Author: Thomas Nagel

 ISBN 0-19-505216-1.

 A Small Taste Of Academic Success to Begin the Scholarly Life

During that first week of the first semester of the freshman year of college, before the social fraternities might have planned and executed their first parties for the year, before the sports tryouts, play auditions, talent shows, and football games can begin in earnest, for those very few days, the meaning of college and a scholarly endeavor can still be shaped by a teacher. In those two or three class meetings, while others are still defining the field, deriving the Greek origin of the course title, explaining his/her own teaching approach, reading the syllabus, updating roll books, and breaking the ice, in those few days I try to capture students’ attention. I will need it for the rest of the semester and I see it as an important part of my job to win it. But I have only a few days to hook them. Those who I can not ensnare are usually lost to the hard stuff, hookah, and hormones. So it’s vital that I catch them, and fast.  Luckily, I teach Philosophy and History.

Understanding this challenge, the first assignment should both engage and prepare the student for the next readings. Getting through the initial chapters should be an encouraging experience. If an advanced high school student could complete the readings for the second class meeting, spending about three hours to do so, and then successfully use the material in the next class discussion, then that reading is a perfect first selection.  

And a broad description of philosophical thinking, in language that provides a freshman with better than even chances to succeed, can still be found in Thomas Nagel’s What Does It All Mean? A Very Short Introduction to Philosophy.  Nine chapters of about ten pages each make this readable little book ideal for the first week of an introductory course in Philosophy. Here, the ideas and major questions are presented in clear language, and in a rational, topical order. Supplemented by a week of rambunctious yet demanding classroom discussions, this small introduction will help open eyes and prepare your students for a more conventional reader, chronologically arranged by Philosopher. This next reader will be attacked, beginning in the second week, by students with some recent experience with the various topics, and in a mood to be critical.  Handled correctly, the first week of Philosophy 100 will alert students that reading will count, that doing the reading before class will make you (the student) seem smarter to your classmates, that the text can be understood, and that the subject can be interesting, because it can be applied to life.

I can highly recommend Nagel’s small book for that first week, while you still have their attention.

The above review was contributed by:   *Joe Petrulionis:  Joe Petrulionis reads, writes, and teaches the history of ideas and he emphasizes the political and cultural context in which these philosophical, scientific, and artistic notions emerge. Joe has a recent Masters Degree in History and is in recovery from a previous career and graduate specialty in finance and economics. To read more of Joe's reviews CLICK HERE