Description of Courses Taught [as an Independent Instructor]
Introduction to Philosophy (UGA)
Semesters Taught: Fall 2008, Spring 2009, Summer 2009, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011
Student Information: Mostly first and second year students, 35 students per section, 2 sections per semester.
In this course students learn what philosophy is by practicing it. The course is centered around a theme which we explore by reading primary texts in the history of philosophy. The self, teleology, and freedom have all functioned as themes for my Introduction to Philosophy course. Readings have included (but by all means do not exhaust) the following authors: Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Seneca, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Kant, Aldo Leopold, Arendt, Descartes, Hobbes, Locke, Marx, Melvin Woody, and Buddha.
Introduction to Ethics/Ethical Theory
Semesters Taught: Spring 2012 (UGA), Spring 2013 (Oglethorpe)
Student Information: Mostly first and second year students. UGA: 35 students per section, 2 sections per semester. Oglethorpe: 12 students, 1 section.
In the same vein as my Introduction to Philosophy course, Introduction to Ethics is centered around a theme that we explore by reading primary texts in the history of philosophy. Moral responsibility and the relation between the 'is' and the 'ought' have functioned as themes for my courses. Though the main objective of this course is moral theory, we also focus on some applied ethical issues concerning moral theory, e.g. doctor assisted suicide, etc. Some authors include Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Hume, Kant, Mill, and Buddha.
Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking
Semesters Taught: Spring 2010 (UGA)
Student Information: 1st- 4th year students, 35 students per section, 2 sections.
In this course I teach the usual material such as fallacies and venn diagrams, but I make a special effort to integrate primary texts and special projects to keep students engaged. Moreover, I expand the scope of the course content by integrating questions not usually covered in such a course. The following is a sampling of some questions I discuss in the course of the semester: 'what is logic?', 'what is a concept?', 'what is a definition?', 'what is dialectic?', 'how has philosophical understanding of concepts changed over time?', and 'how is logic related to philosophy and science?' At the end of the semester students are assigned a project, for which they must identify examples of informal fallacies in the media. Primary readings have included Aristotle's Topics, and Mill's A System of Logic, among others.
Ancient Philosophy
Semesters Taught: Summer 2011 (UGA), Spring 2013 (Oglethorpe)
Student Information: Mostly philosophy majors and some minors (2nd-4th year students), UGA: 16 students, 1 section. Oglethorpe: N/A.
Primarily, the focus of my Ancient Philosophy course is the work of Plato and Aristotle. But I also teach Pre-Socratics, e.g. Heraclitus, Parmenides, and Zeno. Though I am interested in every aspect of Ancient Philosophy, my Ancient Philosophy courses tend to focus on Metaphysical and Epistemological problems, such as the problem of participation as presented in Plato's Parmenides. In this vein, I employ the Pre-Socratics to motivate the problem of participation in Plato. Similarly, I employ Plato's work to motivate Aristotle's philosophical solutions to the problem of participation in his Metaphysics. Questions concerning self-predication and the being of the universal are central themes.
Metaphysics
Semesters Taught: Spring 2012 (UGA)
Student Information: Mostly philosophy majors with some minors (Mostly 3rd-4th year students), 20 students, 1 section.
What is Being? What are the ontological categories? What are the conditions for the possibility of categorizing beings? How is Metaphysics possible? Is thinghood or relation the primary philosophical category? This course focuses on a few problems basic to Metaphysics, some of which are often neglected, with particular focus on the relation of universality to particularity. Problems include Aristotle's problem of the differentia, participation, negative existentials, the problem of onto-theology, the generic structure of Being, and existential implication, among others. Moreover, we examine how great thinkers in the Western tradition have attempted to solve those problems. Readings have included texts from the following authors: Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, Kant, and Hegel. In the future I hope to integrate more readings from Analytic Metaphysics such as E.J. Lowe and Continental thought, e.g. Martin Heidegger.
Existentialism
Semesters Taught: Fall 2012 (Oglethorpe)
Student Information: All philosophy majors, (Mostly 2nd-4th year students), 9 students, 1 section.
This course focuses on the development of 19th and 20th century Existentialism. Central to our inquiry is the being of the self, the being of the absurd, and the reaction against Western rationalism. We explore the themes central to this highly diverse intellectual movement, such as freedom, self-consciousness, despair, isolation, alienation, authenticity, nihilism, anguish, anxiety, time, everydayness, and other themes as they appear or fail to appear in the context of each specific author. In this course I attempt to integrate non-western existentialist authors who are in dialogue with Western thought. Authors have included Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, Sartre, Camus, Marcel, and Nishitani.
Nietzsche
Semesters Taught: Spring 2012 (Oglethorpe)
Student Information: 1st-4th year students, 8 students, 1 section.
The primary aim of this course is to trace the development of the problems central to Nietzsche's thought over his lifetime. Among other aspects of his work, we trace the origin of Nietzsche's criticism of Christianity, his concept of the Over-man, origin of punishment, the value of self-creation, and his elevation of art over philosophy. In order to achieve this goal, we analyze the philosophical impetus motivating Nietzsche's rejection of Schopenhaur and Wagner, and how this motivates the central themes central to his mature work. Texts include Birth of Tragedy, Genealogy of Morals, Twilight of the Idols, and Thus Spoke Zarathustra.
