CU Denver Students Speak

The following comments are from the 2005 Philosophy Department Survey, administered anonymously via Blackboard.

  • "One of the things I really enjoy about all of the professors in the philosophy departmentis their availability and willingness to teach, explain and ensure understanding for each student. It does not matter whether it is during class or office hours or even in the middle of the Tivoli, it is clear that each member of the philosophy department is passionate about what they are teaching and want their students to be too."
  • "I could not be happier with philosophy and choosing this path for myself. I have learned about so many different ideas, beliefs and people as well as about my own philosophies, questions and understanding of the world. In addition, philosophy has given me the ability to think critically, write clearly and to look at the world completely differently (but in a good way)."
  • "The value that philosophy has for me is that it helps me deal with life. The studies in philosophy have made me feel less alienated, more sociable because I now have a broader scope of how mankind has thought about the quandaries that existence produces. I have a different outlook towards certain things now. It has helped me in securing peace with myself and with the world ... most of the time."
  • "Philosophy has impacted my life considerably since I first began studying it. I've been able to think more abstractly and quantitatively than before. I find it surprising that, on a mental level, philosophy is an excellent substitute for calculus and statistics in terms of how I break down data and solve programs. I find it very useful to be able to make sense of seemingly useless data in economics courses and turn it into something worthwhile."
  • "I am an Assistant Clinical Professor in Family Medicine at CU Denver's medical campus and have taught as a volunteer there over the last 15 years in various courses to health professions students sponsored by the Center for Ethics and Humanities and the Foundations of Doctoring Program .... Philosophy courses will provide the foundation for my present superficial knowledge of bioethics and will help me to guide and interact with my students engaged in tackling the difficult questions posed by bioethical problems. I am hopeful that the Philosophy Department at the Downtown Campus and the Center for Bioethics and Humanities at the Anschutz Campus will work together in a number of ways in the future for the mutual benefit of the faculty and students alike on both campuses."
  • "I think philosophy is very important. I find that it trains my mind to think so much more than in any other classes. I feel that if you can learn to understand philosophy, then you can learn to understand anything."
  • "The professors that graded me the hardest and put high expectations on my performance (while thankfully not flunking me) helped me grow in thought and have constantly changed my perspectives on the world."
  • "Philosophy is very important to every area of my life, now and for the future. It is my opinion that philosophy be fundamental in every program of study, starting in early education on up ... I am lucky to be fully aware of this, and I look forward to studying and using philosophy for the rest of my life—continuously improving myself."
  • "All of my professors in the department have been very high-quality, and I didn't have complaints regarding any of their teaching styles..."
  • "Taking philosophy classes has made me a better writer, reader, and communicator. I feel I have a deeper understanding of the world than many others that haven't studied philosophy... I always look forward to going to my philosophy classes, and plan on taking more when I start my graduate studies."
  • "The value of philosophy to me, although not extremely applicable on a day-to-day basis, has really contributed to and nourished my inquisitive nature, and has helped me to put events and experiences into a larger perspective concerning their significance and meaning, both personal and worldly. As far as my future plans go, philosophy has destroyed my ability to ever be content with a cookie-cutter lifestyle, where one goes to college, to get a job, to make money, just so they can die with a full stomach without ever thinking about whether they did anything that mattered."
  • "The structure of the minor for ethics is very flexible, allowing me to customize my study based on what I want to take."
  • "On a social level, philosophy has made me more easygoing. Maybe it's studying Buddhism or stoicism, but problems in life don't seem to be as big a deal as they used to be. Philosophy has helped me keep things in perspective."