Shit happens.

That’s reality, according to Daniel Petersen, who has taught philosophy for 21 years at Hawaii Community College and the University of Hawaii at Hilo. And it’s a reality he shared — in those words — with his students. Now he says he is sharing that reality in the collapse of his teaching career, which he attributes to the aftermath of a complaint from the father of a student over a few instances of profanity in his class at the community college.

Over the last year, Petersen has been fighting with administrators over the complaint and his response to it — and he recently quit to protest what he considered unreasonable limits on his free speech.

Why share with students that “shit happens”? Peterson said that in the beginning of his introductory philosophy courses, he likes to challenge students, and get them out of easy ways of thinking.

“People think they are in control, but they walk outside and an airplane engine falls on their heads,” he said in an interview. That’s what he’s trying to get across — that you can’t determine your fate.

Full Story: News: He Won’t Censor Himself – Inside Higher Ed