teaching

           "From my students I have learned the most of all"

~ Talmud, Tannit, 7a.

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Ichikawa.

I love teaching. For me, it is where philosophy comes alive. I cherish the moments when my students finally grasp a difficult distinction or concept, or when they come to realize how fundamental, how inescapable, how essentially human philosophical inquiry is. Teaching is also the space where I learn philosophy the best. It forces me to reframe and reconceptualize philosophical problems at their most basic level. It also helps me distinguish the philosophical issues that matter the most, map out their connections, and stay in touch with the human interests that drive them. Teaching, for me, is a passion, a learning experience, and a place of reconnection.

Above all, though, my teaching is about my students. I do my best to ensure that each student comes away with something that will help them - not just in academia, but in life. Philosophy may deal with the abstract, but the skills it teaches, and even many of the questions it pursues, are critical for anyone. Accordingly, I emphasize the soft skills that philosophy teaches as much as the material itself: clarity in writing and in speech, comfort with open-ended questions, comprehension of differing viewpoints, and, of course, critical thinking - a skill needed today more than ever. In addition to these soft skills, I stress the applicability of the concepts discussed, particularly in ethics. The result for my students is a set of skills and ideas that can help them throughout their lives and in any vocation that they choose. If I do really well, they even come away with a greater love of wisdom, too.

Academic Teaching

SOLE INSTRUCTOR, UC Riverside


TEACHING ASSISTANT, UC Riverside 2021-present

* indicates class taught in online format

TEACHING ASSISTANT, Tufts University 2016-17


SUPPLEMENTAL STUDENT INSTRUCTOR, Cal Poly Humbolt 2012-13

Teaching Beyond Academia

PRESENTATIONS