Teaching

Courses I Teach

Ethical Theory 

Spring 2024

This course covers the standard landscape of views in metaethics and normative ethics. We’ll also devote some time to recent developments in moral psychology, as well as issues of aggregation, moral particularism (or anti-theory), practical reason, and moral worth.

African Philosophy: Personhood and Morality 

Spring 2024

The core of this course offers a critical examination of African conceptions of personhood, humanhood, and morality. The concept of okra (arguably renderable as “soul” in English) is considered the spark of the Supreme Being in virtue of which every human being is entitled to a modicum of rights matched by obligation. A person is something one becomes. We examine descriptive as well as normative conceptions of personhood; for example, among the Akan (an ethnic group in Ghana) and the Nso (an ethnic group in Cameroon), personhood is not given in virtue of being born of human seed, but is rather something that should be earned. In general, as far as African societies are concerned, personhood is something at which individuals could fail, at which they could be competent or effective, better or worse.

(Introductory) Ethics

Fall 2020 & 2023

An introductory course examining various moral theories, their application to contemporary social problems, and conflict between an ethical life and meaningful life. 

Ethics and Information Technology

AY's 22-23 & 23-24

An online course about the use, misuse, and development of information technologies, with particular focus on the consequences such changes may have on the lives of individuals and on the shape of societies. (View Syllabus)

Introduction to Medical Ethics

Spring 2021

An introductory course exploring the broad nature and scope of health, including the meaning of health, disease, responsibility, informed consent, psychiatric diagnosis, neurodiversity, and death. 

Philosophy and Race

AY's 22-23, 23-24 & Summers

An online course that discusses ontological, scientific, moral, political, and cultural issues surrounding race. (View Syllabus)

Reading, Writing, and Reasoning

Summer 2021

A course that develops students' general reading and writing skills with respect to an important philosophical topic. I taught this course on Moral Character. 

Some Courses I'd Like to Teach

Social/Political Philosophy

Any courses on major social and political theories, or particular topics such as migration justice, implicit bias, war, democracy, and issues in economics. 

Topics in Moral Theory

Any courses examining differences between normative theories, the differences between a naturalist and non-naturalist conception of those theories, and/or major Western figures in ethics (particularly Sidgwick, Moore, Ross, Parfit, and Bernard Williams). 

Topics in Moral Psychology

Any courses examining how psychological facts ought to shape our understanding of concepts such as reason, desire, emotion, motivation, and judgement. 

Outreach and Other Stuff

I read to grade school children in Mexico City (2018)