What is 'Common Good'?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Bowdoin College
1

My favorite aspects of Bowdoin College is its emphasis on Common Good, and I think many other prospective Bowdoin students in CC will also agree with me.

Recently, I have a chance to question myself rather I really understand this topic.
I was mentioning Common Good as my reason to apply Bowdoin in my alumni interview when the interviewer said, ‘no, you don’t know what Common Good is.’
So, I tried to explain my understanding of Common Good to him, but honestly, I panicked for a moment… kk

According to my comprehension, persuing Common Good refers to introducing a benefitial vision of a society and putting effort to achieve such ideal.

Well, He did not say anything after listening to my answer, so I’m not sure whether this is a misconception or not. :slight_smile:

So, the question:
“What is Common Good?”

2

The definition is different for every person. It is basically about positively impacting your community.

3

I think it refers to the fact that decisions can rarely be made to satisfy everyone, so the best decisions are ones that benefit the “common good”, meaning the majority of the people affected. Unfortunately, very often people that are on the extreme ends of the bell curve statistically will be offended because the decision doesn’t benefit you, but it does benefit the common good. My $.02.

4

community service. there is one day per year called “common good day” that bowdoin spends organizing/doing community service events

5

I looked this up. The McKeen Center has this quote in their mission page

In short, your education is not about benefiting you alone. It’s about using what you learn to benefit others.

That’s a heck of a challenge!