Today’s Freshmen, Tomorrow’s Philosophers

As the 2025-2026 school year kicked off, Charlotte Catholic added several new courses to the curriculum and extended the freshman course Philosophy: The Human Person. First initiated as a required semester class for freshmen last year, Philosophy is now a year long class for the incoming freshman, taking the place of the Ancient World History course.

The administration, not the Philosophy department, decided it was important to expand the Philosophy class to a full year in order to cultivate a better understanding of the Catholic academic tradition, which gives one the ability to see the relationship between faith and reason. 

Brian Dorrian, a Philosophy and Ethics teacher, as well as the director of the St. Augustine’s Scholar Program, said, “Philosophy is a handmaiden, or subject that assists us in understanding theology,” which is why he believes it fits to have Philosophy in the curriculum at a Catholic school.

When taking Philosophy, the freshman class learns about multiple great Classical Greek thinkers, such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, as well as Christian tradition thinkers, such as Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas. Among these thinker’s ideas, Mr. Dorrian said, “We focus on topics such as epistemology, forming valid arguments through logic, reflecting on what it means to be a human person, and how to live a happy life.”

Mr. Dorrian (left) and Mr. Lee (right) (Credit: Charlotte Catholic High School)

The word philosophy means “love of wisdom,” and by requiring the study of Philosophy, the administration hopes that students will become more reflective about choices they make and their purposes in life. 

In addition, students can understand their power of reason and the fact that they can do good or bad things with it. Philosophy therefore teaches students how they are able to use their power of reason for good rather than evil. Mr. Dorrian said, “The title of the philosophy class is  The Human Person because we have to figure out how we channel responsibly these great gifts that we possess as human persons.”

Though the school no longer offers an Ancient World History course for incoming freshmen, this type of philosophy course immerses students in the study of the ancient world. The main difference between the courses is that in Philosophy the students have to use critical thinking and engage in great ideas, instead of learning about facts or what happened in different places at different periods of time. 

Ultimately, philosophy gives students much insight into civilizations of the ancient world that have paved the way for how and why people live the way 

they do today.