The One Aristotle Argument Prof. Owen Anderson Uses to Break Open Freshman Philosophy | The Furrows

Professor Owen Anderson teaches philosophy and religious studies at Arizona State University, where starts every intro philosophy class with "where did your life go so wrong?" In this conversation, Ryan and Alex trace his journey from a curious teenager in Arizona public schools to a philosophy professor working to recover what education has lost. What's in This Episode: – How discovering the Great Books in a school library set Owen on the path to philosophy and why students today still hunger for that kind of intellectual engagement – The farming analogy for education: why cultivating students requires patience, and what teacher narcissism costs a classroom over time – Aristotle's proof for the highest good and the eternal—and how Owen uses these arguments in introductory philosophy at ASU – John Dewey's vision for democratizing education, how it went wrong, and why Mortimer Adler's answer offers a better way – Owen's book The Twelve Arguments and how natural theology connects to the American founding and the Declaration of Independence Chapters: 00:00: Welcome and a Note on Audio Quality 00:47: Introducing Professor Owen Anderson 02:30: Discovering the Great Books in High School 08:49: Early Questions About Faith, Truth, and Certainty 13:22: The Farming Analogy: Why Education Takes Time 17:00: What Students Lose in the Industrial University 26:14: Aristotle on the Good and the Eternal 41:09: John Dewey, Mortimer Adler, and the Democratization of Education 51:29: Charlie Kirk as the Campus Socrates 58:56: The Twelve Arguments, Natural Law, and the American Founding Resources Mentioned: – The Twelve Arguments by Owen Anderson: https://drowenanderson.com/book/the-t... – After Virtue by Alasdair MacIntyre: https://undpress.nd.edu/9780268035044... – Classical Learning Test: https://www.cltexam.com/ – Arcadia Education: https://arcadiaed.com/ Hosted by Ryan Klopak (Arcadia Education) and Alex Julian (CLT). The Furrows podcast features leaders in classical education who have been transformed by classical education. Produced by Saint Kolbe Studios: https://saintkolbestudios.com/