Anastasia Anderson is an associate professor in the philosophy department at UFV and co-coordinator for the Centre for Philosophy for Children.
After working at UFV for the past 27 years, Anderson’s knowledge about teaching philosophy has proved extensive. She shared with the The Cascade more about her career, research, and working with students at the university, and that what she loves most about teaching is seeing students advance their learning over time.
“One of the things that’s really nice about UFV is that it’s large enough to be diverse, but it’s also small enough that you have the same students over the years and you can see the progress that they’re making.”
Reflecting on what sparked her interest in philosophy, Anderson noted that she has always been naturally curious.
“Even when I went to university as an undergrad … whether I was taking an English course or a psych course, I was looking for the philosophical underpinnings of what we were studying.”
After completing her undergraduate studies at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Anderson received her Master of Arts in Philosophy degree and was a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto. In addition to teaching, Anderson has since worked as a judge for the BC Ethics Bowl at Simon Fraser University (SFU), the Canadian National Finals of the Ethics Bowl, and as a case writer for the Canadian High School Ethics Bowl. Last fall, Anderson also wrote case studies for UNESCO Schools Network, which she will present alongside Dr. Susan T. Gardner this June at SFU.
As one of the world’s oldest disciplines, philosophy has changed significantly over the years. Anderson recalled it being described as a “blood sport” in her student days, highlighting its fierce debates.
“The idea was really to be quick, to be logical and to be ruthless in your criticisms of other people’s arguments, and it could be quite brutal.”
Anderson further explained that philosophy has since evolved into a more collaborative area of study.
“Now there’s more of an understanding that we get further in our philosophical thinking if we incorporate more of a cooperative attitude and less of an idea that it’s a competition where you have to win.”
Anderson shared that she encountered several challenges as a female student studying philosophy — a traditionally male-dominated field — including an absence of female professors and her ideas often being overlooked in the classroom. While the profession has since welcomed more philosophers of different genders, Anderson believes there is still room for improvement.
“It’s still quite a male-dominated profession, and while I think it’s becoming more inclusive, it’s still a bit of an issue for the discipline.”
When asked why students should consider studying philosophy, Anderson said that philosophy offers unique skills, like critical thinking, argument evaluation, and precise phrasing, that benefit students in and beyond their careers.
“I just had a student say to me, and this sounds like it’s a downside of philosophy, but I don’t think it is, he said, ‘a philosophy classroom is the only place where [I don’t feel] like I’m being trained for a job, but I feel like I’m being trained for life.’”
Anderson’s current research has been on the importance of connection, specifically friendships between students. Taking inspiration from both indigenous philosophy and the way strands of fungi work in nature to bring together seemingly isolated plants.
“I’m paying a lot of attention in my research right now [to] the role of our relationships, not just with each other, but with the world as a whole, with other living creatures, the land, and to approach people with friendship.”
While Anderson’s interest was initially in Ancient Greek philosophy, her time as a teacher affirmed a strong passion for the philosophy of education, specifically Philosophy for Children. In 2018, Anderson created UFV’s College of Arts’ Centre for Philosophical Inquiry with Children, from which the Centre for Philosophy for Children was eventually formed alongside Dr. Anna Cook. The centre has since incorporated many other faculty members from various disciplines, including psychology, mathematics, and English.
With a focus on the Philosophy for Children approach — an educational movement that fosters philosophical thinking in children — Anderson explained that the centre gathers a wide range of people to research children-related topics.
“In creating the research centre, one of the goals was to bring together a bunch of people from different disciplines at UFV who were interested in children, childhood in education, in children’s rights, and in child development, and have us sort of work together under one umbrella.”
Students interested in learning more about philosophy from Anderson can take PHIL 110: “Ethics & Moral Problems” and PHIL 362: “Philosophy of Education” in the upcoming fall semester.
