My first task as a teacher is to answer the question, “Why should anybody care about philosophy?” I emphasize that philosophy takes up the most basic questions of the human experience: "What should I do?" "How do I know?" "What exists?" These are questions which matter not only to professional philosophers but also to welders, nurses, artists, lawyers, chemists, and engineers—to anyone thinking through who they are, how they should live, and how they may effectively participate in a diverse, complex society.
The goal of my teaching is not to turn every student into a philosopher. My goal is to teach them to critically engage ideas rather than to merely accept facile claims or easy answers. Many students begin their undergraduate studies with a “checklist mindset,” in which they focus on the required outcomes of a particular assignment or course. I aim to move students beyond this mindset, fostering an intellectual curiosity and independence of mind. Students should be less focused on acquiring and retaining facts (although of course this remains crucial) and instead directed towards developing a creative, individual engagement with ideas.
To this end, I want to show students that philosophy can give them intellectual tools—tools for identifying, analyzing, and forming good arguments—that will strengthen their work in any discipline or vocation. I prefer to teach from primary texts. Instead of lecturing, I lead the class in a reconstruction of the text’s arguments through question and answers. After we determine the arguments, I challenge the students to criticize and then defend these as forcefully as they can. In-class assignments and papers often follow the same pattern. I am always on the lookout for ways to illustrate more effectively, making abstract material concrete and easy to grasp. Soccer balls, donuts, dominoes, and tree branches have all appeared in my classroom to illustrate philosophical points. My aim is to give students confidence that they really can read and understand and come to terms with intimidating texts that they might otherwise have dismissed.
I have collaborated with students from a wide array of backgrounds, abilities, and interests. At the outset of class, I explain that philosophy’s norms of rational argument and dispassionate inquiry create a safe environment for serious, sympathetic dialogue between people with radically different perspectives. I want every student to feel intellectually challenged but individually at ease. I emphasize that philosophers critique ideas without attacking persons. By presenting every new idea in its most favorable and compelling light, I seek to model intellectual charity and honesty. I address the whole person and in so doing, seek to cultivate mature, insightful students through my teaching.