Professor Samuel Levey on Finding Comfort in Uncomfortable Times

"Students and faculty may be scattered for a time, but we can still create a college--and as the name implies, study together."

In David Hirsch's profile of him in Dartmouth Now, Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Department of Philosophy Samuel Levey comments on the disruptions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic: "It can seem as if no matter where I am, I am alone." But he realizes that these feelings are perfectly normal. "Our emotional connections naturally expect physical proximity. It's hard to feel complete when we are not close to each other." Levey is a scholar of metaphysics, and is used to exploring questions such as "What is truth?" "What is the past apart from memory?" How can something remain one and the same through change?" He is convinced that philosophy can provide comfort and guidance for anyone whose rituals have been ravaged by a near-invisible pathogen that is causing so much visible pain. Read how here.