Teaching

For syllabus and course materials, visit my Intro to Logic webpage.

This course is a philosophical introduction to formal logic and probability theory – their methods, applications, and foundations. In the first half of the course, we’ll study the syntax and semantics of sentential and predicate logic. This involves constructing mathematical structures that formally represent, to some degree of abstraction, the meanings of sentences in natural languages, such as English. In the second half of the course, we’ll study different kinds of probability theories and the laws that govern them. Learning about the core principles of deductive and inductive logic will strengthen our ability to think critically and with less susceptibility to fallacies.

For syllabus and course materials, visit my Intro to Philosophy webpage.

In this course, you’ll learn how to think critically about abstract topics like the nature of God, morality, personal identity, and existence. In particular, you’ll evaluate arguments that attempt to answer the following questions:

1. Does God exist?

2. What should I do in my life, most generally?

3. What kind of thing am I?

4. What exists, most generally? 

Unlike your grades in other courses, your grade in this course will not depend on whether you can provide the correct answers to these questions. Instead, it will mostly depend on your ability to provide and justify the answers that you take to be the most plausible in light of rigorous argumentation. This should not lead us to believe that there are no correct answers in philosophy more generally. Instead, it should lead us to believe that the correct answers are difficult to find and that disagreements are a natural consequence of this. 

The first goal of this course is to introduce you to, and hopefully to incite your lifelong interest in, the practice of philosophy. The second goal of this course is to make certain intellectual tools available to you. These tools help us think more critically, independently, and fairly. The ultimate goal of this course, therefore, is not for you to learn that anything is true; it's for you to learn how to think with more clarity and confidence about any topic you might encounter whatsoever. 

For course descriptions and syllabi, visit my CTY course webpage.

CTY is a nonprofit dedicated to developing the talents of academically advanced pre-college students, ages 13-16. Students enroll in small, 3-week intensive seminars (at 7 hours/day) that cover a semester's-worth of collegiate level material. Learn more