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articles
1. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 35 > Issue: 4
Heidi Giebel, Tonia Bock Teaching Virtue: Theoretical and Empirical Reflections
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What effect, if any, can we expect undergraduate ethics courses to have on students’ ethical beliefs, self-concept, and behavior? After a brief discussion of apparent theoretical and practical obstacles to moral education in ethics courses, we explain and discuss our effort to provide preliminary answers to that question via an empirical study of students enrolled in several sections of our university’s Introductory Ethics course. We found modest but statistically significant effects in many areas, which seem to indicate that those who would like to see their ethics courses have a positive impact on students’ moral lives have reason for optimism. We conclude with a discussion of pedagogical implications of our study, along with its limitations and directions for future research.
2. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 35 > Issue: 4
Gordon Tait, Clare O'Farrell, Sarah Davey Chesters, Joanne Brownlee, Rebecca Spooner-Lane "Are There Any Right or Wrong Answers in Teaching Philosophy?": Ethics, Epistemology, and Philosophy in the Classroom
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This article assesses undergraduate teaching students’ assertion that there are no right and wrong answers in teaching philosophy. When asked questions about their experiences of philosophy in the classroom for primary children, their unanimous declaration that teaching philosophy has ‘no right and wrong answers’ is critically examined across the three sub-disciplinary areas to which they were generally referring, namely, pedagogy, ethics, and epistemology. From a pedagogical point of view, it is argued that some teach­ing approaches may indeed be more effective than others, and some pupils’ opinions less defensible, but pedagogically, in terms of managing the power relations in the classroom, it is counter-productive to continually insist on notions of truth and falsity at every point. From an ethical point of view, it is contended that anti-realist approaches to meta-ethics may represent a viable intellectual position, but from the point of view of normative ethics, notions of right and wrong still retain significant currency. From an epistemological point of view, it is argued using Karl Popper’s work that while it may be difficult to determine what constitutes a right answer, determining a wrong one is far more straightforward. In conclusion, it is clear that prospective teachers engaging in philosophy in the classroom, and also future teachers in general, require a far more nuanced philosophical understanding of the notions of right and wrong and truth and falsity. In view of this situation, if we wish to promote the effective teaching of philosophical thinking to children, or produce educators who can understand the conceptual limits of the claims they make and their very real and often serious practical and social consequences, it is recommended that philosophy be reinstated to a fundamental, foundational place within the pre-service teaching curriculum.
3. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 35 > Issue: 4
Charles W. Wright, Abraham Lauer Measuring the Sublime: Assessing Student Learning in Philosophy
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The assessment of student learning is widely regarded with suspicion. Philosophers in particular have been reluctant to take this practice seriously. The essay reviews an ongoing effort to assess the development of philosophical dispositions among undergraduate students at a religiously affiliated liberal arts college. The procedure used in this effort as well as the results obtained so far strongly suggest that the deep learning valued most highly by philosophy teachers can be measured without harm to the teaching enterprise. The essay argues that in light of a current cultural climate that fails to recognize the value of our enterprise, philosophers would be well advised to clearly define our particular learning goals, develop our own instruments, and to exercise more initiative in assessing our students learning.
review article
4. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 35 > Issue: 4
Chris Jackson Recent Texts in Critical Thinking
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Four books in the area of critical thinking will be reviewed in this article. One of them is not like the others. The first book reviewed is not a critical-thinking text; it is a compilation of papers presented at a conference about critical thinking. The other three are intended as critical-thinking texts best suited for lower-division college courses. Limitations of space do not allow for a detailed review of the conference papers. It is also difficult to capture generally applicable features to review given the divergence of content and perspectives. I have elected to provide a paragraph summary for each conference paper. The pattern followed for reviewing the three critical-thinking texts is consistent: content and layout, audience, and strengths and weaknesses.
book reviews
5. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 35 > Issue: 4
Mary Ducey "The Virtue of Our Vices: A Modest Defense of Gossip, Rudeness, and other Bad Habits," by Emrys Westacott
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6. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 35 > Issue: 4
Kathleen Eamon "Debating Same-Sex Marriage," by John Corvino and Maggie Gallagher
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7. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 35 > Issue: 4
Lawrence Finsen "Critical Reasoning & Philosophy: A Concise Guide to Reading, Evaluating, and Writing Philosophical Works," by M. Andrew Holowchak
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8. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 35 > Issue: 4
Brian Lang "Law and Morality: Readings in Legal Philosophy," 3rd edition, ed. David Dyzenhuas, Sophia R. Moreau, and Arthur Ripstein
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9. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 35 > Issue: 4
Matthew Alan Ryg "The Cambridge Companion to Dewey," ed. Molly Cochran
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10. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 35 > Issue: 4
Ben Sherman "First Philosophy: Fundamental Problems and Readings in Philosophy," concise edition, 2nd edition, ed. Andrew Bailey with Robert M. Martin
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11. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 35 > Issue: 4
Heidi Storl "Human Nature: A Reader," ed. Joel J. Kupperman
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12. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 35 > Issue: 4
Derek Turner "Environmental Ethics: Readings in Theory and Application," 6th edition, ed. Louis P. Pojman and Paul Pojman
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13. Teaching Philosophy: Volume > 35 > Issue: 4
Index to Volume 35 (2012)
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