Courses
Syllabi and Online Courses
Introduction to Philosophy, Spring 2021 (syllabus) (online)
Bio-Medical Ethics, Spring 2021 (syllabus) (online)
Philosophy of Education, Spring 2018 (syllabus)
Course Descriptions
Humans and the Environment (NC State University): Examines the relationship between humans and the environment by looking at ethical and conceptual questions concerning the nature of that relationship, as well as human impacts on environmental systems. Topics covered include ecofeminism, philosophical conceptions of the human microbiome, Indigenous environmental perspectives, the science of complex systems, and more.
Introduction to Philosophy (NC State University, Durham Technical Community College, and UNC-Chapel Hill’s Correctional Education Program): An introduction to main topics in philosophy, including logic, epistemology, free will, identity, religion, mind, and ethics. Also examines critiques of contemporary philosophy from feminist and indigenous perspectives.
Philosophy of Education (UNC-Chapel Hill) A course about itself, and a rare opportunity to study the very system in which we, through our studies, partake. Philosophy of Education examines the education we receive at UNC and education in a broader sense. What is its purpose? What ends does it aim to achieve, and in what ways does it succeed or fail at achieving these? How are schools designed, and why? And (how) could they be re-imagined to better meet contemporary needs and challenges? And what are these contemporary needs and challenges, anyway?
Youth, Power and Privilege (Elon University) Takes a philosophical approach to understanding the subordinate status of young people and the potential that lies in their liberation. Studies the ways in which youth are treated as inferior by common social practices, including the structures of families and family decision-making, as well as our public spheres. Explores rapidly expanding literature on youth rights and liberation.
How Should We Live? (Elon University) A course about living well. Addresses the challenges we confront as individuals living among others, and how to navigate these challenges with deep care for ourselves, our communities, and the larger world. Develops the skills to think clearly, consistently, and creatively about some of the most central issues in our lives, including food, sex, money, relationships, religion and more. Explores abstract philosophical ethical theories (Mill, Kant, etc.) as well as more practical writing by a variety of authors. Takes a serious and sustained look at some of the world’s deepest problems and our individual roles in sustaining or solving them. Encourages students to be thoughtful and to take ownership over their lives, their choices and their values.
What Can We Know? (Elon Unversity) Provides practical tools for better, clearer thinking. Considers longstanding epistemological questions such as: What does it take to know something? Where does knowledge come from? What are we justified in believing, and what is it for a belief to be justified? Explores traditional epistemological theories, including rationalism, empiricism and skepticism, through authors such as Hume and Descartes. Examines ethical issues related to knowledge acquisition, including whether we have a right to knowledge about some subjects, and how social structures (especially race, class and gender) influence our access to information.
Critical Thinking (Elon University) A course on thinking clearly, carefully and creatively about issues that are central to one’s role as a student, community member, consumer, citizen and person. Provides the tools to recognize, construct and evaluate arguments, and attempts to make students aware of their own biases and unconscious patterns of thinking. Inspires students to think constructively about social problems, and to be proactive and aware people and consumers.
Philosophical Issues: Gender (UNC-Chapel Hill) Explores the concepts of sex and gender and their ethical implications, and the challenges that gender-variant identities pose to traditional gender categories across cultures. Examines the nature and prevalence of sexism, as well as the relation between sexism and other forms of oppression.
Reference and Meaning (UNC-Chapel Hill) An advanced examination of developments within philosophy of language, incorporating Russell, Frege, Kripke, Putnam, psychologism, the referential theory of meaning, intensional semantics, two-dimensionalism, causal theories of reference, and internalism and externalism.
Making Sense of Ourselves (UNC-Chapel Hill) Aims to develop critical and creative thinking around a number of life’s central issues including, but not limited to: religion, personal identity, egoism, normative theory and applied ethics.
Introduction to Ethics (UNC-Chapel Hill) An introduction to topics in applied and normative theory, such as vegetarianism, global and environmental responsibility, feminism, utilitarianism, subjectivism, relativism, and ancient moral theory.
Bioethics (NC State University, UNC-Chapel Hill) Exploration of bioethical issues such as end of life care, abortion, and cloning.
Teaching Assistant
Making Sense of Ourselves (with C.D.C. Reeve – UNC-Chapel Hill) Examines great works and contemporary theory, including Plato, Aristotle, Ayn Rand, Dostoevsky, Hume.
Introduction to Philosophy (with Ram Neta – UNC-Chapel Hill) Introduction to philosophy’s basic problems with a focus on Hume and Descartes.
Introduction to Ethics (with William Lycan – UNC-Chapel Hill) A survey of normative theories including Kant, Mill and Hume.
Philosophy of Sport (with Jan Boxill – UNC-Chapel Hill) Studies the nature of competition, personal excellence, and ethical issues related to sports, such as sexism and doping.