Timothy Jaeger ’21, philosopher, writer and Dietrich von Hildebrand enthusiast

Few students can pinpoint the moment they found their passion, but Timothy Jaeger ’21 easily recalled a high school western civilization class’s use of the Socratic method that sparked his love for philosophy. “That stuck with me more than anything,” he said. “The idea of being able to think about different perspectives and do a bunch of these thought experiments.”

It is this love and passion for philosophy that drew Jaeger toward his academic path at Salve Regina.

Exploration of philosophy, SRyou Student Exposition

Graduating from Salve Regina with a double major in philosophy and political science, as well as a minor in economics, Jaeger has never been one to shy away from epistemological thought. He was a Department of Philosophy award recipient and president of the Philosophy Club at Salve Regina.

Looking back on his days at Salve Regina, Jaeger attributed his proudest accomplishments to his SRyou Student Exposition presentations. SRyou is a day for undergraduate students to share their work and experiences with peers, faculty, staff and community members – exploring their own interpretation and thought towards a given topic.

“To be able to present my original ideas before a bunch of people – that benefited me on so many levels,” he said. Jaeger said that presenting during SRyou was memorable because it was his last opportunity to share his original ideas and writing while at Salve Regina. Jaeger gave his final SRyou presentation on the philosophical topic of truth.

“That one was a direct predecessor to what my senior thesis for philosophy was about, which was intuitionism,” he said.

Publication of philosophy article

Jaeger’s piece on intuitionism, which focused on the German Roman Catholic philosopher Dietrich von Hildebrand, was published in the October 2021 edition of  “Dialogue,” the undergraduate journal of Phi Sigma Tau, the international philosophy honor society. The article is titled “Dietrich von Hildebrand as an Intuitionist Philosopher.”

He credits much of his success and knowledge to Dr. Peter Colosi, associate professor of in the Department of Philosophy, and Dr. Clark Merrill, associate professor in the Department of Political Science. “Dr. Merrill introduced me to so many new perspectives and new ideas,” Jaeger said. “And without Dr. Colosi, I wouldn’t know who Hildebrand was.”

Jaeger is quick to share details about the German philosopher and his theories of intuition, establishing a clear sense of knowledge, passion and love for the topic. Writing in the 20th century, Hildebrand produced works in every major field of philosophy, including ethics, aesthetics, philosophical anthropology and social philosophy.

“[Hildebrand] is in a very interesting gray area,” Jaeger said. “He doesn’t necessarily say that we intuit with our emotions, but our emotions are not necessarily detached from intuition.”

Working to improve the environment

While taking a gap year and awaiting responses from graduate schools, Jaeger has been exploring his passion for nature and the environment. He spent six months working with AmeriCorps building trails within the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference.

“It’s something different, and I’ve been able to kind of unplug in a way,” Jaeger said. “But I’ve also done very meaningful work for something that I’m passionate about.” He also continues to expand his knowledge and understanding of Hildebrand by participating in readings with the Hildebrand Project, which is dedicated to promoting the philosopher’s thought and legacy.

Article written by student writer Taylor Majkowicz ’22