College of the Pacific

Ty Raterman

Before entering the classroom to teach on the first day of each new semester, I recall how I felt during the first philosophy class I ever took. It was one in which I was intellectually invigorated like never before, and it changed my life forever. While I realize that not every student will be as engaged as I was, I continue to believe in the ability of the material I teach to change people's lives.

I am typically more interested in getting students to feel the pull of philosophical questions than I am in pushing students toward particular answers. I try to challenge all views, and to keep my own views occluded. I want students to arrive freely at the conclusion that they on reflection find most plausible. I aim to minimize lecturing as far as possible and instead to engage students in discussion, which I believe packs tremendous pedagogical power. Ideally, we reach a point in class where I am principally facilitating and guiding discussion. I choose readings students will find relevant to their lives, including newspaper and magazine pieces, and use interesting web content and films to make the course topics more vivid.

Philosophy, if taught well, equips students with a set of tools that carries over into nearly every aspect of their educations and lives. It helps them to understand, evaluate, and - if appropriate - challenge the ideas they have inherited as well as those they might yet adopt. My reward is not just in seeing the students grow, but also in the new interpretations and deeper comprehension toward which they push me.

Personal website: http://www1.pacific.edu/~traterma

Ty Raterman
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Email: traterman@pacific.edu