[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Katrina Margolis
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Many people try to avoid school as vehemently as possible once it is no longer required. However, for the members of the Lifetime Learning classes, this is far from their objective. Lifetime Learning in Dover offers courses in philosophy, music, history, art, and horticulture. Thursday was the last class of four on the topic of philosophy taught by Maud Chaplin. The course, titled “Tales for Our Time” combined classical philosophy and the reading of short stories, discussing the morality or philosophical consequences of each of the tales read.
Chaplin is a Professor Emeriti from Wellesley College, where she taught for 44 years. She also has quite the following among locals in Dover and Sherborn. Two students in attendance were her neighbors, which prompted one of them to quip, “I am very fortunate!” at this piece of information.
Another student said that she had taken courses she wasn’t even necessarily interested in, but Chaplin was the teacher, so she knew they would be good.
Chaplin puts a great deal of thought and preparation into her classes. Anne Coster, who was responsible for bringing Lifetime Learning to Dover as well as the administrative helper in this particular class, said, “Maud pored over stories and stories to prepare for the class and to choose the right ones. We got together and she created the syllabus in July or August.”
The stories they read included stories by Ursula Le Guin, Ambrose Bierce, and O. Henry. Also covered were Utilitarian ethics, the teachings and writings of Immanuel Kant, moral relativism, and the offerings of Plato and Aristotle. On their final day, Chaplin baked brownies, and the class joked and laughed about the fact that one of their members is quite the chocaholic. Coster brought tea, and it was as if a modern day philosophical salon had come into being. Despite the seriousness and potentially sensitive nature of the topics, the class was incredibly interactive, as well as supportive of one another’s views.
Chaplin will be teaching her next course in Sherborn on the Second Amendment, a course many of her students intend to seek out.
