Image: Chatterina / ChatGPT.

Image: Chatterina / ChatGPT.

Course Description

This course takes its inspiration from Socrates, who said that his primary task as a philosopher was to relentlessly push his fellow citizens to better themselves and their society. So throughout the course, you will not merely learn about philosophy, but you will also actively practice it as a force for social good in our communities.

Image: Chatterina / ChatGPT.

Purposes & Learning Outcomes

The primary purpose of this course is to introduce you to the field of philosophy and some of its practical applications. In addition, you will learn (I hope!) more about yourself and your place in the world.

To help guide us, this course has seven learning outcomes. By the end of this course, you will be able to…

1. Identify and employ common terminology in philosophy.
2. Explain and summarize arguments within philosophical texts.
3. Apply important philosophy concepts and theories to various hypothetical and real-world situations.
4. Assess competing claims concerning what you should believe and how you ought to behave.
5. Connect philosophy with your own lived experiences.
6. Put philosophy into action.
7. Reflect on your own assumptions and form more considered judgments on how you may address social issues.

In addition, this course also has a secondary purpose of assisting in your professional development, preparing you for life after graduation.

I have designed all course activities with these purposes and outcomes in mind.

Learning Resources

There are no textbooks to buy for this course. I have posted all the readings on this course website. I expect you to read that material according to the class schedule.

This website and UB Learns will also have activity instructions and other materials, along with any updates to our schedule.

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Course Structure

This course is based on the principle of experiential learning, where you learn not only from me but also from your discussions and interactions with your classmates. Indeed, like any activity, you get better at philosophy the more you actually do it. Therefore, we will work both in and out of class doing many different activities. This means that the quality of the course depends critically on your individual attention and participation. The purpose of us coming together as a class is to learn, practice, and apply philosophy together as a group.

Our class meetings will typically follow an interactive lecture format, with time set aside for group activities. This gives you the chance to actively practice philosophy, rather than passively absorb what others may say about it. To help keep you engaged, I will do my best to make our class meetings worthwhile and time well spent. I will also take special care to create an environment where you feel comfortable asking questions and expressing your own views. If you are shy, do not worry: I will not punish anyone who would rather not speak up during class discussions.

However, a few words of warning about this format:

• Negotiation and conflict resolution are full-contact sports, but conducted as cooperative processes. You and your classmates must wrestle together with difficult problems and situations, while not attacking each other. Disrespectful behavior will not be tolerated.
• To get the most out of our class meetings, please do not confuse this cooperative style of learning with mere conversation or informal, organized chatting.

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Announcements & Other Communication

I will email important information to you throughout the semester, so routinely check your UB email for updates. Otherwise, I will gladly answer your questions, discuss your work, or respond to your concerns. Please feel free to send me an email, see me on Zoom, or drop by my office (Park Hall 118).

Keep in mind that I primarily read university-related email during my regular “business” hours (weekdays from 9:00AM to 5:00PM). Emails received outside of that time may not receive a response until I am back on campus. That said, I do try to more quickly respond to simple requests or catastrophic concerns!

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Acknowledgment

In designing this course, I have drawn on a wealth of material. Of special note is the work of Ramona Ilea and Monica Janzen on “Experiments in Ethics”, which has directly influenced the “Experiments in Philosophy” for this course. See their website on Engaged Philosophy for more.