Philosophy of Mind
Semesters Taught: Spring 2012 (Oglethorpe)
Student Information: 1st-4th year students with some philosophy majors, about 15 students, 1 section.
In this course I focus on two themes connected with significant problems: the reflexivity of rational self-consciousness, and the relation between life and the mind. Is life a precondition for minds in general, and of rational self consciousness in particular? How is rational self-consciousness possible? These questions have bearing not only on the very activity of the students in the course, but also projects in AI. Though we focus on these specific questions, we discuss a very broad range of issues covered by the primary texts we in class, e.g. the relation between imagination and concept formation, the being of sensation, the problem of other minds, the mind body problem, etc. In connection with these questions we read central texts from the history of philosophy, including Aristotle's De Anima, Descartes' Principles of Philosophy, Daniel Dennett's Kinds of Minds, Hans Jonas' The Phenomenon of Life, and Richard Winfield's The Living Mind.
Philosophy of Religion
Semesters Taught: Spring 2013 (Oglethorpe)
Student Information: N/A
Here is a slightly modified advertisement of the course for Spring 2013: What is faith? Given the diversity of religious belief, how should we determine what faith to believe in, if any at all? What is the relationship between religion and
reason? What is secular mysticism and how does it attempt to transcend the limits of revealed religion? Come explore these questions with us by reading texts from the mystical tradition of Christianity (Meister Eckhart, St. Teresa of Avila, Hildegard von Bingen), the Sufi tradition in Islam (Rumi), texts from the Buddhist philosophical tradition
(Nagarjuna), and others!
Core 101-Core 102 (Oglethorpe)
Semesters Taught: Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013
Student Information: All first year students, 20-21 students per class, 1 section of Core 101 in fall, 1 section of Core 102 in spring.
The mission of the first year Core curriculum at Oglethorpe University is to develop writing, reading, and critical thinking skills in first year students. These courses provide students the opportunity to appropriate these texts in the process of their own self-investigation. According to the Oglethorpe website, "The first-year course sequence investigates narratives of the self. Among the topics that students will consider are a variety of fictional and philosophical constructions of the self, the relationships of memory to personal identity, and the disjunction or harmony between public and private selves. The authors considered in the courses may include Homer, Socrates, St. Augustine, Montaigne, Shakespeare, Descartes, Cervantes, Lao Tsu, Nietzsche, and Toni Morrison."
Semesters Taught: Fall 2008, Spring 2009, Summer 2009, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011
Student Information: Mostly first and second year students, 35 students per section, 2 sections per semester.
In this course students learn what philosophy is by practicing it. The course is centered around a theme which we explore by reading primary texts in the history of philosophy. The self, teleology, and freedom have all functioned as themes for my Introduction to Philosophy course. Readings have included (but by all means do not exhaust) the following authors: Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Seneca, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Kant, Aldo Leopold, Arendt, Descartes, Hobbes, Locke, Marx, Melvin Woody, and Buddha.
Introduction to Ethics/Ethical Theory
Semesters Taught: Spring 2012 (UGA), Spring 2013 (Oglethorpe)
Student Information: Mostly first and second year students. UGA: 35 students per section, 2 sections per semester. Oglethorpe: 12 students, 1 section.
In the same vein as my Introduction to Philosophy course, Introduction to Ethics is centered around a theme that we explore by reading primary texts in the history of philosophy. Moral responsibility and the relation between the 'is' and the 'ought' have functioned as themes for my courses. Though the main objective of this course is moral theory, we also focus on some applied ethical issues concerning moral theory, e.g. doctor assisted suicide, etc. Some authors include Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Hume, Kant, Mill, and Buddha.
Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking
Semesters Taught: Spring 2010 (UGA)
Student Information: 1st- 4th year students, 35 students per section, 2 sections.
In this course I teach the usual material such as fallacies and venn diagrams, but I make a special effort to integrate primary texts and special projects to keep students engaged. Moreover, I expand the scope of the course content by integrating questions not usually covered in such a course. The following is a sampling of some questions I discuss in the course of the semester: 'what is logic?', 'what is a concept?', 'what is a definition?', 'what is dialectic?', 'how has philosophical understanding of concepts changed over time?', and 'how is logic related to philosophy and science?' At the end of the semester students are assigned a project, for which they must identify examples of informal fallacies in the media. Primary readings have included Aristotle's Topics, and Mill's A System of Logic, among others.
Ancient Philosophy
Semesters Taught: Summer 2011 (UGA), Spring 2013 (Oglethorpe)
Student Information: Mostly philosophy majors and some minors (2nd-4th year students), UGA: 16 students, 1 section. Oglethorpe: N/A.
