Your one-stop Intro to Philosophy shop

Update: This site has been given an attractive redesign and is now edited by Erin Tarver.

Villanova's John Immerwahr, an ISW reader and enthusiast, has alerted me to his attractive new website, Teach Philosophy 101. As its name suggests, Tø101 is an open source collection of materials and resources for teaching to Introduction to Philosophy, with good stuff both for those new to the special challenges of Intro and those looking to refresh or revamp their Intro courses. John's site is nicely organized and he's looking for other links and resources related to teaching Intro. I'd encourage everyone to head over and check it out.

Critical thinking and democracy?

Readers,

Can any of you point me to work linking critical thinking and democracy? I'm particularly interested in work that proposes that education in critical thinking is a particularly apt or essential goal for education in democratic societies. Thanks!

Announcing new Wilson Prize for essay on philosophy teaching

REMINDER: The submission deadline is October 1, 2015.

Teaching Philosophy is pleased to announce a new essay prize, the Arnold Wilson Prize. Details here and below the fold.

Call for abstracts: 'Our Obligations to Adjuncts'

Call for Abstracts: 2016 Pacific APA Session

“Our Obligations to Adjuncts”

Organized by the APA Committee on the Teaching of Philosophy

Deadline: Friday, October 2, 2015

The American Philosophical Association (APA) Committee on the Teaching of Philosophy invites abstracts for its upcoming session, “Our Obligations to Adjuncts,” planned for the 2016 Pacific Division Meeting of the APA on March 30-April 3, 2016, in San Francisco, CA. 

According to the AAUP Research Office, non-tenure-track faculty now comprise more than 70% of the professoriate (http://www.aaup.org/sites/default/files/Faculty_Trends_0.pdf). In the humanities, the most recent data from the Delphi Project suggest that 46.2% of all humanists teach part-time, while 22.2% teach full-time, but off the tenure track (http://faqs.thechangingfaculty.org/). We suspect these numbers are on the rise. In this session, we’re calling upon the philosophical community to think about these statistics and the individuals hidden behind them.

The Committee is particularly interested both in presentations from ethicists and social-political philosophers who might use their expertise to think about our obligations to contingent faculty and in presentations from department chairs at institutions with particularly humane adjunct policies. In the spirit of active learning, the Committee asks that presenters not read a paper, but plan a more interactive way to engage their audience of peers.

CFA: Teaching students to read philosophy

Call for Abstracts: Central APA Session

“Teaching Students How to Read Philosophy”

Organized by the APA Committee on the Teaching of Philosophy

Deadline: Monday, September 14, 2015

The American Philosophical Association (APA) Committee on the Teaching of Philosophy invites abstracts for its upcoming session “Teaching Students How to Read Philosophy,” planned for the 2016 Central Division Meeting of the APA, March 2-5, 2016, Chicago, IL. With this session, we are interested in exploring challenges and techniques associated with teaching students how to read philosophy’s dense, antiquated, and/or translated texts. The Committee is particularly interested in fresh approaches to this problem and in pedagogical strategies that instructors have employed successfully in the classroom. In the spirit of active learning, the Committee asks that presenters not read a paper, but plan a more interactive way to engage their audience of peers.

Philosophers' Magazine -- on teaching

The Philosophers' Magazine, a well-known UK publication, will focus its next issue on teaching. Preview below the cut:

AAPT: Workshop on Teaching and Learning in Philosophy

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

The American Association of Philosophy Teachers (AAPT)

“To Improve The Quality Of Instruction In Philosophy At All Levels”

Teaching & Learning in Philosophy: Dallas/Ft.Worth

Location:                     North Texas University, Denton, TX

Date:                           Saturday, September 26, 2015

Time:                           9am – 5pm

Application Deadline: August 15, 2015

Description

Participants will read some of the best literature regarding how learning happens, how to design maximally effective courses, and how to improve classroom practice. The goal is not only to provide tips, although we will provide some. Rather, the seminar is designed to enhance participants’ ability to make effective pedagogical choices. The interactive sessions provide opportunities for participants to reflect with colleagues on how to individualize evidence-based best teaching practices to one’s own idiosyncratic teaching contexts. Participants will learn how to identify and select challenging and transformative learning objectives and how to design and assess sequences of learning activities to make the achievement of those goals highly likely. 

Comments from Past Participants

“The seminar shifted and honed the way I think about and practice teaching in substantial ways”

“Inspiring, fascinating, and incredibly helpful”

“A must for anyone who cares about students”

“An intensive boot-camp for learner-centered education”

“Not at all like the typical (mostly useless) “teaching orientation” that most graduate students get”

APA session: The philosophy major

The APA Committee on Teaching Philosophy is seeking participants for a panel on the philosophy major, to be held at the Eastern Division meeting (January 2016, Washington D.C.). The deadline to volunteer is August 10. More details here.

APA session: Advice for job candidates on the teaching demo

The APA Committee on Teaching Philosophy is seeking participants for a panel (Eastern meeting, January 2016, Washington DC) to advise job candidates on teaching demonstrations. The deadline to volunteer is August 17. More details here.

