Courses Taught at Florida International University:
Philosophy of Death (Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2022)
There is one thing that we all have in common: we will die one day. This course considers several questions that arise when we ponder our mortality. Is death an evil? Would immortality be desirable? How should we face death? Our mortality also seems to bear on the issue of life’s meaning. Therefore, we will also reflect on the following questions: Is there a meaning to life? If so, what is it? What makes life worth living? Does the meaningfulness of our lives depend on the future, or fate, of humanity? Given the importance of death to the discipline of philosophy, we will conclude by thinking about the connection between philosophical wisdom and the contemplation of death.
Existentialism (Fall 2016, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Spring 2022)
How should I live? How should I face death? How can I be authentic? What does it mean to be free? These questions lie at the heart of existentialist thinking. Existentialism is a movement in philosophy and literature that originated in the nineteenth century writings of Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche. Although neither Kierkegaard nor Nietzsche referred to himself as an existentialist, their reflections on the meaning of religion and morality laid the ground for twentieth-century works in existentialist philosophy, most notably those of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir.
Philosophy and Feminism (Fall 2021)This course explores recent and historical contributions to feminist philosophy. Topics include the metaphysics of sex and gender, the nature of oppression and sexual objectification, intersectionality, and feminist contributions to epistemology, the philosophy of language, ethics, and aesthetics. We will study the roots of feminist philosophy in the works of Simone de Beauvoir, as well as the views of contemporary philosophers such as Sally Haslanger, Linda Martín Alcoff, and Kimberlé Crenshaw.
Philosophy of Gender and Race (Spring 2019, Fall 2020)
Gender and race are social categories that shape our lives on a daily basis. This course will offer an introduction to metaphysical and ethical issues pertaining to gender and race. It will address such topics as: definitions of gender and race (including the sex/gender and color/race distinctions); differences between the structures of gender and race; definitions of racism and sexism; intersectionality; and the claims of theories of social justice which aim to combat racism and sexism. We will study the classical descriptions of gendered and raced experience found in the works of W.E.B. du Bois, Simone de Beauvoir, and Frantz Fanon, as well as the views of contemporary philosophers such as George Yancy, Linda Martín Alcoff, Sally Haslanger, and Martha Nussbaum.
Phenomenology (Spring 2017)
What are time and space? What is the relation between self and world? What is the relation between mind and body? What is it like to be embodied in a social world? These are some of the questions that lie at the heart of phenomenological reflection. Phenomenology is a movement in twentieth-century German and French philosophy. Our readings will include the works of Edmund Husserl, the founder of phenomenology, as well as those of Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Simone de Beauvoir, Emmanuel Lévinas, and Jacques Derrida.
Independent Study on Simone de Beauvoir (Fall 2020)
What does it mean to be free? What is a woman? Are sexual differences natural, social, or both? What is oppression? What is sexual objectification? These are all questions examined by the twentieth-century philosopher Simone de Beauvoir. This course explores Beauvoir’s ethics, The Second Sex, and her later feminist writings. Readings will include The Ethics of Ambiguity, selections from The Second Sex, shorter essays published from the 1950s and 1960s, as well as contemporary commentaries on Beauvoir’s philosophy.
Introduction to Philosophy (Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Summer 2017, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Summer 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Summer 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022)
This course will introduce you to the field of philosophy, both one of the oldest intellectual pursuits in human history and a vibrant 21st-century discipline. While the field of philosophy encompasses a rich set of questions, this course will focus on one of the most fundamental questions of philosophy: How can I lead a better life? In answering this question, we will address such topics as: What is happiness and how can I achieve it? What is friendship and why have friends? Is there a world outside of my mind? Is there a god? Does the existence of a god matter to life’s meaningfulness? What social and ethical responsibilities do I have? To other persons? To non-human animals? To the environment? We will build skills in thinking independently, self-reflection, and communication, but most importantly, we will practice using those skills to lead a better life.
