“… What is the purpose of life?”
In Summary:
We continue on from the previous episode, and are talking WORK with Gonzalo. In this episode we dive into things like:
- What his typical day as an academic looks like.
- how he started in music, and ended up landing in the field of education.
- How his interest in Buddhism led to him pursuing a PhD.
- And We go even deeper, so deep that we even stumble across THAT question: “what is the purpose of life?”.. And Gonzalo actually gives a very, very good answer!
- And more deep and meaningful stuff!
Ready to open your mind? Sounds exciting?… here’s episode thirteen!
Podcast Content and Show Notes:
Please note that I have no affiliation with any products or companies which are referenced in the show notes / hyperlinks. They have been provided for reference purposes.
Also, timestamps may differ slightly by a few seconds.
| 00:01:44 | What’s a typical day like for you? (professor in a university) | |
| Most of his students are full-time teachers. | ||
| So classes are usually in the evenings. | ||
| Typically wake up early (5am) | ||
| About 2hrs before wife gets up. | ||
| Wife is a high school teacher. | ||
| Buddhist chanting, meditation | ||
| Then do some original/philosophical writing. | ||
| Then make breakfast, wife goes to work. | ||
| Walks the dogs. | ||
| Work from home office. | ||
| Prepare for classes | ||
| Grade papers | ||
| Prepare slides for a presentation | ||
| Read and take notes of material to be used in classes | ||
| Read and reply to emails | ||
| Editors, and questions from students. | ||
| Students have a lot more direct access to teachers these days (via email) | ||
| There are ways you can manage this: | ||
| Speak in person after class, if an email requires more than a few lines to respond to. | ||
| If a question may be relevant/interesting for the rest of the class, will respond during class to all at once. | ||
| Have lunch at home, then head into the office in the afternoon. | ||
| Attend meetings with colleagues for projects, administrative stuff. | ||
| Then teach class (each class session is 3hrs, with a short break in the middle – each class meets once a week) | ||
| So strictly speaking only need to be at the university for 3hrs twice a week. | ||
| There’s no requirement to actually have to be in the office. | ||
| Classes are usually from 5:30pm ~ 8:30pm | ||
| There is a lot of autonomy. | ||
| Sometimes you need to travel and attend conferences, so you may occasionally need to conduct some classes online. | ||
| Long hours, but flexible. | ||
| 00:09:45 | On a day you’re teaching (5:30pm ~ 8:30pm), what time would you say your work day starts (it will vary, but roughly on average)? | |
| About 9am | ||
| 00:10:40 | On a day you’re not teaching, does the work day typically start around 9am as well? | |
| Yes. | ||
| If teaching Mon, Wed, then will take Thursdays off as a day to relax (rather than waiting until Saturday to relax) | ||
| That is the first day, after last class of the week. | ||
| When you’re teaching, when do you have dinner | ||
| Too late (after class) | ||
| Normally have dinner around 7pm, but on a teaching day would normally be around 9:30pm. | ||
| 00:12:24 | How does your typical day change if it was to become a great day? | |
| Being an academic is such a lonely profession | ||
| Having a productive day / meetings | ||
| Accomplishing something (finishing a paper) | ||
| Usually takes months. | ||
| When class goes well. | ||
| Normally have 14-30 students in a class. | ||
| 00:16:11 | What does it mean, when you say a class goes well? | |
| When class discussions are exciting/interesting. | ||
| Or the text is interpreted in a way he never thought of. | ||
| Or simply when just the general mood of the class is happy. | ||
| 00:18:36 | How does your typical day change if it was to become a crap day? | |
| When he gets stuck while trying to get something done. | ||
| This typically happens when writing. | ||
| 00:20:24 | Is there something you typically do during your lunch times (which you normally have at home) | |
| 00:21:31 | What is it that you love about your job? | |
| I get to have really good conversations. | ||
| What do you mean by really good conversation? What makes a conversation really good? | ||
| Gonzalo is interested in the subject matter. | ||
| It’s great to be able to share with other people about a subject you are excited about. | ||
| The themes in class are connected to life, and is a great way to chat and connect with people, which Gonzalo feels like he is not so good at doing in typical social scenes. | ||
| 00:23:36 | What do you hate about your job? | |
| Doesn’t pay as well. | ||
| Hate having to grade. | ||
