From Pre-Med to Philosophy with Dr. Paul Rezkalla
Written by Lauren Smith
Even as a child, Dr. Paul Rezkalla knew exactly what he wanted to study. “I always thought I’d become a physician,” he told me, “because that’s what my parents did.” But nowadays, his desk isn’t covered with anatomy textbooks, medical journals, and case studies. Rather, sifting through his shelves reveals the works of Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Anselm, Hume, Descartes, and other philosophers.
“In college, I began reading the philosophy of religion with Aristotle, Plato, and C.S. Lewis, and I thought the questions they raised were really interesting,” Rezkalla recalled. “My academic and spiritual journeys began to dovetail, and I thought I should look further into philosophy.” Instead of applying for medical school, as he’d planned, Rezkalla earned his master’s degree in philosophy and pursued both research and teaching opportunities in the field, eventually arriving this summer for his first year as a philosophy teacher at Hillsdale College.
In a world where few people call themselves philosophers and even fewer practice philosophy as their daily job, why major in philosophy? When I asked him this question, Rezkalla chuckled. He’d clearly heard it many times before and was ready with his answer. Practically, he told me, philosophy is a great teacher of identifying truth, understanding people, and communicating ideas. “Being able to grasp subtle differences in views or positions, being able to find objections, and being able to clearly present your own ideas … Philosophy helps with that. It also helps us identify what we think and articulate it.” This skillset is beneficial across a wide variety of careers; Rezkalla noted that student philosophers may go on to become teachers, consultants, researchers, lawyers, or publishers, to name a few possibilities.
However, Rezkalla argues that teaching philosophy purely to develop analytical skills misses its real purpose. According to Rezkalla: “I became jaded with the idea of teaching to produce critical thinkers. Sometimes it’s seen as a virtue that you teach in a way that merely presents students with options and lets them pick for themselves. I think that’s good in some cases, but we would never do that in, say, a history class. I don’t want my students coming to an ethics class and leaving not believing anything.” Philosophers might start their studies by disbelieving in everything, much as the famous philosopher Descartes did, but the investigation should never stop there. Students dedicated to mastering philosophy should not only be able to sift through beliefs and identify which ones are true and which ones are false, but also to discover, hold, and defend their own.
Outside the classroom, Rezkalla continues to teach the lessons of philosophy through chats over coffee, office hours, field trips, and more. “Really get to know your professors” is advice he says he’d give all his students. “Especially if you’re unclear about what you want to study, hanging out with people in disciplines that interest you gives you a better idea of whether you want to become an English professor or a historian or an accountant.” Most recently, Rezkalla took his Introduction to Western Philosophical Tradition class to watch the newly released C.S. Lewis movie, followed by an impromptu visit to Dairy Queen. Sandwiched between philosophical remarks about how the van they borrowed almost didn’t start (“If we get stuck on the side of the road, at least we’ll work off the ice cream walking home!”) and appreciation for New York restaurants (“I really miss having sushi all around me”) were real philosophical discussions about Descartes, ethics, and careers in philosophy. Dr. Rezkalla’s love for all things philosophy shines through everything he does, whether that’s teaching in a classroom or planning a philosophy-themed rap battle over a sundae.
Rezkalla also hasn’t left his physician roots completely behind. He’s currently a member of the American Society for Bioethics & Humanities, and next semester, he’ll be teaching a bioethics course right here at Hillsdale College. His work has also been published in the American Journal of Bioethics-Neuroscience. One of his particular interests (and the subject of his master’s thesis) is evolutionary biology and whether morals, if evolved, are arbitrary standards.
His parting advice for students, even those not planning to study philosophy formally, is to read just one well-known philosophy book as an introduction to the field: Plato’s Gorgias. Written in the style of a casual conversation between Socrates and his friends, Gorgias deals with topics such as defining justice, finding fulfillment, and teaching truth. “It’s really simple. It’s really short. It drives home the lesson of caring about the pursuit of truth, not just critical thinking.” Ultimately, Rezkalla wants students to come away from their studies with not only the ability to invent and articulate good ideas, but also to test and embrace their own beliefs: a goal that fits Hillsdale’s challenge for students to pursue truth.
Lauren Smith, ’25, is a prospective political economy major and French minor. Outside of starting arguments in philosophy class, she enjoys curling up on a bench outdoors (sun, rain, or snow) to write novels or articles for her blog, www.laurensmythbooks.com.
Published in December 2021