My dear friend and classmate Emily is a philosopher. She has studied basically only philosophy since she was 17. Her PhD is on what makes a just society. She also supervises the introductory class to Philosophy of Science, which has nothing to do with justice or society, really.
The students' essay question this week was about the philosophy of quantum physics. After giving the Philosophy of Science supervision, Emily walked into our office looking pale, exhausted, and shell-shocked. When I said "what's wrong?", she said in a small and defeated voice, "They asked me what quantum physics was."
Maybe this is one of those you-have-to-know-her stories, but to see a very accomplished and dedicated philosopher completely done in by undergrads' questions was unsettling. It happens all the time, sure, but it highlights the narrowness of knowledge that we all get from postgrad degrees. Trusting undergrads think that we have all the answers. They call me Dr Wylie in emails no matter how many times I tell them I'm not. They trust our inked-in-the-margins feedback as the way forward. So did it shake Emily's students' whole worldviews that she didn't know what quantum physics was? Did they leave the supervision looking as traumatized as she did?
Probably not. My guess is those students were super relieved that Emily didn't know what the major topic of their essay meant, because that meant it isn't important and thus that THEY don't have to know it either. Rather than necessarily failing her students in her role as their teacher, as Emily felt, instead she probably did them a huge favor by showing that philosophy is not about knowing all the facts but actually is a frame of mind, a worldview, a way of thinking. Insert any old case study, even something as daunting as quantum physics, and Philosophy will analyze it just fine.
Even so, I'm going to Google the topics of my students' essays so I can rattle off some kind of definition for everything. Like a good all-knowing (egotistical, bull-shitting...) supervisor should. :)
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