Primarily, the focus of my Ancient Philosophy course is the work of Plato and Aristotle. But I also teach Pre-Socratics, e.g. Heraclitus, Parmenides, and Zeno. Though I am interested in every aspect of Ancient Philosophy, my Ancient Philosophy courses tend to focus on Metaphysical and Epistemological problems, such as the problem of participation as presented in Plato's Parmenides. In this vein, I employ the Pre-Socratics to motivate the problem of participation in Plato. Similarly, I employ Plato's work to motivate Aristotle's philosophical solutions to the problem of participation in his Metaphysics. Questions concerning self-predication and the being of the universal are central themes.
Metaphysics
Semesters Taught: Spring 2012 (UGA)
Student Information: Mostly philosophy majors with some minors (Mostly 3rd-4th year students), 20 students, 1 section.
What is Being? What are the ontological categories? What are the conditions for the possibility of categorizing beings? How is Metaphysics possible? Is thinghood or relation the primary philosophical category? This course focuses on a few problems basic to Metaphysics, some of which are often neglected, with particular focus on the relation of universality to particularity. Problems include Aristotle's problem of the differentia, participation, negative existentials, the problem of onto-theology, the generic structure of Being, and existential implication, among others. Moreover, we examine how great thinkers in the Western tradition have attempted to solve those problems. Readings have included texts from the following authors: Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, Kant, and Hegel. In the future I hope to integrate more readings from Analytic Metaphysics such as E.J. Lowe and Continental thought, e.g. Martin Heidegger.
Existentialism
Semesters Taught: Fall 2012 (Oglethorpe)
Student Information: All philosophy majors, (Mostly 2nd-4th year students), 9 students, 1 section.
This course focuses on the development of 19th and 20th century Existentialism. Central to our inquiry is the being of the self, the being of the absurd, and the reaction against Western rationalism. We explore the themes central to this highly diverse intellectual movement, such as freedom, self-consciousness, despair, isolation, alienation, authenticity, nihilism, anguish, anxiety, time, everydayness, and other themes as they appear or fail to appear in the context of each specific author. In this course I attempt to integrate non-western existentialist authors who are in dialogue with Western thought. Authors have included Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, Sartre, Camus, Marcel, and Nishitani.
Nietzsche
Semesters Taught: Spring 2012 (Oglethorpe)
Student Information: 1st-4th year students, 8 students, 1 section.
The primary aim of this course is to trace the development of the problems central to Nietzsche's thought over his lifetime. Among other aspects of his work, we trace the origin of Nietzsche's criticism of Christianity, his concept of the Over-man, origin of punishment, the value of self-creation, and his elevation of art over philosophy. In order to achieve this goal, we analyze the philosophical impetus motivating Nietzsche's rejection of Schopenhaur and Wagner, and how this motivates the central themes central to his mature work. Texts include Birth of Tragedy, Genealogy of Morals, Twilight of the Idols, and Thus Spoke Zarathustra.
Philosophy of Mind
Semesters Taught: Spring 2012 (Oglethorpe)
Student Information: 1st-4th year students with some philosophy majors, about 15 students, 1 section.
In this course I focus on two themes connected with significant problems: the reflexivity of rational self-consciousness, and the relation between life and the mind. Is life a precondition for minds in general, and of rational self consciousness in particular? How is rational self-consciousness possible? These questions have bearing not only on the very activity of the students in the course, but also projects in AI. Though we focus on these specific questions, we discuss a very broad range of issues covered by the primary texts we in class, e.g. the relation between imagination and concept formation, the being of sensation, the problem of other minds, the mind body problem, etc. In connection with these questions we read central texts from the history of philosophy, including Aristotle's De Anima, Descartes' Principles of Philosophy, Daniel Dennett's Kinds of Minds, Hans Jonas' The Phenomenon of Life, and Richard Winfield's The Living Mind.
Philosophy of Religion
Semesters Taught: Spring 2013 (Oglethorpe)
Student Information: N/A
Here is a slightly modified advertisement of the course for Spring 2013: What is faith? Given the diversity of religious belief, how should we determine what faith to believe in, if any at all? What is the relationship between religion and
reason? What is secular mysticism and how does it attempt to transcend the limits of revealed religion? Come explore these questions with us by reading texts from the mystical tradition of Christianity (Meister Eckhart, St. Teresa of Avila, Hildegard von Bingen), the Sufi tradition in Islam (Rumi), texts from the Buddhist philosophical tradition
(Nagarjuna), and others!
Core 101-Core 102 (Oglethorpe)
Semesters Taught: Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013
Student Information: All first year students, 20-21 students per class, 1 section of Core 101 in fall, 1 section of Core 102 in spring.
The mission of the first year Core curriculum at Oglethorpe University is to develop writing, reading, and critical thinking skills in first year students. These courses provide students the opportunity to appropriate these texts in the process of their own self-investigation. According to the Oglethorpe website, "The first-year course sequence investigates narratives of the self. Among the topics that students will consider are a variety of fictional and philosophical constructions of the self, the relationships of memory to personal identity, and the disjunction or harmony between public and private selves. The authors considered in the courses may include Homer, Socrates, St. Augustine, Montaigne, Shakespeare, Descartes, Cervantes, Lao Tsu, Nietzsche, and Toni Morrison."
