A meeting with an enormous tree
Author: Carson Haller | Majors: Psychology, Environmental, Soil, & Water Science | Summer 2023
My story begins the evening before my introduction to philosophy final paper is due. Keep in mind I was writing during covid, so I literally had nothing better to do, but I had somehow managed to put it off until the night before. No sooner had I begun writing did I realize how vitriolically I hated philosophy. I absolutely despised the ‘bodily continuity theory’, and everyone who had ever even said the words ‘bodily continuity theory.’ In fact I was starting to wonder what mad scientist had taken control of me when I was choosing courses that semester. Reading this now it may seem a little odd that I, Carson Haller, would dedicate a month of my time to studying philosophy at Oxford University a couple years later. It seems strange because it is. 2020 Carson would have abhorred what 2023 Carson did with his summer. Luckily for present-day me, my attitude toward philosophy changed, and I got to speak with articulate professors, forge deep friendships, and eat scrumptious food.
One of the professors who taught me at Oxford happens to be the world authority on Leibniz, who is known as the last great “universal genius.” When conversing with my professor, it felt like he was the last great “universal genius.” I would ask what I thought to be a difficult question, and he would pause to think and then whip out the most beautifully constructed argument I had ever heard. My friend George and I secretly fawned over his brilliance in between classes and while discussing the coursework. In the second half of my month in Oxford I read two foundational texts of philosophy: Plato’s Republic, and Descartes’ Meditations. I found these to be convincing accounts of how to act and what to think, respectively. One of the important things I learned while there was that critical thinking involves doubting. It is the act of asking why that brings us closer to the truth. Why do I believe what I believe? Doubt is an essential landmark on the path to understanding oneself and the world.
In the spirit of understanding myself and the world, I embarked on a quest to find the best restaurants in the city of Oxford. For the sake of clarity, I’d like to say that they were the best restaurants within my price range in the city of Oxford, because one could argue that there are restaurants far superior in flavor. However, there’s a certain irreplicable whimsy that food trucks have—one that wins me over time and time again. My friends and I discovered Boba Tea places, Bangkok House (a phenomenal Thai restaurant), and a Chinese restaurant where they made their own noodles. The shoe leather express being our only mode of transportation, we would work up an appetite on the way to these eateries, which made them taste that much better. One of the cooler things that happened was when I made friends with a guy named Yeet at a food truck who let me in on the best kept secret in Oxford: Kofta wraps. This cut of the lamb might as well be sacred because it had me praying for more afterwards. You know I had to show all my friends the spot, and they loved it.
Without a doubt Oxford was a fantastic journey. I came back with more than just memories, too. There I learned a few things that I can pawn off as cheap advice. You’ll just have to humor me to claim your stake. I learned in Oxford that attitude is everything. We had a 7 AM fire drill on a cold morning and I rushed out of my room without shoes. One ear plug was stuck in my ears and I had no shoes. My friends were sympathizing with me when I realized that I didn’t have to let my circumstances ruin my moment. Another thing I learned in Oxford was that humor is a skill. It can be practiced like any other skill, for example juggling while on a unicycle.
All in all, I had a wonderful time studying philosophy at Oxford with ISA. The friends I made have had a lasting impact on me. The things I learned are applicable to many facets of my life, and the food I had is a robust memory of deliciousness.