Dr. Haight Busy With… Everything

Have you ever tried explaining the universe comprehensively? Dr. David Haight, Professor of Philosophy at Plymouth State University, has.In the recently published book, The Scandal of Reason, and a second book to be published shortly entitled Einstein’s Dream Come True, Dr. Haight strives to provide a “holistic vision,” a grand Theory of Everything.The Scandal of Reason, subtitled Or Shadow of God, was published in January by University Press of America. It is the culmination of a twenty-eight year project and is co-authored by his wife, Marjorie. Marjorie Haight herself is a philosophical scholar. She was Dr. Haight’s best student at Northwestern, where they met in 1968, and has taught Philosophy at Iowa State University.In affirmation of The Scandal of Reason’s immense breadth, the book has been nominated for the Phi Beta Kappa Ralph Waldo Emerson Award.The book started as a series of audio taped lectures in 1974. Around 1980, when the book was originally going to be published, Marjorie told him that more content needed to be added. So he told her to add more. When she returned with her additions, Dr. Haight replied that still more was needed. This volleying of additional content continued for many years. “Both of us needed to be satisfied,” says Dr. Haight. “We are both perfectionists.”Dr. Haight calls The Scandal of Reason an “answer book.” He says that many philosophy texts just question ideas and that he and Marjorie always wanted to answer many of them.The second book, Einstein’s Dream Come True, is a continuation of the first book; Dr. Haight views them – in consistent accordance with his philosophy – as constituting one larger work. It combines Physics, Chemistry, Cosmology, and Philosophy into one.So how does someone decide to confront and resolve the great existential mysteries? Dr. Haight’s academic pursuit of these mysteries began at Stanford where he graduated with a B.A. in Philosophy with double honors. He then moved on to earn his Master’s Degree and Ph.D. in Analytic Philosophy and Existentialism from Northwestern University. He also studied at Oxford, as a Fulbright Scholar under the tutelage of two of the greatest analytic philosophers of the time: Gilbert Ryle and Peter Strawson.Since his days studying analytic philosophy in graduate school, Dr. Haight says his areas of inquiry have become less specialized over the years. “My interest has become more cosmic, more spiritual,” he asserts.Dr. Haight attributes his broadening interest partly to the demands of teaching many different philosophic disciplines. He says that teaching introductory survey courses as well as more specialized upper division courses has enabled him to better comprehend all areas of philosophical inquiry. He has taught at Plymouth State since 1971.While Dr. Haight’s consciousness has expanded in his thirty-three years at Plymouth State, American college students seem to have lost interest in philosophy. Philosophical inquiry takes time and students’ attention spans seem to have become shorter. Dr. Haight believes that philosophy has lost favor at the expense of students’ desire to have a good time now. “Interest has shifted,” says Dr. Haight, “to a more commercial idea of making a living as opposed to how to make a life.”To combat this trend, Dr. Haight attempts to make his philosophy classes more interdisciplinary. By connecting students to the source of their interest using philosophical ideas as the means for that connection, philosophy can generate new interest from students.Given that everything seems to be the source of his interest, Dr. Haight, along with his wife, uses Transcendental Meditation (TM) as a means of connecting himself to that source of interest. Dr. Haight believes the Transcendent to be the source of everything. Practicing TM is an attempt to transcend all thoughts, emotions, ideas, and feelings. He notes TM’s connection to Eastern Philosophy and describes it as a state of complete emptiness, peace, and bliss. Ideally, TM takes no effort – meditation is not concentration. The intention is to use a mantra to achieve a state of minimal action while gaining a maximum effect. “Unless you empty the mind,” says Dr. Haight, “you cannot be fulfilled.”When asked if there is one philosophical idea or concept that intrigues him most or continually leaves him in awe, Dr. Haight replied, “the whole is in the part just as the part is in the whole. The ocean is within the drop just as the drop is within the ocean. In my mind,” concludes Dr. Haight, “that sums up the universe.”