Francis Degnin

Why I teach:
Even before college, I was taken with questions about ethics and the meaning of life, so during college I explored psychology, religion, ministry, and eventually philosophy. I settled on Philosophy in part because it asks fundamental questions, and in part because it does so without a strong bias towards one particular view. Eventually, I found my way to medical ethics, which offered me a chance to blend what I love most about ministry--serve others and the common good—with the rigor and questions of philosophy. My work in the hospital focuses my philosophical work on the concrete care of persons.

Philosophy, on the other hand, offers a richness and perspective on how to pursue this care. It helps me to learn from my experiences. My hope is to share with students some of the insights, but even more, to share some of processes for finding those insights on one's own. Because whatever the answers to our fundamental ethical and philosophical questions are, they only really work if one finds them for oneself.