In spring of 2024, I am teaching “Philosophy of Consciousness,” a course I designed for the Rutgers Center for Cognitive Science. The course is divided into three parts. Part one introduces the hard problem of consciousness and considers philosophical approaches to it. We then turn to two more applied issues involving consciousness. In the second part of the course, we’ll ask: could artificial intelligences, including large language models like ChatGPT, think? If thinking requires consciousness, might AIs ever be conscious? The final part of the course turns to issues involving consciousness and sport: does thinking too much negatively affect performance? Do athletes think very fast, or just act reflexively? What is going on when athletes talk about being in ‘flow,’ and what is the value of these flow states? Syllabus here.
In fall 2022, spring 2023, and fall 2023, I am teaching assistant for Introduction to Cognitive Science at the Rutgers Center for Cognitive Science. This is an interdisciplinary introduction to the mind sciences. My training in the philosophy of mind gives me a synoptic vantage point for introducing students to a variety of fields and issues, including the mind-body problem, the computational theory of mind, the rationality of human judgment, the modularity of mind, the nature of concepts, connectionist approaches to mind, core cognition and developmental psychology, and the evolution of mind. Teaching materials are available upon request.
In spring 2022, I taught PHIL 2455: Engineering Ethics. This course introduced engineering students at Ohio State to some basics of normative ethics, and applied the tools we learned to a number of fascinating ethical issues in engineering. A sampling: is whistleblowing ever permissible? What do companies owe to consumers when it comes to product safety? How should we think about the use of drones in warfare? Syllabus here.
In fall of 2021, I taught PHIL 2367: Contemporary Social and Moral Problems in the U.S. We explored questions like: what does a just distribution of a society’s resources look like? Should college athletes be paid? What is the nature of race and of gender, and what does this tell us about racism and sexism? Syllabus here.
In spring of 2021, I taught PHIL 2367: Contemporary Social and Moral Problems in the U.S. We explored questions such as the following: is it morally permissible to consume non-human animals? Who is responsible for solving problems of climate change? What is the nature of race, and of gender? What do we owe to one another in the time of coronavirus? Syllabus here.
In fall of 2020, I taught PHIL 1100: Introduction to Philosophy at Ohio State. This course introduced students to a variety of philosophical issues in metaphysics, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Syllabus here.
In summer 2020, I taught PHIL 2455: Philosophy and Video Games at Ohio State. In this course we explored the metaphysics, aesthetics, and issues related to agency that arise in video games. Syllabus here.
In spring 2020, I was instructor of record for PHIL 1300: Introduction to Ethics. Questions to explore include the following: what is the right thing, morally speaking, to do? Is there some correct theory that explains why the right thing to do is the right thing to do? What makes a person’s life go well? Is there any constitutive connection between morality and religion? We will also explore a suite of interesting applied ethical issues. Throughout, we will keep a close eye on the practical nature of morality, and think about the role and duty to be an activist towards moral problems we face. Syllabus here.
In fall 2019, I was instructor of record for PHIL 2367: Contemporary Social and Moral Problems in the U.S. We explored various questions, such as: is there a right to health care, or to own a gun? Is it ever morally permissible to have an abortion? What is fake news, and what should we do about it? Syllabus here.
Minneapolis, MN. March 2018.