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1. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 20 > Issue: 3
Brian Donohue The Dramatic Significance of Cephalus in Plato's Republic
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Despite student interest and engagement in Platonic dialogues, by the time introductory courses reach serious discussion of Plato’s relationship to Socrates, students are so befuddled by the notion of Socrates’ character espousing a “Platonic” position that they become disheartened and lose interest in the study of Plato. This paper focuses on how the persona of Cephalus affords a special opportunity to address the relationship between Plato and Socrates in the classroom and to thereby reduce student confusion. Drawing on Plato’s Meno and the Republic, the author argues that Cephalus represents a Socratic position on virtue and justice. Tracking how arguments surrounding virtue and justice develop through these two dialogues, the author concludes that the figure of Cephalus allows Plato to pay homage to Socrates while also signaling his philosophical departure from his teacher. Lending concreteness to the relationship between Plato and Socrates, this way of interpreting Cephalus opens students up at a general level to the richness of Plato’s philosophy.
2. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 20 > Issue: 3
Patrick Fitzgerald Service-Learning and the Socially Responsible Ethics Class
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Despite the great promise that service learning has shown and the attention paid to it by educators, it is not commonly taken up in the courses or discussions of ethicists. But service learning should concern ethicists (especially applied ethicists) if it should concern anyone: ethicists frequently devote their courses and studies to questions of social responsibility and service learning provides a unique opportunity for students and teachers to fulfill that responsibility. After rehearsing several arguments for the basis of social responsibility, the author relates these arguments to the duties of ethics teachers and ethics students and discusses the practical question of how to incorporate service learning into ethics classes. After recounting in detail his own attempt to do so, the author analyses a student survey from the course and summarizes the benefits and problems with his course’s implementation of service learning. Though students frequently found their service opportunity emotionally challenging, the author argues that the results of the class are encouraging.
3. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 20 > Issue: 3
Jane Freimiller The One Page Philosopher: Short Writing Assignments for Introductory Classes
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In this paper, the author reflects on an unsuccessful strategy for teaching an introductory philosophy class and charts her transition to a different, successful strategy which strives for intellectual integrity while coming to terms with the “impressive decrease in the level of the average student’s academic preparation.” The author first recalls her attempts to teach an introductory philosophy course with the traditional structure of texts read in chronological order, a midterm and final exam, and two several-page papers throughout the term. This strategy produced panic and incomprehension on the part of both students and professor. Instead, the author recommends a course organized by philosophical theme with stylistically and chronologically mixed readings. Evaluation for this course is based on a series of one-page assignments throughout the term, the topics of which are not strictly academic (e.g. “Explore Marx’ notion of alienation in your own work life”) but which embed course material in a context that is more relevant and comprehensible to students. The author concludes by considering drawbacks to this course structure and arguing that they are outweighed by its benefits.
4. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 20 > Issue: 3
Eugene Heath Two Cheers and a Pint of Worry: An On-Line Course in Political and Social Philosophy
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This paper details the author’s experience of developing and teaching an online course in social/political philosophy for the SUNY Learning Network. The author’s intention was to design an online philosophy course as similar to a traditional philosophy classroom experience as possible. Accordingly, students were required to buy and read the texts, to answer weekly reading comprehension questions, to participate in an online discussion, and to complete a final essay exam of two questions. After covering course design in great detail, including standards for student assessment and course requirements, the author offers a brief qualitative assessment of the course (the type of student who excelled, the time taken to teach the course, and students’ experience of the course). The author concludes with some “cautionary reflections” on online education, arguing that it is merely a surrogate for face-to-face class time. Whereas the latter is a context-rich environment that allows for the practice of critical inquiry in all its nuance, the former is context-poor and reduces all inquiry to the level of propositions. Given the importance of meaning in philosophical inquiry and given the importance of context for meaning, the author argues that unacceptable sacrifices may attend online education.
5. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 20 > Issue: 3
Emrys Westacott Teaching Mill's On Liberty
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Mill’s On Liberty is a seminal text in modern social/political philosophy, but there are several dimensions to this text that frequently confuse undergraduates. First, Mill’s uses of “utility” are not obviously consistent. Second, Mill offers varied formulations of his harm principle which are potentially conflicting. Third, lacking a greater context for the work, students sometimes mistake Mill’s goal for an attempt to draw a line between actions that should and should not be legal. This paper presents, explains, and defends some pedagogical aids for diminishing these confusions. Since most confusion stems from Mill’s harm principle, the author offers two diagrams, to be presented to students before wading into the text, which clarify Mill’s argumentative strategy and the place of his harm principle (as well as his various ways of qualifying it) within the work as a whole. By detailing the work and its aims at a highly general level, these diagrams help give students a roadmap with which to navigate the text and allow them to more easily understand the purpose and application of Mill’s project.
reviews
6. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 20 > Issue: 3
B. Richard Beatch Varieties of Relativism
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7. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 20 > Issue: 3
Keith Burgess-Jackson The Many Faces of Science: an Introduction to Scientists, Values, and Society
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8. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 20 > Issue: 3
Carolle Gagnon Feminist Interpretations of Simone de Beauvoir. Re-reading the Canon Series
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9. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 20 > Issue: 3
Paul J. Gibbs A Practical Companion to Ethics
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10. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 20 > Issue: 3
William Irwin How to Think about Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age
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11. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 20 > Issue: 3
Erin McKenna Hypatia's Daughters: Fifteen Hundred Years of Women Philosophers
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12. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 20 > Issue: 3
John D. Musselman Philosophical Problems in the Law
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13. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 20 > Issue: 3
R. J. Ray Introducing Philosophy: The Challenge of Scepticism
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14. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 20 > Issue: 3
Clark Wolf The Limits of Lockean Rights in Property
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15. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 20 > Issue: 3
Jo Trigilio Reproduction, Ethics, and the Law: Feminist Perspectives
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new publications
16. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 20 > Issue: 3
New Publications
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