In an effort to meet the challenge of teaching philosophy to non-majors by both keeping their attention and maintaining philosophical integrity, this paper defends an interpretation of Jean-Paul Sartre’s “No Exit” and articulates a method for teaching key concepts in existentialism, e.g. freedom, bad faith, authenticity, etc. The paper offers a “case study” method of teaching “No Exit” by providing three interpretations of the play: a literal interpretation, a philosophical interpretation that is ultimately regarded untenable, and a third interpretation that is regarded as superior. Finally, drawing on an interview of Sartre, a three-part thesis is defended concerning the existentialist’s view on life, action, and freedom.

This paper contends that an effective way to elicit student interest in philosophical problems is to engage them in controversies they care about. The author describes an exercise that introduces basic elements of rational discourse, e.g. truth, belief, facts, rational disagreement, by questioning whether there any matters of opinion. In addition to providing an argument why there are no matters of opinion, the paper describes standard student responses and counterexamples to being told there are no matters of opinion, and offers suggestions on how best to respond to said responses.

In John Locke’s “Two Treatises of Government”, Locke defends a doctrine of universal rights along with a principle of liberty that rejects hereditary chattel slavery. While rejecting the practice of slavery at a theoretical level, Locke was nevertheless involved in ventures that show a commitment to the practice of slavery, e.g. his role in writing the “Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina”, a document sanctioning African slavery in Carolina. In contrast to recent interpreters who claim to reconcile Locke’s stance on universal rights with his commitment to slavery, this paper argues that Locke’s view on slavery was, in fact, incongruous with his practical commitments outside of philosophy. While such a view raises a number of pedagogical problems, this paper argues that these can be attended to by giving greater attention to Locke’s view about the guidance that philosophy offers daily life.

Standard approaches to teaching philosophy tend to focus on teaching aspects of philosophy that are important to doing professional philosophy. This paper suggests an alternative to this approach by preparing college students to teach philosophy to elementary school children. After arguing that classics in children’s literature ought to be the primary vehicle for initiating philosophical discussion in elementary school children, an upper-level seminar for undergraduates at Mount Holyoke College that takes this alternative approach is described. Finally, the paper evaluates this alternative approach, contending that this method is more effective than the traditional approach due to the fact that it provides a multi-dimensional learning experience for college-level students.