Course Syllabi
Phil 2300: Beginning Philosophy
Social Epistemology:
Phil 3411: Social Epistemology: Disinformation, Conspiracy, and the Attention Economy
Phil 2300: Beginning Philosophy
Social Epistemology:
Phil 3411: Social Epistemology: Disinformation, Conspiracy, and the Attention Economy
Teaching Philosophy
My goal in teaching philosophy is that students will develop their ability to formulate and answer questions that matter, in order to better understand their own viewpoint and the view point of others. In order to accomplish this goal, I do a number of things.
My goal in teaching philosophy is that students will develop their ability to formulate and answer questions that matter, in order to better understand their own viewpoint and the view point of others. In order to accomplish this goal, I do a number of things.
- First, I create a space where every voice is welcome, and everyone is committed to respectful engagement. I do this by spending the first two to three classes walking them through arguments and discussing how to critique them respectfully. I also have them come up with a list of guidelines for respectful discussion. We refer back to these guidelines, especially when we cover controversial topics.
- Secondly, I focus on philosophical topics that are of pressing importance to our current cultural moment. A beginning philosophy class can sample from any of the core topics in philosophy; I choose to focus on topics that will help students understand and articulate their views on pressing topics. In order to do this, I pair key historical texts with contemporary discussion of the same topic. We read Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy and consider our relationship to the world and how to avoid error. Then we read Thi Nguyen’s 2018 paper on Echo Chambers and discuss the ways polarization and distrust shape our beliefs. The key activity here is that I ask them to perform a “Cartesian Social Reboot.” Rather than doubting everything the way Descartes’ method of radical doubt would have it, I have them doubt their sources of information and imagine how they could rebuild after that doubt. We also read John Locke’s letter concerning religious toleration, and pair it with Agnus Callard’s 2020 New York Times Op Ed, “Should We Cancel Aristotle?” Here, the activity is to have a debate about whether our current informational landscape changes how we should handle free speech, and whether we can meaningfully separate literal meaning from political impact.
- Finally, I give them many opportunities to practice critical engagement. Throughout the term, I ask students to write 1 paragraph reflection papers (10 in total). The structure of most of these papers is asking them to explain a key concept or argument, object to that concept/argument, and then respond to their own objection. I believe it is important to have 10 short essays like this. The first three or four are usually terrible; by the end of the course, most students are getting full marks on every one.