Teaching Interests
I have taught multiple sections of “Introduction to Philosophy” as well as “Introduction to Ethics” at Tufts. These courses are designed to give undergraduate students of all backgrounds the chance to develop their critical thinking and argumentative writing skills while gaining firsthand exposure to some of the big ideas and ongoing debates in the field of philosophy. The “Introduction to Philosophy” (Phil 2) counts toward the college writing requirement at Tufts.
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I have previously taught additional courses in metaethics, the history of philosophy, and the philosophy of mind. Some of these were at other institutions including New York University and City College, CUNY.
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I particularly enjoy teaching the history of early modern philosophy, from Descartes to Kant. The major authors of this period (including also Spinoza, Locke, Malebranche, Leibniz, Berkeley, and Hume) grappled with the philosophical challenge of how to reconcile their understanding of advances in knowledge and technology emerging from the Scientific Revolution with traditional views of human nature, identity, and value. One reason their work is still relevant today is that we find ourselves in a similar position. The rapid uptake of new technologies like the internet, social media, and AI naturally leads us to pose questions about what it means to be distinctively human, what (if anything) we can take for granted, and how to live a good life.
UPCOMING COURSE, SUMMER 2025
Summer Session II, Tufts University: online asynchronous format
INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
What makes an action morally right? For instance, is the rightness of an action determined by the tangible consequences of that act? Or is it determined by the agent’s guiding motives? What does it mean to live a good life? How can we know what is morally required of us? What should we make of the prevalence of disagreement over moral issues? In this course, we will critically examine some of the answers that have been proposed to these enduring philosophical questions. The course will be offered virtually. We will have once-weekly live virtual seminar meetings (Tuesdays, noon-1:30 pm, Eastern time). Additional readings, assignments, and moderated discussions will be conducted asynchronously. No previous background in philosophy is required.
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(Also open to students who are not regularly enrolled Tufts undergraduates)
6-week course begins July 1, 2025
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PREVIOUS COURSES, SPRING 2025
Undergraduate (also open to MA students), Tufts University
HISTORY OF MODERN PHILOSOPHY
PHIL 0152
PHIL 0152 History of Modern Philosophy: Development of the main themes in Western philosophy since the seventeenth century through a reading of major texts by such philosophers as Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant. Recommendations: PHIL 2 or junior standing.
Spring 2025 Theme: “Certainty & Doubt in Early Modern Philosophy”
The early modern period (roughly the span of the 17th and 18th centuries) in Europe was a time of enormous intellectual upheaval. Recent scientific discoveries (and their perceived threat to a traditional religious worldview) inspired a great deal of speculation regarding what, if anything, we can know for certain. In this course, we will critically examine the answers offered by some of the major philosophers of the period to questions including the following: How can we be sure that the world around us is orderly and predictable? How do we discover the laws of nature? Do we have any innate ideas? What entitles us to be confident that other minds, or even material objects, exist? Can we prove that God exists? How do we know that we are not radically deceived by the way things appear to us? We will also compare a few short excerpts by contemporary philosophers in response to these questions.
The course is open to MA students as well as undergraduates. One previous philosophy course is recommended but not required; students are welcome to email the instructor (michelle.dyke@tufts.edu) to learn more.
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Undergraduate Seminar, Tufts University
INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
PHIL 0002
​COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Standard description for all sections of Introduction to Philosophy: The major types of philosophical thought and the central problems of philosophy are presented through study of some classic texts of the great philosophers. Offered each term. (May be used to satisfy the second half of the college writing requirement by students with credit for ENG 1.)
In this section, we’ll cover a variety of philosophical topics including epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and political philosophy. The texts we’ll read span several hundred years of the history of (Western) philosophy from the early modern period to the present day. We’ll consider questions including the following: What is knowledge? Do we know anything with absolute certainty? Are you the same person now that you were 10 years ago? What kind of control over your actions do you need to be morally responsible for them? How do we learn what morality requires of us? Is it ever appropriate to form beliefs in the absence of compelling evidence? Should you believe in God? What would a just society look like? What rights do we have?
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*I'll be offering this course at Tufts once again in Fall 2025.
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PREVIOUSLY TAUGHT
Undergraduate Seminar, New York University
TOPICS IN THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY: "PHILOSOPHY OF MIND IN THE EARLY MODERN AND MODERN PERIODS"
PHIL-UA 101
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
When I will to raise my hand, how does my mind, or soul, causally interact with my body? When I look at a tree, how do I form an idea that represents that object in nature? How do I become aware of other minds? How might these processes be dependent upon the will of an all-knowing and all-powerful God? Does God’s involvement in these processes render God responsible for what I think and do? In this course, we will critically examine historical answers to these questions about the nature of the mind and its faculties from authors including Descartes, Spinoza, Malebranche, Leibniz, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant.
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Prerequisite: one course from those listed in Group 1: History of Philosophy. May be repeated once for credit as topics change. ​
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Undergraduate Seminar, New York University
GREAT WORKS IN PHILOSOPHY
PHIL-UA 2
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course provides a general introduction to western philosophy through the study of some of the most influential writings in its history (up to the present day). Some of the questions to be discussed include the following: Can we know that there is an external world outside of our minds, or are there any reasons for skepticism? Can we prove the existence of God? Can we know anything with absolute certainty? What is the self? Are we free to act, and believe, at will? What obligations do we have to other people? What makes for a just society? We will discuss answers to these questions from authors including Epicurus, Descartes, Pascal, Locke, Hume, Mill, James, Rawls, Nozick, and Korsgaard.
Undergraduate, The City College of New York, CUNY
INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
PHILOSOPHY 102
COURSE DESCRIPTION (for all CCNY sections):
An introduction to some of the central questions of philosophy, concerning our knowledge of the external world, causation, God, mind and body, freedom, justice, and moral judgment, via analysis of classical and contemporary philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Mill, Kant, Russell, Wittgenstein and Rawls.
