My daughter is taking an online Intro to Philosophy class this summer. One of the requirements for this class is a research paper. For several days Sarah tried to think of what to write, landing on wisdom. She found two books at the library, both exploring wisdom as people age. But what was she going to say about it in a research paper?  The professor apparently expected his students to know in advance that a philosophy paper differs from other types of research papers. Since Sarah didn't know this, I found an excellent video on YouTube for her to learn from. After watching it, she realized she needed to change her topic and asked me for help.

Sarah likes to work independently, so asking me for help was a stretch. After reading the assignment, however, I understood her frustration. The professor acknowledges that students always ask about good topics, and his advice that a good start is, What is truth? Knowledge? Reality? doesn't help much. However, I didn't see it as a problem with the professor, but with the limitations of an online course.

Chuck suggested a topic, the purpose of art. Not finding much on an online search of the library, I looked for philosophy and science, with better luck. In the end, Sarah's chosen topic was "Is the World Mechanical?" and she argued that it's not.  A book she used for her research was Rupert Sheldrake's, Science Set Free. Being involved with her assignment piqued my interest in this book, which states that "Contemporary science is based on the claim that all reality is material or physical" and "God exists only as an idea in human minds..."  Wonder what else it says...