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A very close friend of mine recently received a master's degree in Philosophy at Columbia. She definitely did not fit the mold of many students who were there,

A very close friend of mine recently received a master's degree in Philosophy at Columbia. She definitely did not fit the mold of many students who were there, being a conservative and an active duty pilot in the military who was preparing to teach at an academy. She found many people and professors to be open minded and mostly fair. However she experienced a few professors of the type described here, where the authority of the professor was used in ad hominem attacks on disfavored groups. Voicing any dissent was greeted with scorn and disgust. One of the interesting things, at least about the graduate program, is that you can take many credits as "R credits", meaning you don't get graded. You have to show up and submit research papers, but they don't get graded. The idea, I think, is to focus on the learning and not focus on getting an A. I think this can also give the students the ability to disagree with vindictive professors without getting their academic career derailed. I think this really works to provide more intellectual freedom to students at Columbia, and my friend had a good experience there.

jseliger 9y ago
She found many people and professors to be open minded and mostly fair. However she experienced a few professors of the type described here, where the authority of the professor was used in ad hominem attacks on disfavored groups. Voicing any dissent was greeted with scorn and disgust. I went to grad school in English at the University of Arizona and my experience was similar. The same is true of students; people regularly ask me about those crazy students on campus, not realizing that the ones who make the news are the exception: https://jakeseliger.com/2017/04/24/ninety-five-percent-of-people-are-fine-but-its-that-last-five-percent/ https://jakeseliger.com/2017/04/24/ninety-five-percent-of-pe... Most profs are open minded and fair, but the ones who are't yield the best, juiciest, and most absurd soundbites.
wallace_f 9y ago
Where dissent, authority and virtue meet there are difficult dynamics for humans to work with. I had a professor who flirts with antisemetic ideology, and who justifies violence towards western countries. While he is among the most controversial professors in the world and holds ideas that are entirely unacceptable... within the class room, when I protested, no one joined me in dissenting these ideas. I am not trying to portray myself as better than others, but I still cannot believe that fact about people. And that professor was the most vindictive, petty and insulting I had ever interacted with. If those ideas weren't unacceptable outside the classroom, then who would question or criticize him? Anyone? I guess it's always been the case that the Thomas Paines of this world will be dying alone. Dissenting views are still no great virtue in 2018 and can still be met with barbaric behavior just as they were in centuries past. For example, Lil Wayne said he was not a victim of racism and he criticized BLM, and he was shot and then made into a pariah for this. Speaking of classes on specific ideas, should this be one of the great lessons of history people should be learning of? I mean, the inability to question authority is exactly what tyrants like Hitler and Hirohito wanted. It was the most important thing to them. The only German child Nazis went to the trouble of formally executing (Helmuth Hübener) was the one who just wanted people to hear what British radio broadcasters were saying about the war. Yet who at Columbia learns of him? Perhaps the greatest injustices and most embarassing tragedies of men and women in history are made possible when you make dissent impossible.
aor215 9y ago
I also recently received a masters in philosophy from CU and know exactly who you’re talking about! By and large, I agree with her assessment. However, I would add that close-minded professors and students are quite rare - or at least they were when I was in grad school. Among the students, I found everyone to be willing to debate any of these issues, even if passions were strong.

jseliger 9y ago

She found many people and professors to be open minded and mostly fair. However she experienced a few professors of the type described here, where the authority of the professor was used in ad hominem attacks on disfavored groups. Voicing any dissent was greeted with scorn and disgust. I went to grad school in English at the University of Arizona and my experience was similar. The same is true of students; people regularly ask me about those crazy students on campus, not realizing that the ones who make the news are the exception: https://jakeseliger.com/2017/04/24/ninety-five-percent-of-people-are-fine-but-its-that-last-five-percent/ https://jakeseliger.com/2017/04/24/ninety-five-percent-of-pe... Most profs are open minded and fair, but the ones who are't yield the best, juiciest, and most absurd soundbites.

wallace_f 9y ago

Where dissent, authority and virtue meet there are difficult dynamics for humans to work with. I had a professor who flirts with antisemetic ideology, and who justifies violence towards western countries. While he is among the most controversial professors in the world and holds ideas that are entirely unacceptable... within the class room, when I protested, no one joined me in dissenting these ideas. I am not trying to portray myself as better than others, but I still cannot believe that fact about people. And that professor was the most vindictive, petty and insulting I had ever interacted with. If those ideas weren't unacceptable outside the classroom, then who would question or criticize him? Anyone? I guess it's always been the case that the Thomas Paines of this world will be dying alone. Dissenting views are still no great virtue in 2018 and can still be met with barbaric behavior just as they were in centuries past. For example, Lil Wayne said he was not a victim of racism and he criticized BLM, and he was shot and then made into a pariah for this. Speaking of classes on specific ideas, should this be one of the great lessons of history people should be learning of? I mean, the inability to question authority is exactly what tyrants like Hitler and Hirohito wanted. It was the most important thing to them. The only German child Nazis went to the trouble of formally executing (Helmuth Hübener) was the one who just wanted people to hear what British radio broadcasters were saying about the war. Yet who at Columbia learns of him? Perhaps the greatest injustices and most embarassing tragedies of men and women in history are made possible when you make dissent impossible.

aor215 9y ago

I also recently received a masters in philosophy from CU and know exactly who you’re talking about! By and large, I agree with her assessment. However, I would add that close-minded professors and students are quite rare - or at least they were when I was in grad school. Among the students, I found everyone to be willing to debate any of these issues, even if passions were strong.