| Grades itself are not really for the student. It’s more for others, like the university (eg: to decide whether you’re going to get the degree or not) or for a future employer. | ||
| In an ideal world, this is not of their business. | ||
| Grades, looked at out of context, it in a way corrupts the (learning) experience. | ||
| More specific feedback is helpful for the student: you did this well, but you should work more on this… etc.. | ||
| 00:27:22 | One of Gonzalo’s favourite philosophers: John Dewey. | |
| In a truly democratic society work and leisure/play should not be two separate things. | ||
| When they are fragmented, it’s a sign that there’s no real democracy, because, it means some people are not enacting their values, you are enacting someone else’s values. | ||
| 00:29:27 | When and how did you decide that you were going to work in this field? | |
| Wanted to be a musician for a while. | ||
| First serious occupation was in graphic design for about 20yrs. | ||
| Did odd jobs here and there while attending SOKA (California) | ||
| Also did this throughout graduate school (New York) | ||
| And then had an opportunity to pursue graduate studies at SOKA University | ||
| It was like a 4 year sabbatical | ||
| To enrich his life and learn about other things. | ||
| Recalls feeling that: this is what he enjoys the most | ||
| 00:31:19 | What university degrees did you study? | |
| 1997 ~2001: Studied Graphic Design at the University of Buenos Aires. | ||
| Applied to SOKA while in Argentina | ||
| Gonzalo was already Buddhist and a member of the Soka Gakkai International group. | ||
| And through this he knew that SOKA University was being opened. | ||
| The founder of SOKA University is the leader of the Soka Gakkai organisation. | ||
| Gonzalo started practising Buddhism while he was in high school. | ||
| We talk a lot about SOKA and Soka Gokkai with Justin, so check out those episodes if you haven’t already! | ||
| 00:33:12 | What drew you to Budhhism in high school? | |
| Was born Catholic | ||
| Appreciated the spiritual side of it. | ||
| But hated the idea of authority and the role of the priest in the church community. | ||
| In his experience, the priest was very hypocritical. | ||
| Didn’t like the idea of God being outside… Someone who you had to pray or beg to. | ||
| Had a sense that Buddhism might be worth checking out. | ||
| A friend of his was a part of Soka Gakkai and introduced him to Buddhism. | ||
| Soka Gakkai is part of the Nichiren School of Buddhism | ||
| The practice was the chanting of a mantra. | ||
| Started doing it for about 5mins / day. | ||
| Previously: | ||
| Mind was all of the place and a lot of self-criticism, complaints, inability to focus, etc. | ||
| Then after a few months of chanting, all this fell into place. Felt more centered, and thinking became clearer. | ||
| 00:38:14 | The degree studied at SOKA was a Liberal Arts Bachelor degree. | |
| Not a common degree in Argentina, but common in the US. | ||
| It’s like a general education course across a wide range of disciplines (literature, science, social science, international relations, etc..), and then you choose a focus: | ||
| He chose a Humanities concentration, and focused on Philosophy within Humanities. | ||
| Recalls really enjoying studying Philosophy, and wanted to find a way to remain a student in this area for the rest of his life -> a Professor was the closest thing, so that’s how he ended up in his field! | ||
| 00:40:02 | What made you choose a Bachelor of Liberal Arts in the first place? | |
| This was the only degree that was offered by SOKA. | ||
| There is a traditional where Universities of Liberal Arts would offer only that degree. | ||
| The idea of Liberal Arts is that everyone has an experience of common learning. | ||
| SOKA is not a Buddhist University. It’s secular, but was founded by a Buddhist person, who was also a philosopher of education- you don’t need to be Buddhist to attend the University. | ||
| 00:42:06 | Was attending SOKA less about disliking what you were doing at the time (Graphic Design) and more about enriching your life? | |
| We were reflecting on the meaning of learning – this was part of the curriculum. | ||
| That’s when he realised that it’s not just about getting from point A to point. It’s the journey (learning) that matters. | ||
| 00:44:24 | What happened after your studies at SOKA University? | |
| Had an epic realisation that life is all about learning. | ||
| Wanted to learn more, and understand why learning was so important, what happens to a person while they’re learning. | ||
| These are Philosophical questions, and looked up courses related to this area. | ||
| Came across Philosophy of Education | ||
| Director of the program at Columbia University, New York – David Hansen | ||