CFP: Teaching Philosophy, etc., at Indiana Philosophical Association

Call for Papers

Indiana Philosophical Association

Fall Meeting, 13-14 November 2015

Earlham College (Richmond, Indiana)

Keynote Speaker

Walter Brogan

Villanova University

Papers in any area of philosophy are welcome. Submitted papers should be (i) no more than

3000 words, (ii) prepared for anonymous review, and (iii) accompanied by a separate page that

includes title, author information (name, affiliation, and contact information), and an abstract

not exceeding 150 words. Materials should be submitted to Prof. Sam Kahn at

indianacfp@gmail.com. Suggestions for commentators and sessions chairs (including self-nominations) are also welcome.

In an effort to draw more diverse submissions, the IPA will host four Special Sessions. They will

address respectively:

• Teaching Philosophy
• Feminist Philosophies
• Environmental Philosophy
• Ancient Greek Political Philosophy

If you are applying for a special session, please indicate so in your e-mail and on your cover

page.

Graduate Paper Prize

The IPA will present an award to the best paper submitted by a graduate student. The award will be

accompanied by a cash prize of $100. Graduate student papers submitted for the competition should be identified as such on the title sheet.

Deadline for Submissions: 1 September 2015

Deadline for Notifications: 1 October 2015

http://ipa-online.info

Subscribing to Teaching Philosophy

I've been posting information about the contents of Teaching Philosophy for a while, but you may not know how to subscribe. The basic information is here, but a rundown:

• Members of the American Association of Philosophy Teachers receive online access free with membership.
• Annual print subscriptions are $33, $40 for online, $53 or online and print.
• Institutional subscriptions are (as expected). But I'd encourage your libraries to subscribe so that all of your faculty and students have access.

Seeking How to Teach articles

Teaching Philosophy is continuing its highly successful 'How to Teach' series, articles focusing on how to teach common courses in philosophy curricula. Having published articles in the series on critical thinking, early modern philosophy, comparative philosophy, business ethics, metaphysics, and philosophy of science, the journal would be happy to receive proposals for articles focusing on any of the following courses:

• epistemology
• philosophy of language
• philosophy of religion
• ancient philosophy
• environmental ethics
• political philosophy
• philosophy and/through film
• philosophy of law
• the continental tradition
• feminist philosophy

If you'd like to propose an article, please send me an e-mail at mjcholbi*at*cpp.edu. Thanks!

Latest issue of Teaching Philosophy

The latest issue of Teaching Philosophy is now available:

Sarah Cashmore

Changing Values in Teaching and Learning Philosophy: A Comparison of Historic and Current Educational Approaches

This paper examines the pedagogical values inherent in various traditions of philosophy education, from the ancient Greeks to current practices in Ontario high schools, and asks whether our current educational practices are imparting the philosophical values we wish to bestow upon our learners. I compare the approaches of Socrates, Descartes, and Dewey on the nature of philosophy and the pedagogical frameworks they defend for transmitting the “spirit” of philosophy, and then examine the Ontario curriculum guidelines for the teaching of philosophy. In past philosophical traditions, dynamic growth, free questioning, and social responsibility are considered essential to the practice of philosophy. Certain factors in today’s educational institutions limit students’ abilities to achieve those values, although the appeal to these values is the same. I end with recommendations for amendments to the Ontario curriculum expectations that would help put the philosophical development of the individual student more clearly at the centre of these guidelines.

Christopher Gifford

How to Teach Metaphysics

This paper examines the pedagogical values inherent in various traditions of philosophy education, from the ancient Greeks to current practices in Ontario high schools, and asks whether our current educational practices are imparting the philosophical values we wish to bestow upon our learners. I compare the approaches of Socrates, Descartes, and Dewey on the nature of philosophy and the pedagogical frameworks they defend for transmitting the “spirit” of philosophy, and then examine the Ontario curriculum guidelines for the teaching of philosophy. In past philosophical traditions, dynamic growth, free questioning, and social responsibility are considered essential to the practice of philosophy. Certain factors in today’s educational institutions limit students’ abilities to achieve those values, although the appeal to these values is the same. I end with recommendations for amendments to the Ontario curriculum expectations that would help put the philosophical development of the individual student more clearly at the centre of these guidelines.

Alexandra Bradner

How to Teach Philosophy of Science

Philosophy of science is a challenging course to teach. This paper offers suggestions for early-, middle- and late-career professors who teach philosophy of science at the undergraduate or graduate level. The advantages and disadvantages of four different course designs are discussed, and a list of possible syllabus topics is presented. The paper encourages a thoroughgoing approach to inclusive pedagogy: it recommends that we look for ways to highlight a range of underrepresented voices throughout the semester, instead of tacking on one or two feminist readings at the end of a course. The author reports success with two forms of student assessment, in particular: a peer participation grade and a series of short critical response papers. Also covered are learning goals, textbook selection, and faculty assessment.

