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nen Kessler
Professor of Philosophy
Profile
When Warren Kessler was In high
school, he enjoyed exploring Ihe
theoretical aspects of a particular
subject. In science classes he was
more fascinated with the process of
finding the solution to a problem, rather
than with the solullon itself. In poiitlcal
science courses, he was interested in
the nature of democracy versus elitism,
rather than how the laws were actuaily
made.
Later, as a sophomore at Rutgers,
Kessler took his first philosophy course.
"I discovered that I was getting a
straight dose of the theoretical and
critical thinking aspect of various
subjects that I had enjoyed, " explains
Kessler. "It was like getting undiluted
thought. Immediately, I was hookedl"
Kessler decided to pursue his
philosophy studies In graduate school
and transferred to the University of
Wisconsin. "I was fortunate to get a
teaching-assistant position during my
second semester, and that was a
rewarding experience, " Kessler says.
''At that time I began to consider
teaching as a career. "
During the years of his residency, the
University of Wisconsin became one of
the major centers for Vietnam war
protests. Kessler viewed his
involvement in that period as an
important part of his moral
development. But the extremely cold
Wisconsin winters eventually prompted
him to seek greener pastures. "I traded
in my earmuffs for a surfboard and
moved to 'centrally located' Fresno,
California," he says jokingly.
Today, Warren Kessler teaches
philosophy and ethics courses and is
the Coordinator for the Applied Ethics
Program at CSU, Fresno.
Q: Where do ethics fit into our
advanced, technological society?
A: There was a period of time when
both ethics and philosophy were
disregarded. Science and technology
really took off, and people got carried
away as if there were a technological
soiution to every problem. But folks who
have thought about these things know
that techniques are means or tools by
which people achieve certain ends, and
although it's possible to use a tool
without considering the end result, it
isn't very wise. When we find ourselves
with poisoned ground water, and air
that we can't breathe, and we're
terrified that the weapons we've created
could destroy us, we're seeing
examples of technology which may
have gotten out of hand. In some
cases, technology has clearly been
used without regard to ends. The theory
that ideas which don't fall into a
scientifically verifiable mold are
meaningless was well respected for 15
to 20 years. But by the early '50s,
philosophers raised serious questions
about that approach, and people started
looking at the consequences of doing
business without regard to value. For
educated people-whether In or outs'lde
the realm of religious tradition-to set
ethics on the back burner when they go
to work is a terrible and tragic thing that
19
Object Description
| Title | 1985-86 General Catalog |
| Creator | California State University, Fresno |
| Format | PDF Document |
| Date of publication | 1985-04 |
| Subjects | California State University, Fresno. Curricula. Catalogs |
| Object type | Document |
| Location | Fresno, California |
| Language | eng |
Description
| Title | Page 019 |
| Full Text Search | nen Kessler Professor of Philosophy Profile When Warren Kessler was In high school, he enjoyed exploring Ihe theoretical aspects of a particular subject. In science classes he was more fascinated with the process of finding the solution to a problem, rather than with the solullon itself. In poiitlcal science courses, he was interested in the nature of democracy versus elitism, rather than how the laws were actuaily made. Later, as a sophomore at Rutgers, Kessler took his first philosophy course. "I discovered that I was getting a straight dose of the theoretical and critical thinking aspect of various subjects that I had enjoyed, " explains Kessler. "It was like getting undiluted thought. Immediately, I was hookedl" Kessler decided to pursue his philosophy studies In graduate school and transferred to the University of Wisconsin. "I was fortunate to get a teaching-assistant position during my second semester, and that was a rewarding experience, " Kessler says. ''At that time I began to consider teaching as a career. " During the years of his residency, the University of Wisconsin became one of the major centers for Vietnam war protests. Kessler viewed his involvement in that period as an important part of his moral development. But the extremely cold Wisconsin winters eventually prompted him to seek greener pastures. "I traded in my earmuffs for a surfboard and moved to 'centrally located' Fresno, California," he says jokingly. Today, Warren Kessler teaches philosophy and ethics courses and is the Coordinator for the Applied Ethics Program at CSU, Fresno. Q: Where do ethics fit into our advanced, technological society? A: There was a period of time when both ethics and philosophy were disregarded. Science and technology really took off, and people got carried away as if there were a technological soiution to every problem. But folks who have thought about these things know that techniques are means or tools by which people achieve certain ends, and although it's possible to use a tool without considering the end result, it isn't very wise. When we find ourselves with poisoned ground water, and air that we can't breathe, and we're terrified that the weapons we've created could destroy us, we're seeing examples of technology which may have gotten out of hand. In some cases, technology has clearly been used without regard to ends. The theory that ideas which don't fall into a scientifically verifiable mold are meaningless was well respected for 15 to 20 years. But by the early '50s, philosophers raised serious questions about that approach, and people started looking at the consequences of doing business without regard to value. For educated people-whether In or outs'lde the realm of religious tradition-to set ethics on the back burner when they go to work is a terrible and tragic thing that 19 |
