In addition to ethics I also regularly teach Introduction to Philosophy online at Penn College. In spite of the fact that this course can only skim the surface of philosophical debate and analysis I never get bored with this course.

This is in part since it covers such a broad range of material – in fact I have always held that Introduction to x courses should be taken twice in one’s academic career – at the beginning of ones’s explorations in a field and towards the end since they provide a comprehensive overview of a field. It is also in part because students truly appreciate being encouraged to question everything about the things we normally the for granted. It is difficult at times to convince people that questioning everything can be done in a rigorous and disciplined way and that it does not necessarily lead to the seemingly obvious conclusion that anything goes regarding our basic assumptions. There is a fine line to walk between skepticism and relativism on the one hand and the conviction that there is some truth to be discovered by careful examination of our assumptions. Socrates certainly found that out the hard way…

Here are the slide show/tutorials I have been using for this course.