My teaching of undergraduate courses promotes critical thinking and deep thinking through organized PowerPoint presentations, structured and spontaneous discussion, regular small assignments, and personal charisma.
INDIGENOUS PHILOSOPHY
Definition of "Indigenous," Cultural and Spiritual Appropriation, Decolonization, Indigenous Origin Stories and Trickster Stories, Shamanism, Animism, Spirituality, Gender, Ecology, Knowledge, Land Rights, Autonomy, Sovereignty, Governance, Self-Isolation, Reservations, Standing Rock, Language Loss, Art & Activism, Indigenous Futures
THE MEANING OF LIFE
Leo Tolstoy, Albert Camus, Richard Taylor, Thomas Nagel. Religion, Nihilism, Absurdity, Pointlessness, Death, Attachments, Relationships, Callings, Authenticity, Technology, Consumerism, The Future, etc.
SELF AND THE SACRED
Naturalism vs. Religion, Transcendence, Religious Experience, The Sacred, The Holy, Polytheism, Wakan Tanka, Satori, Samadhi, Enlightenment, Meditation, Guilt, Magic, Miracles, Paranormalism, Myth, Symbols, Ritual, Meaning in Life, Secular Spirituality, Naturalized Spirituality
AESTHETICS
Definition of Art, Dewey on Experience, Significant Form, Aesthetic Concepts, Critical Reasons, Aesthetic Attitude, Ethicism, Expression, Architecture, Modernism, Painting, Prosody, Poetry, Meaning in Music, Punk Rock, Rap, Beauty, Ugliness, Meaning in Life, Bodily Beauty, Everyday Aesthetics, Tattoos, Comedy/Humor
MAKING MORAL DECISIONS
Killing in war, Euthanasia, Famine Relief, Animal Rights, Abortion, Family Obligation, Homosexuality, Prostitution, Affirmative Action, Racial Profiling, Hate Crime Penalties, War on Drugs, Human Cloning, Genetic Enhancement, Utilitarianism, Contractarianism, Rights, Libertarianism, Socialism, Feminism, Transhumanism, Morality/Prudence, Egoism/Altruism, Supererogation, Special Obligation, Spirituality, Meaning in Life
PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
Arguments for God's Existence, The Problem of Evil, Evidentialism, Pragmatism, Fake News, Meaning in Life, Eastern Spirituality, Lakota Spirituality, Mind/Body Dualism, Robot Minds, Free Will, Psychological Egoism, Ethical Egoism, Humility/Hubris
PHILOSOPHY OF ART
Ontology, Taste, Value, Intention, Interpretation, History, Visual Art, Narrative Art, Conceptual Art, Outsider Art
PHILOSOPHY OF FILM
Photography, Editing, Identity, Genre, Psychoanalysis, Narrative, Acting, Technology, Consumerism, Popular Culture, History
BIOMEDICAL ETHICS
Abortion, End of Life, Professional Obligation, Health Care System, Justice, Transhumanism
AFRICAN-AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY
Equality, Solidarity, Individuality, History, Social Justice
MODERN PHILOSOPHY
Descartes, Leibniz, Spinoza, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Metaphysics, Epistemology, Ethics
INDIGENOUS PHILOSOPHY
Definition of "Indigenous," Cultural and Spiritual Appropriation, Decolonization, Indigenous Origin Stories and Trickster Stories, Shamanism, Animism, Spirituality, Gender, Ecology, Knowledge, Land Rights, Autonomy, Sovereignty, Governance, Self-Isolation, Reservations, Standing Rock, Language Loss, Art & Activism, Indigenous Futures
THE MEANING OF LIFE
Leo Tolstoy, Albert Camus, Richard Taylor, Thomas Nagel. Religion, Nihilism, Absurdity, Pointlessness, Death, Attachments, Relationships, Callings, Authenticity, Technology, Consumerism, The Future, etc.
SELF AND THE SACRED
Naturalism vs. Religion, Transcendence, Religious Experience, The Sacred, The Holy, Polytheism, Wakan Tanka, Satori, Samadhi, Enlightenment, Meditation, Guilt, Magic, Miracles, Paranormalism, Myth, Symbols, Ritual, Meaning in Life, Secular Spirituality, Naturalized Spirituality
AESTHETICS
Definition of Art, Dewey on Experience, Significant Form, Aesthetic Concepts, Critical Reasons, Aesthetic Attitude, Ethicism, Expression, Architecture, Modernism, Painting, Prosody, Poetry, Meaning in Music, Punk Rock, Rap, Beauty, Ugliness, Meaning in Life, Bodily Beauty, Everyday Aesthetics, Tattoos, Comedy/Humor
MAKING MORAL DECISIONS
Killing in war, Euthanasia, Famine Relief, Animal Rights, Abortion, Family Obligation, Homosexuality, Prostitution, Affirmative Action, Racial Profiling, Hate Crime Penalties, War on Drugs, Human Cloning, Genetic Enhancement, Utilitarianism, Contractarianism, Rights, Libertarianism, Socialism, Feminism, Transhumanism, Morality/Prudence, Egoism/Altruism, Supererogation, Special Obligation, Spirituality, Meaning in Life
PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
Arguments for God's Existence, The Problem of Evil, Evidentialism, Pragmatism, Fake News, Meaning in Life, Eastern Spirituality, Lakota Spirituality, Mind/Body Dualism, Robot Minds, Free Will, Psychological Egoism, Ethical Egoism, Humility/Hubris
PHILOSOPHY OF ART
Ontology, Taste, Value, Intention, Interpretation, History, Visual Art, Narrative Art, Conceptual Art, Outsider Art
PHILOSOPHY OF FILM
Photography, Editing, Identity, Genre, Psychoanalysis, Narrative, Acting, Technology, Consumerism, Popular Culture, History
BIOMEDICAL ETHICS
Abortion, End of Life, Professional Obligation, Health Care System, Justice, Transhumanism
AFRICAN-AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY
Equality, Solidarity, Individuality, History, Social Justice
MODERN PHILOSOPHY
Descartes, Leibniz, Spinoza, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Metaphysics, Epistemology, Ethics