Chayan Chakraborti, B.A. 1996
Associate Dean for Medical Education & Academic Affairs; Tulane University School of Medicine – New Orleans, La
1996 Major: Philosophy and Biology
How has being a Philosophy graduate from Duke helped shape you personally and/or professionally?
"Firstly, my philosophy studies helped shape my ability to identify the salient points of an argument; followed closely by developing the skill of critical analysis. As a physician, the ethics courses were especially formative as one might expect, but I also continued to take a role on the hospital ethics committee as well as teach medical ethics, specifically of the virtue ethics school. In my current role as medical education dean, I find there is a surprising amount of metaphysics, or at least, metacognition."
What advice would you give students in Duke's Philosophy programs?
"While philosophy may not make an immediate impact in one's life at the time of study; it is some of the most foundational material. Twenty-five years after time in the Duke Philosophy program, I again find myself reaching for my old books on Locke, Hume, Descartes, Plato, Avicenna, and Aquinas. Several years ago our medical school revised the physician's oath and adapted heavily from Maimonides's oath."
