Faculty Biography - Thomas Bowen

Thomas Bowen

Professor of Philosophy

B.A. University of Dayton
M.A. Loyola University of Chicago

847.376.7084
tbowen@oakton.edu
Room 2807 Des Plaines

Web page: http://www.oakton.edu/~tbowen

This link will take you to an unofficial page or a page outside of Oakton; any opinions expressed in the page are strictly those of the author and have not been reviewed, approved or endorsed by Oakton Community College.

Personal Statement

I have been studying and struggling with philosophy ever since I was hijacked out of my physics major in my sophomore year in college, by a class in Hegel's Phenomenology. I have discovered, much to my delight, that the pursuit of philosophy is best done in the context of the teaching of philosophy. Philosophy is not a discipline like physics or math; it cannot be learned through the memorization of facts, theorems, and formulae --though, of course, these play a part. Rather, one can only learn philosophy by doing it, and one can only do philosophy in dialogue or conversation with others. Teaching provides a natural context for such dialogue and discussion. In fact, I have learned as much from my students about philosophy as, I hope, my students have learned from me.

I received my M.A. in philosophy from Loyola University. I have been teaching at Oakton for eight years. I was recently appointed as co-cordinator of the Honors Program with George Lungu.