Philosophy Club: A Way to Get Involved

Within Pennridge, there are many different clubs and activities to get involved in. One of them is the philosophy club, ran loosely by English teacher, Daniel Linskey. The club meets every Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. and runs for about an hour. In this club, students talk about different philosophical topics and discuss various opinions. The club is mainly student run with little direction from Linskey. One will find that Linskey only gets involved when the conversation starts to fizzle or when students are struggling to understand certain topics.

The study of philosophy is just a different way of thinking. There are different schools of thought that you can fall under such as Buddhism, existentialism, and stoicism which all consider different aspects of life. A variety of students attend the philosophy club to see and discuss different perspectives regarding life curiosities. When advisor Daniel Linskey was asked why he decided to create the club he said, “ Some students came to me and said this club used to be around before covid…I said I’m in.” Linskey mentioned how his worry with running the club was self-interest, but now that he’s been involved for a while, he quite enjoys it. Linskey also said that when discussions begin he “tries to minimize.” In other words, he will start and end discussions. Linskey also doesn’t think that this club is necessarily a must-join type of club, he instead believes that if you’re open to such topics and are willing to try a new way of learning and looking at things, then it is something you might consider; however, if you are more focused on school and careers then you just might not be interested.

Currently, Linskey is also in the beginning stages of writing the coursework for a philosophy class that would be available to students at Pennridge. This class would be a combination of philosophy and standard English, where it would focus on English but throw in philosophical ideas. It would be an elective so students wouldn’t be required to take it, but it could be an option for students who are looking to see things through a different lens. Linskey highlights that the main point of this club is to understand that,” Other people have these questions.” A club member, and senior at Pennridge High School, Parker Wood, said that he gets to “Learn material I wouldn’t learn in school”. This club covers any ideas and thoughts that any individual student may have, allowing many different types of discussions to blossom. Wood also said that while in this club,” You’re mind is taken to places it’s never been before.” Making it a good club for outside-of-the-box thinkers. Wood commented on the student-led aspect of the club and said that he enjoys it because it, “Lets us take initiative”. Wood joined this club because he knew Daniel Linskey was the advisor and wanted to work with him. In his interview, he also highlighted that he is an absurdist who thinks, “There is no meaning in life, but have fun anyway.”

This way of thinking is just one of the many perspectives that students in this club have. Neighboring school districts like North Penn and Quakertown lack any kind of philosophy club making Pennridge stand out. However, a few schools nearby including Souderton and Central Buck East have a club similar to Pennridge. The study of philosophy covers many different topics such as epistemology, the study of knowledge, and metaphysics where philosophy explains the beginning of things and abstract concepts. There are also a select few philosophers that people follow and study a lot. Some notable philosophers include Socrates who was the founder of Western philosophy. Others choose to study Plato who was a student of Socrates and believed in the idea of forms which is thinking that the material world is just a version of the real world and that there are others out there that are better and worse.

One can learn more about philosophy and check out the club if they’re interested in analyzing abstract ideas. It has many patrons now but it’s always looking for more. A fun perk to the club is sometimes when they meet there are donuts and snacks available to the students who come. For those interested, the club meets every Tuesday from 2:30 p.m. to around 3:30 p.m. It is important to note, they talk about many different philosophical topics and listen to every person’s view on whatever it may be. As a whole, this is a great club to get involved with if you’re interested in student initiatives and discussing abstract ideas.

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