- This topic has 8 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated September 21, 2021 by
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Session 1
Homework/Tasks for Next Session
Questions to think about/mull over:
•What do you know?
•Do you know if your friend knows something? If not, why not?
•Should we prefer a world where everyone knows everything there is to know, or are we quite alright where we are?
•Who knows the most in the world? Who knows the least? Can we really tell?Summary of What Was Covered
- Exploration of questions pertaining to personal identity, through lenses of PPE
- Introduction to concept/notion of “Philosophy, Politics, and Economics”
- Ideal candidate for PPE – as well as strengths arising from it
- Introduction to the COURSE “PPE”
- The Basics of Public Speaking and Debating 101
- Four topics for classroom discussion/debate
Feedback
- This was a great class to teach. Students were proficient in English, articulate, engaged, and incredibly lucid. They were also involved and passionate.
- There was a palpable sense of excitement – especially from select students – that seemed to propel the class. I was much amused and impressed (in equal parts) by the elaborate detail and substantiation that have accompanied some of the answers.
- Going forward, I do hope to “ration” the amount of time that each folk/student has to speak, so as to ensure more equal and even participation across the board. Some of the more exuberant and ardent students are great — but may inadvertently end up taking up too much of the “space”. So it falls upon me, as it should, to moderate the discussion more effectively and efficiently.
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Session 2
Homework/Tasks for Next Session
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg16u_bzjPE
– Would you pull the lever?
– Would you push the fat man?
– Extended reading: https://kids.kiddle.co/UtilitarianismSummary of What Was Covered
– Introduction to epistemology
– Introduction/overview re: ways of knowing and areas of knowledge
– Knowledge as justified true belief
– Debates/speeches re: individuals’ knowledge, measuring knowledge, and the ethics of knowledge
– Gettier cases
Feedback
I really enjoyed teaching this class. It was engaged, vocal, participatory, and incredibly eager to listen and chip in.
More of the students participated avidly in the discussion. I was so, so pleased to see everyone – including the more reticent students – participate in the debates/back-and-forth exchanges.
Feedback for all:
1) Spend more time questioning and challenging embedded assumptions in answers and responses;
2) To what extent, if at all, do philosophical questions matter? Ask and answer questions such as these, prior to getting into the nitty gritty of philosophical trivia and debates.
3) Try and identify room for philosophisation and philosophical enquiry in the real world! Practice and application make a difference.
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Session 3
Homework/Tasks for Next Session
•Read: https://www.storyboardthat.com/lesson-plans/introduction-to-government
•Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY7umgfV8ggSummary of What Was Covered
- Introduction to ethics and moral philosophy
- Trolley problem and the fat man
- Introduction/overview re: utilitarianism vs. deontology
- Abortion — overview of core issues
- Debates/speeches re: being sad Socrates vs. happy pig
Feedback
The class participated in the discussion very actively and avidly. They were eager, enthusiastic, and passionate in their contributions and deliberation – a fact with which I was incredibly pleased. To improve, however, I’d like to see some of the more reticent folks pitch in and speak up more vocally, wrt asking questions and ANSWERING the specific questions I have offered. More substantively, it is imperative that the students reflect more critically on the DEEPER MEANINGS/IMPLICATIONS of items/entities such as: happiness, utility, fairness, equality, and QUALITY OF LIFE.
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SESSION 4
Homework/Tasks for Next Session
•Read: https://www.altamed.org/articles/5-reasons-why-you-should-vote
•Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrG7zBUDiqQSummary of What Was Covered
Introduction to theories of the government and political philosophy
On the basics of political sciences – applied principles
What is the government? Measuring the government
Different regime types
Understanding the limits and strengths of the stateFEEDBACK TO COME SHORTLY
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FEEDBACK
1) I’d appreciate more explicit engagement with the regime types discussion – be CREATIVE, folks; think about examples and instances that you can DRAW UPON FROM YOUR REAL-LIFE EXPERIENCES
2) More focussed grappling with THE GOVERNMENT – what IS THE GOVERNMENT? How do we MAKE SENSE of the THREE BRANCHES? More conceptual clarity and responses to what is taught in classes would be helpful.
3) Furthermore, when asked to discuss the strengths/setbacks of the state, try engage in COUNTERFACTUAL THINKING — what would the world look like WITHOUT GOVERNMENTS? Think more critically on that front.
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SESSION 5
Homework/Tasks for Next Session
Please read: https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/Inequality/introduction-to-inequality
Try your very best to understand what the article is saying – no worries if you can’t grasp all of it.
Please answer one of the following (no more than 100 words):
– Who owns the Earth?– Should climate change be treated as an economic problem?
– Should healthcare be made public?
Summary of What Was Covered
Why do people vote?
Theories of voting and democracy?
Incentives of politiciansFEEDBACK
There needs to be more on-point answering re: the questions asked!!! Most of the students here are very eloquent and avid participants in the discussion, but tend to veer off course when pushed to engage in, say, weighing up pros vs. cons, evaluating tenability and sustainability of outcomes, and the desirability of policies and real-life implementation of abstract ideals.
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SESSION 6
Homework/Tasks for Next Session
– Please read: https://www.ducksters.com/money/supply_and_demand.php
– Please write a response to the following (CHOOSE ONE QUESTION, NO MORE THAN 150 WORDS):1) Should the government control and set all the prices for the market?
2) Is capitalism a force for good?
3) Should we be allowed to sell our own organs?
4) Is climate change that big of a deal?
Summary of What Was CoveredIntroduction to Economics 101
Introduction to concepts including:Inequality
Climate change
Externalities
Supply and demand
Pricing -
SESSION 7
Please write a response to the following (CHOOSE ONE QUESTION, NO MORE THAN 150 WORDS):
We should abolish all school uniforms.
We should abolish all single-sex schools.
We should ban video-games at home (!).
Please read the following: https://www.sfu.ca/cmns/130d1/HOWTODEBATE.htm
Try your best to understand what this article is saying 🙂
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