Matt Cleaver Email & Phone Number

Socrates, the founder of the western philosophic tradition, was executed on charges of “corrupting the youth.” Ever since then, students and teachers of philosophy are travelers in his wake, such that Alfred North Whitehead characterized the history of philosophy as nothing but mere “footnotes” on Socratic philosophy.As a teacher of philosophy, there is something that seems quite right about the idea of “corrupting” our students.- Against cultural indoctrination, we teach critical thinking- Opposed to conformity, we teach the value of truth- Rather than arguing about conclusions, we teach the questioning of premises- In a world concerned with marketable skills, we teach that the unexamined life is not worth living- Not content merely to seek out knowledge, we teach the love of wisdomTo the uninitiated, a student of philosophy may very well appear corrupted: unwilling to accept common sense, asking questions that others do not, and choosing reality over appearance. But we know that this way of thinking, these skills, are valuable for life, and this includes being valuable to potential employers and business endeavors while going beyond mere marketable skills.

Listed skills include Theology, Youth Ministry, Website Development, Public Speaking, and 24 others.