Teaching

Course Overview: In this class we will aim to explore some foundational ideas from political philosophy that have deeply shaped our modern world: liberty, equality, and the conception of the modern state. In virtue of what is a political state "good" or "bad"? Are there certain kinds of governments, or constitutions, that are better than others? When is a state or government legitimate or illegitimate? What even is a "state"? All these questions have been hotly debated by philosophers for - literally - thousands of years, and some of their views have had a direct effect on the political movements that eventually formed our societies.

In the first half of the course we will investigate several famous and influential philosophical treatments of these issues from Ancient Greece and the Enlightenment -- e.g. Aristotle, Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau. In the second half we will switch to contemporary philosophy and see how the classical concerns are still very much alive today. By looking at recent works of political philosophy, such as Elizabeth Anderson's Private Government, we will be interested in exploring respects in which the structure of the modern workplace and the individual pursuit of wealth can come into conflict with the democratic values of liberty and equality within our own lives. 

Course Overview:  This is an introductory course on ethics, a field of philosophy devoted to the study of morality. It is concerned with questions such as: “What is the right thing to do?” “What obligations do I have to others?” “Is it ever permissible to deceive someone?” and “What makes an action unjust?” 

This introductory course is largely devoted to the investigation of three major ethical theories: Utilitarianism (i.e. Consequentialism), Deontology, and Virtue Ethics. We will read both the key historical texts and contemporary work from within each ethical framework. Each framework gives us a different way to think about what is morally right and wrong, and each can seem deeply compelling. However, we will also see that they can come into conflict with each other and give opposing verdicts on particular issues. 

In the final weeks of the course we will transition into applied ethics, considering ethical arguments relating to several contemporary social issues. In particular, we will examine ethical arguments regarding vegetarianism and the use of AI robots and chatbots as romantic partners, as well as several other lower stakes ‘everyday’ topics (e.g. is it 'OK' to ghost someone after a bad date?)

By the end of the course you will have a better sense of how philosophers have approached ethics since ancient times, and my hope is that you will be able to think more carefully and precisely about these issues. I also hope it will be a fun time!

Course Overview:  What is philosophy, and what does it study? The question is deceptively difficult to answer. Philosophy, for one, has a history that stretches back nearly three millennia. The goal of this course is to expose you to a range of important questions that have occupied philosophers from antiquity while also exposing you to the philosophical methods that continue to distinguish the field today. 

The course is built around three modules, each of which engages both historical and contemporary philosophical work. The first module is on Ethics, and our guiding question is "What is a Good Life"? We begin with classic approaches to this question in Plato's dialogues and Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, before transitioning to contemporary work on desire satisfaction and the meaning of life. 

Our second module is on the Philosophy of Mind, and our guiding question is "What is the Relation Between the Mind and the Body?" We approach this question through Descartes' Meditations. We then turn to survey competing, contemporary attempts to articulate the relation between the mind and the body. 

Our third and final module is on Metaphysics, and our guiding question is "What is Money?" Is money a physical object? Does its existence depend on our attitudes? Even though money is extremely common and seemingly desired by everyone, it turns out to be quite mysterious! By trying to understand its nature we will work through some classic (indeed, ancient!) topics from analytic metaphysics, such as material constitution. 

Course Overview:  Often simply referred to as "The Philosopher," Aristotle is one of the most influential philosophers to have ever lived. Studied for over two millennia, Aristotle’s works were not only foundational in the field of philosophy, but also such varied academic disciplines as logic, zoology, physics, and psychology. Moreover, contemporary philosophers continue to engage with his views on topics such as happiness, friendship, and essence. In this class we will briefly survey of some of the core elements of Aristotle's philosophy. 

Roughly, the goal of the course is to explore Aristotle's conception of happiness, or eudaimonia, and see how it is related to his understanding of human nature. However, understanding human nature will require us to investigate Aristotle's natural philosophy -- including Aristotle's general understanding of nature as an innate principle of motion and rest, the sense in which nature is directed at the full realization of something's true essence and form, and his related claim that the soul is the form of a living creature. You will therefore gain familiarity with some of the most crucial aspects of Aristotelian philosophy and understand the interrelations between these different areas.

Course Overview:  You don't have to be a philosopher to be interested in love and sex -- both are ubiquitous features of human life. Despite their ubiquity, however, both can seem rather mysterious. What is love? How is the 'love' that friends have for each other similar to, and different than, the 'romantic love' that partners have for each other? Is 'falling in love' something we should hope for, or fear? What sorts of activity counts as 'sexual,' and what (if any) connection does sex have to romantic love? Is sex with love more desirable than sex without love? Do we have ethical reasons to cultivate or eliminate certain sexual desires?

In fact, philosophers have been weighing in on all these questions (and more!) for thousands of years. The main goal of this course is to explore some of the philosophical literature on love and sex and appreciate different approaches and perspectives that have been articulated by philosophers, both ancient and modern. As we will see, a wide variety of different views have been advanced, some of them being diametrically opposed to each other! Along the way we will also practice developing core philosophical skills – reading, understanding, and evaluating philosophical arguments for one’s position.

Course Overview:  This course is devoted to Plato’s Republic, a dialogue in which Socrates and his interlocutors attempt to explore the nature of justice and show that living justly is better and more advantageous than living unjustly. Famously, Socrates says that the best way to understand the nature of justice in a human soul is to find justice in the ideal city. The majority of the Republic is thus devoted to Socrates’ description of an ideal and virtuous city, the Kallipolis, that is overseen by philosopher-rulers.

 Enormously rich, the dialogue investigates the nature of the human soul, the ideal city, education, the virtues, poetry, tyranny, desire, pleasure, philosophy and, ultimately, the nature of reality itself. Besides the intrinsic interest of these topics, this course will also acquaint you with what have come to be seen as distinctly 'Platonic' positions within epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and political philosophy. You will consequently be well-positioned to put Plato into conversation with other historical and contemporary philosophers. 

Course Overview:  This course is devoted to Plato's philosophy and sets out to explore the contribution that pleasure, virtue, and knowledge make to a good life. We approach this topic by reading three dialogues in their entirety: the Gorgias, the Phaedrus, and the Philebus.

One of the enduring joys (and challenges) of reading Plato is engaging with the wide variety of subjects that are covered within a single dialogue. The result is that we will, despite mostly focusing on topics from Plato's ethics, also grapple with his views on metaphysics, epistemology, rhetoric, politics, and love. By exploring these topics and the interrelations between them, my hope is that you will come away from this course with a good appreciation of Plato's breadth and depth as a philosopher.