Philosophers have always had more than an academic interest in education. As early as Socrates and Plato, philosophy has been essentially an educational endeavor. The primary mode of philosophical education has always been dialogue, which I believe is one of the most effective tools for engaging students and fostering understanding.
I view my role in the classroom (whether in person or online) as a dialogue facilitator. Of course, some of the material I teach requires lecture-style instruction.
But learning truly occurs only when I can engage students in discussion and allow them to actively think about and apply philosophical concepts. Philosophy can often seem abstract and esoteric, but I believe the material I teach can be applied to real-life situations, which helps keep students interested and shows its relevance.
Certainly, ethics cannot be taught without dialogue and application. It is not enough simply to teach ethical theory. Students must be allowed to examine the theories, evaluate them critically, and apply them to their own lives.
Ideally, education is a transformative experience. Students should leave a class different from when they entered it. One part of that change is that their knowledge of a particular field of study is enhanced. As a result, they should be better equipped to make connections between different areas of knowledge, inspiring educators to see their role as catalysts for this growth.
But apart from these outcomes, I believe that education should transform a student’s general view of things, what the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein called our “picture of the world.” This transformation helps students see the interconnectedness of ideas and encourages active participation in the world of ideas, making education more meaningful.
William James once said, "There can be no final truth in ethics any more than in physics, until the last man has had his experience and said his say." I think this is the fundamental purpose and benefit of education: to give students the tools to think critically and formulate their own views.
An important part of education, then, is to help students better articulate and reason through ideas that are their own. I do not see my role as telling students what to think, but as teaching them how to think. Philosophy is uniquely suited to this task since philosophy is, essentially, a method for thinking clearly about difficult subjects. But this method can also be used for non-philosophical subjects.
As an online instructor, I ask whether this process can work in such an environment. I believe that it can. Although distance learning differs from in-person instruction, there is no reason to think the positive benefits students receive in the classroom cannot be achieved online. Achieving these results requires different methods and innovative techniques, but the goal remains the same and the goal remains achievable.
Ideally, education is a transformative experience. As an instructor, I am responsible for making the class a rewarding, transformative experience for students, but the process also works in reverse. I learn from the dialogue of teaching just as the students do. At its best, the learning process creates a positive feedback loop: my learning encourages students to learn more and ask more questions, which in turn encourages me to learn more so I can teach them more, fostering a sense of shared growth and connection.
I view my role in the classroom (whether in person or online) as a dialogue facilitator. Of course, some of the material I teach requires lecture-style instruction.
But learning truly occurs only when I can engage students in discussion and allow them to actively think about and apply philosophical concepts. Philosophy can often seem abstract and esoteric, but I believe the material I teach can be applied to real-life situations, which helps keep students interested and shows its relevance.
Certainly, ethics cannot be taught without dialogue and application. It is not enough simply to teach ethical theory. Students must be allowed to examine the theories, evaluate them critically, and apply them to their own lives.
Ideally, education is a transformative experience. Students should leave a class different from when they entered it. One part of that change is that their knowledge of a particular field of study is enhanced. As a result, they should be better equipped to make connections between different areas of knowledge, inspiring educators to see their role as catalysts for this growth.
But apart from these outcomes, I believe that education should transform a student’s general view of things, what the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein called our “picture of the world.” This transformation helps students see the interconnectedness of ideas and encourages active participation in the world of ideas, making education more meaningful.
William James once said, "There can be no final truth in ethics any more than in physics, until the last man has had his experience and said his say." I think this is the fundamental purpose and benefit of education: to give students the tools to think critically and formulate their own views.
An important part of education, then, is to help students better articulate and reason through ideas that are their own. I do not see my role as telling students what to think, but as teaching them how to think. Philosophy is uniquely suited to this task since philosophy is, essentially, a method for thinking clearly about difficult subjects. But this method can also be used for non-philosophical subjects.
As an online instructor, I ask whether this process can work in such an environment. I believe that it can. Although distance learning differs from in-person instruction, there is no reason to think the positive benefits students receive in the classroom cannot be achieved online. Achieving these results requires different methods and innovative techniques, but the goal remains the same and the goal remains achievable.
Ideally, education is a transformative experience. As an instructor, I am responsible for making the class a rewarding, transformative experience for students, but the process also works in reverse. I learn from the dialogue of teaching just as the students do. At its best, the learning process creates a positive feedback loop: my learning encourages students to learn more and ask more questions, which in turn encourages me to learn more so I can teach them more, fostering a sense of shared growth and connection.
