Faculty - Science and Humanities

Cliff Guthrie received his B.A. from Duke University, his M.Div. from Candler School of Theology, and his Ph.D. from Emory University. He taught for fifteen years in theological education at Emory University and Bangor Theological Seminary, during which time he published many books and articles in practical theology. In 2007 he joined the faculty at Husson University where he teaches and writes in the fields of ethics, philosophy, and religion and coordinates the philosophy area of the School of Science and Humanities and the annual Husson Symposium on Ethics and the Sacred. His most recent publication is for the journal Ethics and Behavior entitled, “Smart Technology and the Moral Life.”

I think we are witnessing what E.O. Wilson calls "Consilience" -- the bringing together of human knowledge made possible by new research in the human sciences, the breakdown of walls between academic disciplines, and the growing possibilities for collaboration and exchange via technology. As a teacher, I push students to take advantage of these new directions in the flow of information so that they become players in the times in which we live. This means helping them become active learners, people who practice habits of paying attention to the world, taking intellectual risks, and accepting responsibility for the challenges that face us. To my mind, teaching is the human art of drawing out our finest ideas and abilities, which we too often find frightening and hide. I often remember Maine's own Oscar Remick, a beloved philosophy professor and college administrator who, when asked, "And what do you teach, Professor?" replied simply, "Why students, of course."