Philosophy of Death (Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2022)
There is one thing that we all have in common: we will die one day. This course considers several questions that arise when we ponder our mortality. Is death an evil? Would immortality be desirable? How should we face death? Our mortality also seems to bear on the issue of life’s meaning. Therefore, we will also reflect on the following questions: Is there a meaning to life? If so, what is it? What makes life worth living? Does the meaningfulness of our lives depend on the future, or fate, of humanity? Given the importance of death to the discipline of philosophy, we will conclude by thinking about the connection between philosophical wisdom and the contemplation of death.
Existentialism (Fall 2016, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Spring 2022)
How should I live? How should I face death? How can I be authentic? What does it mean to be free? These questions lie at the heart of existentialist thinking. Existentialism is a movement in philosophy and literature that originated in the nineteenth century writings of Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche. Although neither Kierkegaard nor Nietzsche referred to himself as an existentialist, their reflections on the meaning of religion and morality laid the ground for twentieth-century works in existentialist philosophy, most notably those of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir.
Philosophy and Feminism (Fall 2021)This course explores recent and historical contributions to feminist philosophy. Topics include the metaphysics of sex and gender, the nature of oppression and sexual objectification, intersectionality, and feminist contributions to epistemology, the philosophy of language, ethics, and aesthetics. We will study the roots of feminist philosophy in the works of Simone de Beauvoir, as well as the views of contemporary philosophers such as Sally Haslanger, Linda Martín Alcoff, and Kimberlé Crenshaw.
Philosophy of Gender and Race (Spring 2019, Fall 2020)
Gender and race are social categories that shape our lives on a daily basis. This course will offer an introduction to metaphysical and ethical issues pertaining to gender and race. It will address such topics as: definitions of gender and race (including the sex/gender and color/race distinctions); differences between the structures of gender and race; definitions of racism and sexism; intersectionality; and the claims of theories of social justice which aim to combat racism and sexism. We will study the classical descriptions of gendered and raced experience found in the works of W.E.B. du Bois, Simone de Beauvoir, and Frantz Fanon, as well as the views of contemporary philosophers such as George Yancy, Linda Martín Alcoff, Sally Haslanger, and Martha Nussbaum.
Phenomenology (Spring 2017)
What are time and space? What is the relation between self and world? What is the relation between mind and body? What is it like to be embodied in a social world? These are some of the questions that lie at the heart of phenomenological reflection. Phenomenology is a movement in twentieth-century German and French philosophy. Our readings will include the works of Edmund Husserl, the founder of phenomenology, as well as those of Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Simone de Beauvoir, Emmanuel Lévinas, and Jacques Derrida.
Independent Study on Simone de Beauvoir (Fall 2020)
What does it mean to be free? What is a woman? Are sexual differences natural, social, or both? What is oppression? What is sexual objectification? These are all questions examined by the twentieth-century philosopher Simone de Beauvoir. This course explores Beauvoir’s ethics, The Second Sex, and her later feminist writings. Readings will include The Ethics of Ambiguity, selections from The Second Sex, shorter essays published from the 1950s and 1960s, as well as contemporary commentaries on Beauvoir’s philosophy.
Introduction to Philosophy (Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Summer 2017, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Summer 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Summer 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022)
This course will introduce you to the field of philosophy, both one of the oldest intellectual pursuits in human history and a vibrant 21st-century discipline. While the field of philosophy encompasses a rich set of questions, this course will focus on one of the most fundamental questions of philosophy: How can I lead a better life? In answering this question, we will address such topics as: What is happiness and how can I achieve it? What is friendship and why have friends? Is there a world outside of my mind? Is there a god? Does the existence of a god matter to life’s meaningfulness? What social and ethical responsibilities do I have? To other persons? To non-human animals? To the environment? We will build skills in thinking independently, self-reflection, and communication, but most importantly, we will practice using those skills to lead a better life.
