A new philosophy course, Philosophy of Happiness (PP103), has finished its first-ever semester at Wilfrid Laurier University on Dec. 4, 2024.
Created and taught by Ashwani K. Peetush, the course covered topics such as knowledge, logic and happiness, showing 300 students the strengths of philosophy.
“It’s been one of the best experiences I’ve had in many ways, I think a lot of that is from the meaningful connections I’ve made with students. It hasn’t just been about teaching the course but also about learning—both the content and through pedagogical experimentation,” said Peetush, describing how there are 15 to 20 students who come to listen to the course regularly who are not enrolled.
“There are instrumental and intrinsic reasons to take the course. The instrumental reasons are the critical thinking and logical skills that philosophy teaches you, which help you in any academic domain. Everyone says to ‘think outside of the box’, but no one says what it means. Well, logic is a subdivision of philosophy.” Peetush said. “Intrinsic reasons come from the nature of those profound questions—what is it to flourish? What is it to be happy? These questions matter to our life.”
In PP103, Peetush engaged students in unconventional ways during his lessons, incorporating aspects such as meditation, weekly performances, and impactful speakers that brought the class closer as a community. Scientifically, meditation can change the way your brain reacts to the world, in just six weeks you can begin to see a significant difference in your attention, critical thinking skills, and even helps to aid those with ADHD. These concepts are not only taught but practiced in the Philosophy of Happiness.
“I found the content extremely practical for living a happier day-to-day life,” said John Phillips, a first-year business student taking his first-ever philosophy course.
“Being able to apply philosophical ideas like stoicism—only worrying about things you can control— or living a more virtuous life are some of the things I took away from the course. Overall, the course was incredibly enjoyable, engaging, and extremely helpful for living happier.”
Often philosophy courses center around a European curriculum. Peetush sought to change that narrative, working hard to both create a course and teach himself new concepts. Because of this, the class adopts from many concepts — Daoism, Buddhism, concepts of Pratityasmutpada, Ubuntu and a diverse selection of Southeast Asian philosophies which are very new to the Canadian education system are present in the course.
“I was very engrossed in Daoism to the point I was dreaming about it,” Peetush said. “For about two weeks—because I knew I was going to lecture about the Dao—I was extensively studying it. I felt great about that, meditating and contemplating on it. For me, teaching isn’t just a job, it gives me purpose and meaning in my life,” he said.
Mitchell Solsky, the course’s teaching assistant, shared his thoughts on its first semester. “Whenever you ask a question, you’re philosophizing. A lot of people think philosophers are just a bunch of people sitting around stroking their beards, but not quite. You get to be in tune with the world, and become deeply analytic, which is the biggest benefit you can get from this class. I am extremely grateful to Dr. Peetush for the teaching experience,” he said.
Next year, PP103 will be returning with a bigger class size, ready to expand upon itself and ingrain its curriculum into the Laurier Philosophy department for years to come.
Photo by Sangjun Han. Performance during a PP103 presentation.
