{"id":30259,"date":"2014-12-15T18:54:35","date_gmt":"2014-12-15T23:54:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom2\/2014\/12\/15\/he-offers-an-interesting-philosophy-on-philosophy\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T16:38:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T20:38:48","slug":"he-offers-an-interesting-philosophy-on-philosophy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2014\/12\/15\/he-offers-an-interesting-philosophy-on-philosophy\/","title":{"rendered":"He Offers an Interesting Philosophy on Philosophy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Dustin<\/a>

Dustin Rollins<\/p><\/div>\n

Adjunct faculty member Dustin Rollins believes curiosity is the foundation of philosophy and philosophy is the foundation to a successful life.<\/p>\n

Rollins, who begins his seventh year teaching philosophy at NECC, himself came to philosophy by way of Socrates or rather Plato\u2019s version of him. He adheres to Plato\u2019s conviction that \u201cphilosophy begins in wonder\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll philosophy begins in curiosity,\u201d says Rollins, who holds a bachelor\u2019s degree in liberal arts from St. John\u2019s College and a master\u2019s in philosophy from Boston College. \u201cWhat excites me the most about teaching is sparking curiosity in others and helping them to develop an active sense of wonder.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rollins brings his philosophy on philosophy to the classroom whether he is teaching \u201cPhilosophy\u201d, \u201cPractical Logic\u201d, and \u201cCollege Success\u201d. In fact, the \u201cCollege Success\u201d course is a personal favorite.<\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoy teaching all of my classes, but teaching \u201cCollege Success\u201d is special to me because it is a real opportunity to engage students and develop in them a set of transferable skills that will ultimately help them succeed both personally and professionally.\u201d<\/p>\n

He credits his high school humanities teacher with introducing him to philosophy.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy teacher thought it was a good fit for me and recommended I attend an undergrad program that was philosophy intensive,\u201d he says. \u201cThe rest is history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Or in his case \u2013 philosophy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think philosophy is important for students to study because of its emphasis on critical thinking. \u00a0It has been my experience that critical thinking is a skill that can be developed in the classroom and then transferred to other arenas,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Northern Essex offers an\u00a0associate degree in liberal arts, philosophy option<\/a>, which is designed for students who want to\u00a0transfer<\/a>\u00a0to a four-year college or university.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Adjunct faculty member Dustin Rollins believes curiosity is the foundation of philosophy and philosophy is the foundation to a successful life. 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