Philosophy is important in a democracy. The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates knew that and defended democracy even while the Athenian democratic regime under which he lived had him executed.
That idea is at the heart of research presented in August 2013 by Philosophy Professor Richard J. Klonoski, Ph.D., at the 23rd World Congress of Philosophy. His paper was among scores of presentations by scholars from around the world, who traveled to Athens, Greece, for the Congress, held only every five years and always in a different city.
Philosophy remains important for democracy, Dr. Klonoski said, because it raises important issues for the democracy itself, while being vigilantly critical of it.
He presented on the topics of this paper again in November at a political science conference in Philadelphia.
A member of the faculty at Scranton for more than 30 years, Dr. Klonoski received the University’s Magis award in 2011 for Excellence in Adapting Classical Principles of Jesuit Pedagogy into the Curriculum. In 1998, the University’s graduating class voted him “Teacher of the Year.”
