Ashland University provides philosophy as a major and a minor, commonly taught by none other than Dr. Louis Mancha. Beginning here in 2003, Mancha became a professor and started his journey of expressing the importance of philosophy.

The spark for this subject was first discovered for Mancha in high school. He said, “I had a religion teacher who was trying to teach us about various theological matters and she stops me in the hallway one day and she tells me, ‘You know, Louis, you should be a philosopher.’ I looked at her and I said, ‘Who does that? Nobody studies philosophy.’”

This conversation changed Mancha’s life path.

After originally attending college to pursue a career as a mechanical engineer, Mancha’s hallway conversation influenced him to ponder the study of philosophy. He soon began understanding that the purpose of having a philosophy major is to display that critical thinking and problem solving is vital to any degree in university. He graduated with his B.A from Rice University in Houston, Texas and acquired his M.A and Ph.D at Purdue University.

Philosophy is also rich in it’s aid to analyze text, write well, interact with other human beings, think through arguments, and assess data properly. This is only a short list of the skills the subject can enhance.

Dr. Mancha teaches many classes at AU including Thoughts and Beliefs. Junior, philosophy major, Anne Casey, sheds light on why that class was her favorite, “It was my first philosophy class and really sparked my interest in the work of thinkers who are now two of my favorites, St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas.”

Casey also enjoyed the professor’s presence as well as the class she was taking, “As a Philosophy professor, he wants his students to believe that there is truth to the universe, that reality is intelligible, and that we can seek the truth by studying philosophy and paying attention to the world around us. He does not force a certain worldview or conception of truth on his students, but he does encourage us to think about the fundamental questions of human existence.”

Another one of Mancha’s students, Carolina Amparo, believes that he is “the kind of professor students often seek out for guidance or just a fun conversation”. He expresses daily that he cares about his teachings and that philosophy is much more than a work subject in his eyes. While expressing care for his students, Mancha said, “I’ve got fifteen weeks with you, traditionally. Let’s do something with that.”

Philosophy at AU is responsible for the math logic core, and, in most cases, the natural science core. To fulfill a minor in philosophy, four core classes are to be taken with only one extra class on top of that. The major includes eight flexible classes.

AU also provides a philosophy club advised by Mancha which includes the well-known campus tradition, The Scream which takes place every Thursday at 3:00 p.m. at the quad flagpole. The club also plays philosophy games and holds bonding activities.