The undergraduate seminar paper

For the first time in a long time, I have the opportunity to teach a bona fide seminar. The "seminar paper" is a pretty ubiquitous feature of that experience. But to my surprise, I've never thought very explicitly about what an undergraduate seminar paper is supposed to be. So I'm interested in how all of you have explained this to your students: What's its main rhetorical function? What's the proposed length? What are the main components?

Thanks!

Specs grading?

Curious to know if anyone out there has experimented with what Linda Nilson is calling "specs grading"? It seems to be a combination of mastery grading, a pass-fail only system, and grading that reflects accumulated knowledge. I'm intrigued and would be interested to hear directly about instructor experiences with this.

Why undergrad teaching is not a "necessary evil"

Over at Philosophers' Cocoon, Marcus Arvan expounds on how we should see undergraduate teaching as something more than a "necessary evil" we tolerate in order to engage in philosophical research. (How come no one ever says we tolerate undergrad teaching in order to do university service?!)

Marcus observes that teaching demands that we set aside jargon and get back to intellectual basics. This forces us to grasp, in a non-technical and intuitive way, what's appealing and unappealing about a philosophical position or claim: 

when teaching Kant's moral/practical philosophy, it's really easy to get sidetracked by Kant's technical terminology, etc. But, when teaching a first-year undergraduate course, getting mired in that stuff is a recipe for disaster. Students tend to tune out. In order to get them to tune in, the challenge is to explain, in the simplest and most intuitive way possible, what Kant is up to, and how his theory is philosophically motivated. - 

This 'cutting to the chase' makes us better researchers, Marcus notes.

I'm intrigued by a second point Marcus makes in defense of undergrad teaching: Undergrads, not having been heavily immersed in the discipline, don't take a problem or argument seriously simply because those in the discipline do. They have, Marcus points out, good BS detectors, and have to be won over to thinking that a position or argument merits esteem. Undergrads thus serve to keep their instructors 'grounded,' we might say, not taken to flights of intellectual fancy. That said, I'm ambivalent about this point: Sometimes this BS detector is also an immaturity meter: Students may not take an argument seriously due to ignorance (philosophical or otherwise) or philosophical inexperience. Indeed, part of our job is to help them see the force of unfamiliar or obscure points.

Why else is teaching more than a "necessary evil"? I'd add two points here: First, teaching can be a source of challenges no less compelling than those we face as philosophical researchers. As I've argued before, our profession would benefit enormously if our teaching culture were more like our research culture in certain crucial ways.

Second, there's been lots of talk about 'public philosophy', the public face of the humanities, and so on, in recent years. I'm often struck by how those who advocate for a more public role for philosophy overlook their most public role of all — their role as philosophy educators. After all, in teaching, we have a semi-captive audience with at least some willingness to be persuaded of the value of philosophy. Our students are our most important 'public,' and each time we teach, we are doing public relations for our discipline and our profession. Teaching is thus a necessary evil only if showing that philosophy is worthy of study and worthy of respect is a necessary evil too.

UPDATE: Graphic on history of philosophy

UPDATE, Nov 4: Cook has created a second graphic depicting the history of Eastern philosophy.

Merrill Cook has created this very attractive graphic charting the history of philosophy. Do feel free to display and disseminate.

New issue of Teaching Philosophy

The latest issue of Teaching Philosophy (volume 37, no. 4) is out. Detailed contents below the fold.

Teaching Philosophy seeks trustee

The Board of Trustees of the Teaching Philosophy Association, Inc. would like you to know about an opportunity to have an impact on the journal.  Teaching Philosophy Association, Inc. is the nonprofit organization that oversees the business of the journal Teaching Philosophy.  The Board is responsible for:

·         evaluation of and strategic planning for the journal;

·         authorizing and carrying out special projects;

·         appointing and providing guidance to the journal’s editors;

·         negotiating the publication contract for the journal.

Individual Trustees are required to prepare adequately for and attend annual and special meetings of the Board, and are encouraged to actively participate in activities of the journal such as serving as a reviewer, writing special columns, etc.

If you would like to join a warm and collegial group of individuals who are responsible for the premier journal devoted to the teaching of philosophy at all educational levels, please email* your teaching vita and a brief statement of interest including a description of your relation to the journal to: Nancy S. Hancock, President at hancockn@nku.edu.

*Please use Word or PDF files.

Sincerely yours,

Nancy S. Hancock, President

Teaching Philosophy Association, Inc.

Soliciting 'How to Teach' articles

No doubt many of you have been reading the 'How to Teach' series in Teaching Philosophy, articles dedicated to how to teach a particular philosophy course. Thus far, the journal has published articles on how to teach early modern philosophy, critical thinking, and comparative philosophy. There are plans for articles on how to teach business ethics and how to teach information technology ethics.

To that end, here are some areas where we'd like to see more articles in this series:

• philosophy of science
• medieval philosophy
• phenomenology and existentialism, the Continental tradition
• feminist philosophy
• philosophy of mind

If you'd be interested in writing such an article (on one on another commonly offered philosophy course), please contact me at mjcholbi*at*csupomona*dot*edu.