How did our teachers and professors go through the whirlwind of adolescence? And what can we learn from them apart from their knowledge of philosophy? The third interviewee in the series about our teachers' and tutors' student days is Dr. Katharina Bauer, associate professor in Practical Philosophy. Bauer teaches us about the good and bad in Moral Philosophy. How does she look back at her student life and what can we learn from her experiences?
What kind of student were you?
"First, I had to find out what I wanted to study and find my way into studying. Once I had oriented myself, studying was quite straightforward to me and I did everything on time. Yes, I think I was a good student."
Did your study progress go according to plan? How did you feel about that at the time?
"I studied philosophy and comparative literature. When I started studying, I was the first generation in Germany to do a bachelor & master program, which was completely different from what studying was like before. So, everything went according to plan, but the plan itself asked for flexibility, because at the time nobody knew what the plan looked like."
“Of course I experienced stress!”
Did you experience stress as a student?
"Of course I experienced stress! Particularly at the start when everything was new. I studied in Bochum, a very big university compared to Rotterdam. The beginning, going from a closed and safe environment to this university with huge concrete buildings, was the most intense period of stress for me."
How did you find your way in that? And in doing so, were you able to balance fun and studying?
"I found my way step-by-step. I made friends. It was very helpful to have supportive others around me, to see that they were struggling too with everything new and strange. I tried to find a good balance between fun and studying, but although I was having fun, I was studying more. A bit boring, but it is the truth."
What would you like to tell your student-self?
"Maybe I would tell my student-self to have a bit more fun and to relax. Enjoy the time of learning new things and finding your way through life. Try not to be too stressed when everything is still unclear."
Which philosopher inspired you in your personal life?
"Again, not just one philosopher. Jacques Derrida is one example. But specifically during my studies, I got inspired by Paul Ricoeur. He inspired me also very much in my personal life, not as a person or role model, but because I liked his way of combining different ways of thinking, taking different perspectives and being open for different ways of looking at the world."
Philosophy is not always a cheerful study. Thinking about the state of the world, you find out soon enough, it is not necessarily a happy place. How not to carry that as a burden in your personal life?
"Well, if you are experiencing these burdens of the world, this thinking process could already be a way of coping with it. Maybe that is why people get interested in philosophy. They observe problems and ask questions. Then, I would say, thinking these problems and questions through, reading, seeing that others had the same questions, helps a lot. And apart from that, you can find a more playful and creative approach to the pleasant and unpleasant sides of life in arts and literature. Studying literature, in that sense, was a good compensation for me."
“I recommend going to a live performance of Beethoven’s ninth symphony at least once in your life”
What artwork or form of expression do you turn to in difficult times and why?
"There is not one artwork I would say. I enjoy reading about, or perhaps escaping to, other worlds by reading literature and novels. But when it is about enjoying life and feeling its pleasant sides, it is mostly music I turn to. It can be very different types of music, but I really love classical music. I recommend going to a live performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at least once in your life. The piece has so much energy and makes you think. It is an experience."
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