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>>Paul Woodruff: Philosophy asks hard questions about how to live and how to account for the way we live.
I think that philosophy as a purely abstract discipline can seem rather like a game,
but when you bring that kind of reflective thought together with experience,
I think you produce a wonderful combination that can change people's lives.
Well, I was always interested in philosophy, but I was interested in it in a fairly abstract way and academic
way until I went into the army. I came back from that military experience thinking
that I really did not want to do anything that in the long run didn't matter to people's lives.
So, while I continue to work on academic philosophy in a way that academics do,
I still try to present the ideas that I'm working with for the general public.
My favorite philosopher? Probably Plato, though I disagree with him about almost everything,
because he writes so well and he covers so many fascinating issues. The speeches on "In Praise of Love"
and "Symposium" are some of the greatest things ever written.
I want to instill curiosity in students. I want to instill the ability to give reasons for their views.
I want to instill the ability to listen with respect. What I care about most is what I call character ethics.
Ethics that are built around the concept of what Plato called the beautiful soul.
A beautiful soul is a soul that has a tendency towards courage and reverence and wisdom and justice.
That's, I suppose, what I teach and what I care about.