Hello and Welcome, 

          I am Donna J. Hughes, and I teach Philosophy in the Humanities Department.  Of course, this immediately brings us to the question:  “What is philosophy”?  The word philosophy comes from two Greek words philein, which means “to love”, and sophia, which means “wisdom” or “knowledge.”  So, philosophy is the love (and pursuit) of wisdom.  Some may think that philosophy is something that academic-types do because they have no life and no better way to entertain themselves.  Actually, nothing could be further from the truth.  Most people reflect, question, and wonder about the world around them from time to time.  For example, have you ever seen a movie or read a book that made you wonder about whether machines could have emotions?  Have you heard a news story about a terminally-ill patient who wants to choose to end his or her own life and wondered what you would do in the same situation?  Are there laws handed down by our government that you feel are unfair or impractical?  Have you ever talked about such things with your friends and family and found different viewpoints from your own?  In each of these circumstances, you were engaged in philosophy.  The philosophy courses themselves are designed to show you how to think rationally, critically, and methodically about these and other important questions.

Today’s students come to the classroom with a diversity of knowledge, experience, and understanding.  I believe that my role as an instructor is to foster an active, dynamic learning environment in which students can integrate new information with what they already know as well as learn from each other.   Furthermore, the topics of philosophy are meant to be discussed, debated, and deliberated.   This means that in our classroom, the instructor and the students are “co-investigators”---questioning, prodding, and cajoling each other---in a quest for answers.