A non-business course which I found particularly interesting and significant is that of an introductory philosophy course. Presented as a survey course, the class touched on major philosophical thought, including major religions as well as major thinkers from Aristotle to Sartre.
This class was eye-opening to me because it helped me to understand the wide range of influences that come together to form cultural differences. The ways in which one culture interacts with another (and the ways in which members of one culture interact with each other) are influenced by the underlying philosophies of that culture. Coming to the United States from Taiwan, I am particularly concerned with cultural differences, and discovering the roots of various philosophical influences has helped me become more aware of the ways in which interaction takes place.
This is not to suggest that the course was comprehensive with regard to each of the subjects we covered; instead, we were left with a broad overview of various philosophies and their influences, but with a strong understanding of how philosophy shapes our daily lives, even among those individuals who express no interest in philosophy.
What I discovered as part of the course is that philosophy does not need to be restricted to a classroom setting, but that in fact, it influences our daily lives, our economic situations, and our political choices. Those individuals who have a theocentric philosophy may take a different approach to their business and personal decisions than those individuals who take an agnostic or atheistic approach to life. I also learned that philosophies which are very different in their backgrounds and specific teachings can have similar practical results. Charity and almsgiving, for example, has a strong tradition in Eastern religions as well as in the Christian traditions, yet can also be justified by existential writings that suggest each of us has an obligation to...