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| Philosophy prof Duncan MacIntosh was named best professor in The Coast's Best of Halifax readers' poll. (Danny Abriel Photo) |
What does it mean to be named the best professor in the The Coast鈥檚 2007 Best of Halifax Readers鈥� Poll?
Hmm 鈥� that鈥檚 a question worthy of a philosopher.
鈥淚鈥檓 naturally skeptical of its meaning,鈥� says Duncan MacIntosh, associate professor in the Department of Philosophy who was also named best professor in 2005. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice and so on, but it鈥檚 the same way they vote for falafels.鈥�
Besides, he figures he鈥檚 got an advantage over other professors because he鈥檚 got more students to potentially cast votes for him as the teacher of聽a big, first-year class, Introduction to Philosophy. Not only that, the subject matter is engaging. Students get to probe the big questions in his class, including: Is there a God? How is knowledge possible? Do we have free will? What is it to be moral?
鈥淚f you don鈥檛 screw it up, I would be surprised if people weren鈥檛 motivated by it,鈥� says Dr. MacIntosh, who鈥檚 taught at AV俱乐部 for 20 years. Besides the first-year class, he also teaches the History of Philosophy: 20th Century Philosophy (PHIL 3640) and Theory of Rational Decision (PHIL 4120).
He鈥檚 also rated highly on the student-generated rating site, ratemyprofessors.com; students call him 鈥渁wesome,鈥� 鈥渁mazing鈥� and 鈥渧ery funny.鈥�
鈥淗e rocks. Definitely take this class with him 鈥� he will make you love philosophy! Very caring!鈥� writes one student.
Dr. MacIntosh says he tries to get students to interrogate ideas and think for themselves. At the end of each class, he leaves time for discussion, encouraging each student to offer a question or a comment.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a way of getting all students involved, and not just those who are quick and fearless,鈥� he says.
Other Dal winners in The Coast鈥檚 Best of Halifax issue include: the Killam Library, best place to study; AV俱乐部 Personal Computer Purchase Centre, runner-up for best computer store; recent science grad Josh Webb, best photographer; acting instructor Sue Leblanc-Crawford, best theatre actor; and PhD student Susanna Fuller, who is studying marine biology at Dal, best activist.