general Teaching statement
I believe that philosophy, apart from being intrinsically valuable, is a key part of a liberal arts education as well as a useful tool for enriching any life. As a philosopher and an educator I aim to provide a firm philosophical education that is relevant to student's lives. My courses are set up with a threefold purpose: teach students how to do philosophy well, reason well and live well by applying the lessons found in the material to their own lives.
My general teaching method is to teach a "toolkit" course, where the first part of the course is portion of the course provides a number of theoretical tools for the student, and the second half of the course gives the student the ability to apply those tools to a number of different issues. This provides the student with the three lessons above, while also teaching them the utility and importance of philosophical reasoning generally.
The drop-down menus above contain more information about my teaching. Current or potential students can see my current and previous course pages, complete with syllabus, reading schedule and course notes. Also listed are sample syllabi I have prepared, some of which have been used and some of which I designed for courses I expect to teach in the near future. The final tab has information about popular and introductory philosophy articles I have written.
My general teaching method is to teach a "toolkit" course, where the first part of the course is portion of the course provides a number of theoretical tools for the student, and the second half of the course gives the student the ability to apply those tools to a number of different issues. This provides the student with the three lessons above, while also teaching them the utility and importance of philosophical reasoning generally.
The drop-down menus above contain more information about my teaching. Current or potential students can see my current and previous course pages, complete with syllabus, reading schedule and course notes. Also listed are sample syllabi I have prepared, some of which have been used and some of which I designed for courses I expect to teach in the near future. The final tab has information about popular and introductory philosophy articles I have written.
