The Pursuit of Questions by Nicole

The Pursuit of Questions by Nicole - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

I had originally set out to become a physical therapist and was already struggling to identify and memorize the nooks and crannies of the inner human being. Science was going to make me a wealthy adult whether I enjoyed innards or not. I only took Introduction to Philosophy my sophomore year because of a boy I thought I fancied. Professor Monroe, however, was the man who changed my direction in life—and my entire worldview.
“Don’t take everything you hear or read as Truth. Rather, inspect each statement with scrutiny and logic.” These were the opening words he spoke to a class of half-awake generation X students. These students, who thought they knew everything because they could access the World Wide Web, were barely listening to the wise man before them. “Furthermore, consider the source, your previous knowledge, and disengage your personal feelings on the matter. Dissect each statement in search of fallacies. Only after extensive thought should you commit to accepting something as a belief that you hold yourself.”
I was already conditioned to the cold, black-and-white of science. The “this is how it is; commit it to memory,” was part of my daily routine.
In this age of technology, my generation is on the fast pursuit of knowledge, but only just enough to make us money. Google can give us exactly what we inquire in seconds and we simply transfer the data to memory and move along. The skill of thinking critically, deliberately, and with an open mind is quickly fleeting with the advancement of machines that can do it for us. Furthermore, my generation is also swayed too easily by emotions, and often, we act illogically to pursue an end that the means will never reach. Professor Monroe recognized these symptoms in us.
Throughout the duration of the semester I abandoned my initial pursuit of the brown-eyed hunk three rows over and began to engross myself in the study of Socrates, Aristotle, Kant, and Hume. I started asking more questions in other classes—my science classes—something my professors often did not appreciate. Like their young students, they were swayed by pride and emotion and refused to entertain valid points that contradicted what they held to be fact.
I soon saw the issue that Professor Monroe had discussed in class. Society was turning into a system of information consumers—not processors. I had been irreversibly exposed to the situation.
On the last day of class, Professor Monroe asked to speak to me as the rest of the students were filing out into their summer vacation. He asked me what my academic plans were and I halfheartedly told him that I was currently pursuing physical therapy. He gazed knowingly and told me that there was not much money in Philosophy. He continued by stating that he had recognized a change in my response essays and class participation. Professor Monroe told me that “our kind” is dying out and that he would not be able to teach forever. “The field needs new pioneers, Nicole, and I believe that you’re one of them.” That fall I changed my major to Philosophy.
I no longer pursue facts; instead, I pursue questions. Professor Monroe taught me that I, as a human being, have the incredible ability to investigate, to decipher, and conclude for myself, life’s mysteries. Now, I have taken his burden of reaching out to the youth and helping them find their ability to think. I can only hope that someday, I too will be a professor with such a magnitude of influence as Professor Monroe.