| Probably one of the top philosophers of education. | ||
| Reached out to him to potentially pursue a PhD under him. | ||
| 00:47:07 | You went straight from a Bachelors into a PhD program? Is that possible? | |
| You don’t have to have a Masters. | ||
| Gonzalo actually had applied to the Masters program (2yr program) | ||
| But after the first few months (even before finishing his first classes), he knew he wanted to do a PhD, and transferred into a PhD program. | ||
| 00:47:54 | How long did it take to do the PhD? | |
| It took him 9 yrs. | ||
| Was working full time as a Graphic Designer at the time. | ||
| Also had a scholarship that was providing financial support during his studies. | ||
| But the amount was very small. Could only take one class at a time (wasn’t able pay out of pocket at the time). | ||
| 00:49:10 | Upgraded beverages from coffee, water to beer! (Stella Artois) | |
| 00:49:51 | What was your focus for your PhD? | |
| Focus in Philosophy and Education | ||
| And wrote a dissertation about Education for Global Citizenship. | ||
| And so the research he is doing now is a continuation of this! | ||
| 00:49:59 | For those who wanted to pursue a career in a similar area, what advice would you give them? | |
| The field of Educational Philosophy is blossoming | ||
| But the general field of Philosophy is shrinking (especially in terms of jobs) | ||
| Important to be aware of this. | ||
| Important that you are passionate enough about it, to be willing to potentially be struggling in terms of career. | ||
| Consider himself very lucky | ||
| It’s a very small market. | ||
| But you can do really interesting philosophical work in education at the intersection of other fields (that have a lot healthier markets) such as: | ||
| Technology of education | ||
| Education and cognitive science | ||
| Teacher education | ||
| Early childhood education | ||
| 00:54:40 | Are there any jobs out there in just Philosophy? | |
| No | ||
| To work as a Philosopher, means you write and publish in Philosophy, or you teach. | ||
| Philosophy is still a valuable degree. | ||
| Some argue that a Bachelor of Philosophy is the best preparation for Law School. | ||
| The highest LSAT scores are from Philosophy majors | ||
| Great degree for going into business as you get a lot of training in critical thinking and logic | ||
| So it’s a great tool to have to help you in other fields, but hard to get paid and work as a Philosopher. | ||
| Philosophy, Arts, Music Sports | ||
| These are areas people are very passionate about, but very few are able to make a living out of it. | ||
| Creativity and Fine Arts are more sought after in high achieving industries. | ||
| 00:59:32 | It’s a good think for young people to think imaginatively about their careers | |
| Can often go in many different directions (rather than the traditional straight line type of progression). | ||
| Rather than thinking whether you like particular fields, you should think.. What am I good at, or what do I like, and then create your own path after being aware of that…. | ||
| 01:01:51 | If you could do it all over again, what different career would you pursue? | |
| When you’re young, everything is about possibility (and no actuality yet) | ||
| As we get older, we have to choose a path. Selecting 1 out of 10 options means, you have to drop 9. | ||
| So he would have chosen one of those 9, not necessarily because it would have been better, but more out of curiosity. | ||
| Have always been interested in politics. What interests me about politics is: | ||
| Similar to Philosophy, the engagement with history | ||
| What you do with your life is connected to history, or what’s going on in the world. | ||
| Likes the idea of big picture, long term. | ||
| 01:04:55 | What is the purpose of life? | |
| Rather than there being a purpose of life, it’s something we make. | ||
| Living your life in a way where things make sense… where what we are makes sense. | ||
| This is why we are mortal, why we have desires, etc. | ||
| When are too busy pursuing this idea of “success” our humanity doesn’t make a lot of sense. | ||
| .. It’s got to be something like… where you live your life in a way, that it becomes meaningful. | ||
| In the end it’s got to have to do with 2 things. | ||
| a. Understanding who you are. | ||
| i. Learning about ourselves and accepting ourselves. | ||
| ii. Getting past all the lies we tell ourselves about who we are. | ||
| b. Connections – just living in a way where we connect in a meaningful way with other people, life, and the world. | ||
| i. We don’t do this well. We isolate ourselves in many ways from people and from nature. | ||
| It is actually quite a scary question. |