PHILOSOPHY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING William James, in a talk with teachers, is quoted as defining philosophy as “an unusually stubborn attempt at thinking clearly”. Youtube video: “What is philosophy?” by MassimoPigliucciMassimoPigliucci The four main branches of Philosophy are Epistemology, Metaphysics (sometimes referred to as Ontology), Logic, and Ethics (or Moral Philosophy). - See separate handout for definitions/summaries.

Ethics: the general study of (a.) goodness and of (b.) right action (a.) the ends we ought to pursue: - components of a good life (theory of well-being) - or what sorts of things are good in themselves (theory of intrinsic value) (b.) - the principles of right and wrong governing choices and pursuits - duties of men and women living together Distinction between two traditions of ethics: (a.) moral ethics (Deontic) vs. (b.) virtue ethics (Aretaic) (a.) 'universalization of moral law' coupled with 'principle of equal respect for persons' (b.) moral law being one among many equally significant virtues (benevolence, honesty, compassion, bravery, etc.

MMORALITY ORALITY MORALITY Morality can be defined as the doctrine or practice of principles governing right and wrong. It pertains to both character and conduct. Robin Barrow describes morality as being “about personal responsibility (and hence autonomy and some degree of freedom), impartiality, and the promotion of people’s well-being”. Other defining features are certain “distinctive logical characteristics of its language: moral utterances (for ex. ‘You ought to do... ‘) are never descriptive... but are rather prescriptive, emotive and universalizable. That is to say they necessarily reveal the speaker’s attitude, they enjoin others to share that attitude and to act accordingly, and, if uttered in sincerity, commit the speaker to making a similar judgment in respect of other similar situations.” [“Socrates was a human being” Journal of Moral Education, vol. 15 #1 Jan. 1986]