Episode 6: Prof. Obdrzalek from Department of philosophy
Continuing its exciting journey of its “Focus on Faculty” Project, the Gould Center hosted an interview with CMC Professor of Philosophy Dr. Suzanne Obdrzalek. Her area of expertise is Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, and she imparted great insights into her view of philosophy as a discipline to the “Focus on Faculty” team. We hope to share these insights with the CMC student body, providing a valuable glimpse into Dr. Obdrzalek’s teaching perspective and encouraging a greater interest in philosophical thought.
We began the interview with an interesting topic: the discounting of philosophy as a discipline. Dr. Obdrzalek explained that CMC students tend to discount philosophy because they assume it is not a practical, applicable discipline. She rationalized this interesting point: “People have a natural inclination to enjoy [philosophy]” but lack the opportunities to engage this inclination. She hopes that as a professor of philosophy, she enables students to “see the kind of progress they are making in their critical thinking and the practical transferability of that.”
Dr. Obdrzalek then provided insights into the role of philosophy in public life and its relevance. She explained that when we think about practical questions, we should always try to think about them in a rational manner. Philosophy is the perfect way of becoming more adept at this. She described philosophy as a “methodology of rational argumentation” that enables people to make broader constructions of the greater purposes of life. Engaging in abstract thought is a fundamental aspect of humanity; it is not a waste of time as it can guide lifestyle choices.
Eager to learn more about Dr. Obdrzalek’s personal connection to classical philosophy, the Project team asked for her story, her love for classical philosophy. She responded that part of the appeal of classical philosophy is its openness: we have never really answered the big questions posited by ancient philosophers. While these questions were posited so long ago, they remain relevant and have stood the test of time. Dr. Obdrzalek attributes this to the philosophers’ development of synoptic systems, which are conducive to a “wide-ranging” approach to answering questions. Dr. Obdrzalek added that ancient philosophers had great confidence in the usefulness of philosophy. They did not view the discipline as a “purely intellectual chess game” but as a fundamental mechanism of searching for the truth.
Dr. Obdrzalek then explained that as a student of philosophy, she had the perception that history of philosophy was not “really philosophy.” As she engaged more deeply with classical philosophy, however, she realized that “poking at the history” reveals that categories of philosophical thought are not as clearly defined as they are often made to be. A historical outlook enables us to track the progress of certain trains of thought and to appreciate things which we take for granted. For example, the concept of matter is one which we quickly associate with spatial extension. If we were to look into Aristotle’s works, however, we would see that matter could be interpreted as something completely different. Just as atoms are the matter of a grain of sand, letters are the matter of words.
This amazing interview concluded with an interesting speed-round of questions during which Dr. Obdrzalek provided thought-provoking responses. When asked about a philosophical assumption that she believes needs more exploration, Dr. Obdrzalek responded with: “External goods will make you happy.” Most people are largely unhappy because they pursue external goods, an error that has become pervasive due to capitalism. We also asked Dr. Obdrzalek if she thinks Plato would be happy about the current direction of the discipline of philosophy. She answered that Plato would likely find the professionalization of philosophy as depressing.
This interview gave the Project team a lot of food for thought, and we hope that it does the same for the rest of CMC’s student body. As a student who studies philosophy, I was excited to learn more about philosophy from a classical perspective. There is so much to learn through such a lens, and for that reason, we are grateful for our amazing philosophy professors here at CMC.