Meet Dr. James P. Oliver

My name is Arielle Roides.  I am currently enrolled in Dr. James P. Oliver's introduction to philosophy class.  I have recently been assigned a task for a different class of mine.  I was asked to interview a professor or adviser of my choice.  Being that Dr. Oliver clearly is a remarkably sophisticated individual, as well as a great thinker and communicator, getting to know him better, as well as allowing you all that opportunity, seemed rather intriguing to me. Aw, shucks. You're too generous, Arielle. But flattery will get you everywhere. I'll get started. JPO

Below are a list of questions I have asked Dr. Oliver to briefly respond to.  I look forward to reading what this brilliant thinker has to say about himself, our university, teaching, and life, in general.  More importantly, I would like to thank Dr. Oliver kindly for taking the time to respond to these questions.  I hope you all can appreciate learning more about our instructor, as much as I know I will.

1.  How did you choose to go into the field of philosophy?  How old were you when you decided to enter this field?  What other paths had you considered taking, if any others? I started out in college back in the '70s thinking I wanted to become a lawyer/politician. So my first declared major was Political Science. Those who know me now would probably never believe it, but I considered myself an ideological conservative back then: subscribed to William F. Buckley's National Review, never missed "Firing Line," campaigned for GOP candidates like Kit Bond and Jack Danforth, supported Sen. Henry "Scoop" Jackson, a hawk on defense, in the presidential caucus... But then became disillusioned with the way Poli Sci ignored political philosophy (focusing instead on electoral strategy, demographics, polling, statistical analysis etc.) and went looking for Philosophy and courses on Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Rawls, Mill, Marx etc.I heard about Plato's Myth of the Cave in my first philosophy class and was promptly, Socratically, gratefully "corrupted."  Voted for Jimmy Carter that Fall.

2.  Where did you go to college?  Why did you choose that school?  What teacher had the greatest influence on you? Why? University of Missouri-Columbia (Mizzou), '80. Then enrolled in grad school at Vanderbilt, moved to Tennessee, and eventually got the Ph.D. there. Married a Tennessee girl, have lived more-or-less happily ever after in the Volunteer State. Went to Mizzou because it was close, affordable (you can't imagine how much cheaper it was to go to school then), and my Dad had gone there for Vet school. My top undergrad mentors were Professors Peter Markie and Alexander von Schoenborn. In grad school, John Lachs & John Compton. Markie & Lachs are still going strong. Markie was an influence mainly because he was young, fresh out of UMass, and fun (met us undergrad Phil majors on Friday afternoons for beers at our "Hegel Society" gatherings, had us over to his & his young wife's apartment, joked around with us, took our callow and naive enthusiasm seriously). Von Schoenborn was the opposite: grave, serious, pipe-smoking... he impressed us with the importance of Heidegger's question of Being, and encouraged us to think of ourselves as fellow inquirers on a ladder of learning just a rung or two behind him. Compton was friendly, engaging, and introduced me to William James. Lachs was and is a model of energy and enthusiasm, and insisted on making philosophy relevant. He was and is "in love with life."

3.  What do you like best about working at MTSU?  What do you like least? I like the students, their friendliness and creativity. I like my colleagues. I dislike the bureaucratic entanglements of academic administration, the timidity and caution encouraged (despite tenured academic freedom) by our having to be funded by anti-intellectuals in the state legislature (representing anti-intellectuals in the general population, of course). Let me quickly add: there are plenty of things not to like about some aspects of the intellectual/academic professional life (narrowness, smugness, condescending attitudes towards "ordinary" people)... but the practice of questioning assumptions and challenging unexamined traditional inheritances is not among them. We need more of that, but those who hold our purse-strings tend not to be very thoughtfully reflective or self-critical.

4.  What do you hope students will remember about your course when the semester is over?  What do you hope they will remember five years from now? I sincerely hope they'll remember that Philosophy class helped them establish a life-long habit of thinking for themselves, discussing ideas, listening to other points of view, occasionally even changing their minds about something important because of that habit. I hope they'll remember Einstein's statement: "The important thing is to never stop asking questions."

5.  Do you have a philosophy on teaching?  Do you have a philosophy on life?  Explain. My teaching philosophy, which I don't always live up to, is to follow William James's advice: prepare by thoroughly immersing in the subject, then when you get in the classroom "trust your spontaneity." My life philosophy is: "memento mori," remember you must die... but also remember (as Richard Dawkins says) that you're one of the lucky ones who got to live. Try to make a contribution to the "continuous human community." I also like what Kurt Vonnegut said in God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, when he offered these words of welcome to newborns: "There's only one rule that I know of, babies—God damn it, you've got to be kind."

6.  What were your greatest concerns as a student? Was always afraid I might not be smart enough, or diligent enough, or disciplined enough to meet deadlines and do good work. Sometimes wasn't patient enough with myself, when trying to understand unfamiliar ideas. Worried too much, didn't always remember what a privilege it is to have an opportunity to study and learn. 

7.  How would you describe the ideal/successful student? The ideal student is not "perfect" but is diligent, disciplined (does the reading & class prep), patient, grateful for the opportunity to learn & expand personal horizons, eager to connect with professors and students alike, looks for opportunities to discuss course content with peers & profs after & outside of class, is not too worried about how it will all come out, doesn't consider education merely vocational training.

8.  Do you have any hobbies/interests outside of work? Reading, writing, blogging, music, walking, hiking, biking, baseball, family, travel....

9.  What do you like best about MTSU (the university in general)? See #3. Also, I like the relative diversity on our campus, and the fact that it's a fairly enlightened & progressive enclave surrounded by a conservative community. I like college towns in general, in that respect, and (in my experience) midwestern & southern college towns in particular. Columbia MO and M'boro TN are "smaller" (so to speak) than the institutions they host.

10.  What advice would you give us to make our years at MTSU the best to improve ourselves and reach our personal and academic goals? Give yourself permission to think. Experiment with ideas and attitudes you didn't bring with you to campus. Really talk to your profs (go to office hours even when you don't have an issue or problem to resolve), engage with your peers, get involved with student organizations, remember that if you put more of yourself into it now you'll look back on your time in college with fondness for the freedom it gave you to discover who you are and can be. To paraphrase Thoreau: be good for something.

Thank you,
Arielle Roides

Thank YOU, Arielle. This was fun. And thank you all, students, for employing me! Maybe I'll see you again, in "Bioethics" or "Philosophy of Happiness" or "Atheism & Philosophy" or "Environmental Ethics" or in the Philosophy Club (they're looking for leadership, if anyone's interested) or...