are some of the most passionate students I have ever met. Philosophy majors care about what they’re learning; they’re engaged, intrigued, and provoked while learning about the Euthyphro problem and Thomson’s violinist example. They care, and their thirst for knowledge is utterly intoxicating and ever-so-impressionable.

Challenges in the Philosophy Classroom

Nevertheless, the philosophy classroom, too, faces the challenges of pedagogy. Philosophy is a male-dominated field, and it’s argumentative. These are matters I considered when creating my APA poster, and they ultimately ended up being the crux of the problem presented in my research.

My poster, titled “Unmasking the Patriarchy: bell hooks’ Insights in Philosophy Education,” discusses bell hooks’ ideas concerning the pervasive influence of the patriarchy. I explore its applicability to the philosophy classroom by examining how her concepts of addressing and dismantling the patriarchy may look in the philosophy classroom and offer insights as to why I believe her ideas are relevant.

In bell hooks’ book, The Will to Change (2004), hooks discusses key examples of the patriarchy as it relates to men. First, patriarchal ideas are instilled in boys at a very young age, practically as soon as they’re able to comprehend language. Secondly, men are taught to be assertive and angry: any other emotion perceived as ‘negative’ (beyond rage) will be dismissed. Lastly, she reaches a question like this: How could men not take a defensive approach when it’s the only way they have been allowed to express themselves?

Anyone who has been in a philosophy classroom will be able to relate to the following example I call: “The Steve Example.” The Steve Example demonstrates how the dynamics hooks identifies appear in the philosophy classroom. It goes as follows: imagine that a man, whom we’ll call Steve, is in your philosophy class and confidently raises his hand to express an objection concerning a philosophical argument. As he speaks, both his peers and the professor realize he has misinterpreted the argument in the paper. After Steve speaks, the professor explains this to him; however, Steve responds defensively. In Steve’s eyes, the questioning of his intelligence is on the line—a direct challenge to his masculinity.

Nevertheless, there are ways to resolve this pedagogical problem in the classroom. Addressing pedagogical challenges requires education, empathy, and a desire for change. Professors and students need to understand the implications of the patriarchy and its transcendence into the classroom, how they can find empathy for men who are negatively impacted by the patriarchy, and, of course, men themselves need a desire to change.

The patriarchy has a stern grip across our society, and it’s more prevalent in the philosophy classroom than many may initially assume. From my APA presentation to this blog post, I wanted to talk about the red-button nature of the patriarchy, specifically in the philosophy classroom. I believe that we, as a community, can help those battling the challenges of patriarchy come to a place of willingness to change.

My experience presenting these reflections at the APA was very positive. While there weren’t many people I spoke with, the ones I did were engaged, intrigued, and asked thought-provoking questions that encouraged me to further my research.

Reflections

Looking back on my philosophy journey, I can more clearly see how I navigated the jump from feeling uncertain about philosophy to something as exhilarating as presenting at the APA conference. The more I consider this leap, the more I am struck by the power of curiosity and determination. What initially started as a hesitant exploration of a new subject has blossomed into a passionate pursuit, fueled by the realization that philosophy offers knowledge and a framework for understanding life’s complexities.

As I showcased previously, the philosophy journey is intimidating. From the complexities of professional philosophy to the challenges of pedagogy it faces. Despite this, I am filled with optimism and determination. Philosophy has ignited a spark within me that refuses to be extinguished. While the path to a career in philosophy is daunting, I am comforted by the knowledge that I am not alone in feeling so.

To conclude, I extend my gratitude to all of those who have supported me on my journey thus far, from my professors and peers to the readers of this blog. May we continue questioning, learning, and growing, unified in our shared passion for philosophy.

Paige Adzema

Paige Adzema is an undergraduate in her second year at the University of Colorado Boulder. She is a double major studying philosophy and psychology. For inquiries, please email her at paige.adzema@colorado.edu.