In a wide-ranging discipline that stubbornly resists restriction to any subdomain of human inquiry, the only thing that all philosophical questions have in common is that they are hard. My goal for my students is that they learn how to think, write, and talk about hard questions with clarity, charity, and courage. With clarity because making it several steps down difficult arguments requires familiarity with philosophy’s most important tool, thinking slowly. With charity because real engagement with other thinkers requires understanding them on their own terms before offering a response. And with courage because it is daunting to ask with sincerity 'How should we live?' or 'What can we know?' and it’s easier to give up on hard questions than to persevere in answering them.
I aim to create an encouraging, accessible, and charitable classroom environment and believe that, properly executed, this increases academic rigor rather than detracting from it. My Guidelines for Student Discussion articulate my goals and expectations for seminar discussion practices.
I aim to create an encouraging, accessible, and charitable classroom environment and believe that, properly executed, this increases academic rigor rather than detracting from it. My Guidelines for Student Discussion articulate my goals and expectations for seminar discussion practices.