The Professorship of Exemplarity introduces the students at the School of Engineering to “worldly philosophy”

On Monday, 3 November, the School of Engineering organised “Conversations on worldly philosophy”, a complementary activity for undergraduate students which featured a presentation by Javier Gomá, Chair of Exemplarity. During the discussion, Professor Gomá listed the three reasons why philosophy is worldly: because it speaks of the world, because it speaks for everyone and because, by expressing itself with beauty, elegance, literature and entertainment, it contains a little of the world, among other reasons.

For Professor Gomá, in recent centuries philosophy has made the mistake of pretending to be a science, drawing away from everyday life. The Chair of Exemplarity stated that, unlike science, philosophy cannot be verified, and added that, in the past, it was considered a discipline that was meant to help people in their day-to-day, a space that has been taken over by the “business of happiness”.

During the session, the Chair of Exemplarity announced to the students that he will be teaching Introduction to Philosophy at the School of Engineering in the Spring Term. This course is especially aimed at students without humanistic training, to strengthen their knowledge in this area. The philosopher and writer pointed out that this type of learning is highly valued by companies in their selection processes, as it showcases the candidate’s curiosity to learn.