'Life of the Mind' series challenges students to think
Nicholas Francis
Issue date: 3/17/09 Section: News
Students now have another life to think about other than their academic lives.
"The Life of the Mind," a semester-long lecture series, focuses on the idea of getting students to not only study, but also to learn how to think independently.
The series was created in part by Debra van Tuyll, a professor of communications at Augusta State University.
Van Tuyll said she was inspired to begin the series by the philosophical works of Eric Hoffer, a laborer and longshoreman who spent his life pondering social philosophy and the nature of ideological mass movements.
Hoffer stressed the value of self-education and frequently denounced the formulaic thinking of so-called "intellectuals."
With little money and no formal education, Hoffer was able to become a well-respected social philosopher based solely on his tenacious pursuit of intellectual insight.
Hoffer's self-directed approach to intellectual advancement is at the very core of what "The Life of the Mind" hopes to impart upon its participants, according to van Tuyll.
"The idea of the 'Life of the Mind' is to provide enrichment opportunities to our students, to help them better use their college time and to help them understand how to become intellectually engaged," van Tuyll said.
According to many social scholars, such as Marshall McLuhan, it has become a common practice for young people today to rely solely on television and online resources for the bulk of their information. It is now a widely held belief by psychologists that this type of passive learning is causing people to steadily lose their abilities to think for themselves.
Scholars like McLuhan also believe that many young people who are currently enrolled in higher education classes adhere to this new trend of passive learning. Many young people are said to view their college education simply as the means to an end.
"A lot of our students come in (to college) thinking that a college career is a way of getting a better job," van Tuyll said. "They think of it as a 'union card.' It is not. It is supposed to be something that is transformative, something that changes your life from then on. That is what makes a college education powerful."
"The Life of the Mind," a semester-long lecture series, focuses on the idea of getting students to not only study, but also to learn how to think independently.
The series was created in part by Debra van Tuyll, a professor of communications at Augusta State University.
Van Tuyll said she was inspired to begin the series by the philosophical works of Eric Hoffer, a laborer and longshoreman who spent his life pondering social philosophy and the nature of ideological mass movements.
Hoffer stressed the value of self-education and frequently denounced the formulaic thinking of so-called "intellectuals."
With little money and no formal education, Hoffer was able to become a well-respected social philosopher based solely on his tenacious pursuit of intellectual insight.
Hoffer's self-directed approach to intellectual advancement is at the very core of what "The Life of the Mind" hopes to impart upon its participants, according to van Tuyll.
"The idea of the 'Life of the Mind' is to provide enrichment opportunities to our students, to help them better use their college time and to help them understand how to become intellectually engaged," van Tuyll said.
According to many social scholars, such as Marshall McLuhan, it has become a common practice for young people today to rely solely on television and online resources for the bulk of their information. It is now a widely held belief by psychologists that this type of passive learning is causing people to steadily lose their abilities to think for themselves.
Scholars like McLuhan also believe that many young people who are currently enrolled in higher education classes adhere to this new trend of passive learning. Many young people are said to view their college education simply as the means to an end.
"A lot of our students come in (to college) thinking that a college career is a way of getting a better job," van Tuyll said. "They think of it as a 'union card.' It is not. It is supposed to be something that is transformative, something that changes your life from then on. That is what makes a college education powerful."
Be the first to comment on this story