Introductory Course At East Los Angeles City College

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I am a philosophy major. My interest in philosophy developed during my childhood, beginning with my parents. My parents are currently both Christian Evangelical Ministers, who have devoted over 30 years to both God and their sons. I have seen their hard work ethic and altruism and it has influenced me greatly. I am no longer a Christian, however, I am strongly interested in all religions and all their philosophical dimensions.
I gained interest in philosophy by taking an introductory course in the spring of 2010. Dr. Michael Critelli, a professor of philosophy at Los Angeles City College, was the first person to give me that desire to fulfill philosophy as a career. On the first day of class, I can vividly remember what he told us, “Suppose …show more content…

The point was to expand our way of thinking, to be able to view all the viewpoints, and not just your own. That was the beginning of philosophy for me.
In the spring of 2011, I took an English Bible as literature course at East Los Angeles City College. This course gave me an entire and broad outlook on both the history and the philosophy within this sacred text. The knowledge that I gained in those course I used in order to teach others at my parents church. I thought passages of the Bible in a philosophical manner to my students for over two years. I had a small class of 10 students. It made me really proud that one of the young boys there once told me, “I want to become a philosopher.”
At one point, I decided to renounce my position as teacher of the Bible at my parent’s church. The reason was because I did not want the students to be confused with philosophy nor realize the incompatibilities that can be found in religion when you study philosophy in depth. As a courtesy to everyone there, I decided to pursue philosophy outside of the church, which allowed me to dig in to all aspects of philosophy, not just religion. I love ethics, logic, and ancient philosophy, and now I had the opportunity to venture into it with all my …show more content…

I purposely said “attempted,” because once a philosophical question or issue becomes objective it becomes a science. For example, mathematics, astronomy, psychology, and others are a result of what once was philosophy.
The reason I am a philosophy major is because I want to become a college professor. I am looking forward to the research that it is done in graduate school. I believe those years will be the most exciting years of my life. Whether I become a philosophy professor in a university or junior college, I would be just as content, because I would be able to spread philosophy and its beauty to students year after year.
Philosophy is not about how smart a person is. Philosophy is more about how wise a person is. Philosophy is also about how well-developed one’s critical thinking is. It is also about how it is applied practically, and not just in theory. Philosophy is