CONTACT US: Send a letter to magazine@union.edu or write to:
Union College magazine
Office of Communications
Schenectady, NY 12308-3169
DEFENDING ACADEMIC INTEGRATION
I read with great amusement the letter from John “Hans” Mentha ’72, which appeared in the Fall 2008 issue (p. 3 “A different perspective”). As a student of biology and philosophy at Union, and now a physician, I feel compelled to respond.
Mr. Mentha states that the “integration of the two disciplines (engineering into the liberal arts) is a bizarre concept,” and goes on to define an academic discipline as “a well-defined body of knowledge within a well-bounded scope.” He then offers physics and electrical engineering as examples of disciplines. He further goes on to devalue the liberal arts as “at best, the aggregate domain of non-science.” How can such a position be genuinely defended?
By Mr. Mentha’s definition, philosophy and English are clearly disciplines. Economics, history, sociology and classics all represent “bodies of knowledge within a well-bounded scope,” do they not?
For me, being a student of philosophy and biology was a special and rewarding time. Having the opportunity to couple the knowledge of the scientific method with ethics of Immanuel Kant, for example, helped to place each discipline in perspective. An understanding of science in the context of liberal arts is the essence of an academic sit mens sana in corpore sano (a healthy mind in a healthy body).
I can remember all of my humanities professors with ease, as well as both professors who taught me physics. Professors Felmon Davis and Robert Baker are still teaching philosophy. Professor Ennis Pilcher was a terrific physics teacher, as was Professor Ken Schick. Professor Carl George was a uniformly outstanding biology professor, and I recall his class vividly, 22 years later. All of these gentle people assisted me in finding the proper balance and integration of science and liberal arts.
I am heartened that Mr. Mentha knows of Ayn Rand. I wonder if he would acknowledge that individuals like Dorothy Day, Mohandas Gandhi and Charles Dickens “made broad improvements in living standards” without the “application of science in technology.”
It is precisely the integration of science and liberal arts that produces the most well rounded and most intellectually balanced graduates—graduates who can truly make the world a more inhabitable and gentler place.
Joseph P. Damore, Jr. ’87
Joseph P. Damore is a psychiatrist in Bedford Hills, N.Y. and is a member of the voluntary faculty at Weill Cornell Medical Center-New York Presbyterian Hospital.
REMEMBERING A LOYAL ALUMNUS
In the death this summer of Dr. Anthony Duke Bower ’46 (p. 20, In Memoriam), Union has lost a most supportive son. His devotion to the athletic program took him long distances to cheer on our teams. He made friends wherever he went and his enthusiasm was contagious as a group of Union supporters would become a cheering section. He was just as determined to squelch any demeaning jeers against the opposition. Hockey enthusiasts, please follow his example.
His engaging mind kept him abreast of the current scientific thought concerning our world and he shared his knowledge speaking to many community groups near his New Hampshire home. The lives of many have been enriched by his zest for living. He is sorely missed by family, friends, and his best friend, “Maid Marion.”
Dr. D. Wade Marsters ’46
Dr. D. Wade Marsters is an Albany Medical College graduate and lives in Berwick, Nova Scotia.
Read More