The Montgomery College ethics debate team won 1st
place in the 7th Annual
Maryland Community College Ethics Bowl.
Congratulations to Professor Jenkins and his
philosophy students for winning this prestigious
award and bringing home the trophy to the Takoma
Park/Silver Spring Campus of Montgomery College!
Below are internal and external links that
students may find helpful.
“Philosophy
begins with a sense of wonder.” – Aristotle
In philosophy,
students grapple with questions about life, the
universe, the existence of God, morality,
governance, freedom, the mind, the limits of
knowledge, and the nature of humankind. While
philosophical questions can be abstract,
philosophy is an intellectually rigorous
discipline in which philosophical claims must be
supported with argument and evidence.
The study of
philosophy helps students to cultivate critical
thinking skills and to hone their capacity for
ethical deliberation. By studying the ideas of
great philosophers from history, students will
develop the skills required to analyze competing
positions, to advance arguments in the spirit of
reason, and to solve real world problems.
The American
Philosophical Association has identified four
basic skills, valued by every prospective
employer and academic program, that improve
through the study of philosophy:
1)
General problem solving and critical
thinking
2)
Communication skills
3)
Persuasive powers
4)
Writing skills
Even more valuable than these skills is the
self-understand imparted by the study of
philosophy. In emphasizing the search for
beliefs that are rationally justified, as well
as in emphasizing the application of philosophy
to everyday life, the study of philosophy helps
students fulfill the edict of the ancients to
“know thyself.” Truly, as Socrates said, “the
unexamined life is not worth living.”
The goal of all philosophy instruction at Takoma
Park/Silver Spring is to improve the lives of
students by making them more
effective critical thinkers and more
compassionate ethical decision makers.
Through the study of philosophy,
students will lead a more fulfilling and
satisfying life.
“Philosophy is to be
studied…for the sake of the questions
themselves; because these questions enlarge our
conception of what is possible, enrich our
intellectual imagination and diminish the
dogmatic assurance which closes the mind against
speculation; but above all because, through the
greatness of the universe which philosophy
contemplates, the mind also is rendered great,
and becomes capable of that union with the
universe which constitutes its highest good.” –
Bertrand Russell
