Blake McAllister at the age of 3. Courtesy | Blake McAllister

In this Quick Hits, Associate Professor of Philosophy Blake McAllister talks Disney movies, assumptions people make about him, and his dogs. 

What makes you smile daily?

My 3-year-old asks me to act out the scene from “Beauty and the Beast” with her where Gaston asks Belle to marry him. When I pop the question, she yells “No!” at the top of her lungs.

What is the best movie you have seen in the past year?

As the father of a little girl who insists on being called “Belle,” I’ve basically just watched “Beauty and the Beast” every Friday for the last year. Fortunately, it’s one of the best movies of all time.

What’s one question you’re tired of being asked?

How did you become so handsome?

What do you wish to do more?

Win at chess.

What is something that makes you think “what if”?

What if I hadn’t gone to Pepperdine University where I accidentally stumbled upon philosophy?

What do strangers incorrectly assume about you?

That I’m a freshman.

Who is your favorite character from a book?

King David. He’s so devoted to whatever, or really whoever, he sets his heart on, giving himself fully and with abandon. This leads to utter greatness and staggering failure, exultant triumph and bitter loss. He is the ultimate warrior poet.

What is your favorite part of being a professor at Hillsdale?

Besides getting paid to think, read, and talk with the like-minded about the things I find most fascinating and important in the whole world? I dunno — my office has three huge windows.

Do you have any pets?

A fluffy German shepherd named Reid (who used to come to class with me) and a golden dachshund named Wallace. My dad wrote a children’s book about them called “The Adventures of Sheriff Shep and Deputy Docs.” They save the children’s chestnuts from the menacing scabrats (squirrels).

If you could meet anyone from history, who would you meet and why?

Is it too cliché to say Jesus? If so, I’ll say St. Paul. I have some theological questions for him.

Christian Papillon contributed to this installment of Quick Hits.