Why Contemporary Moral Issues Need to Be Controversial
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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A Defense of Abortion
10 min read
The article extensively discusses Judith Jarvis Thomson's famous 1971 paper, which the student describes as mind-blowing for its argumentative style. This Wikipedia article covers the violinist thought experiment and the paper's philosophical impact.
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Socratic method
13 min read
The interview centers on teaching controversial issues through dialogue, questioning, and helping students examine their own views - core elements of the Socratic method. Understanding this pedagogical approach enriches the discussion of philosophy education.
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Applied ethics
9 min read
Professor Brighouse explicitly mentions wanting philosophy majors to understand that 'philosophy isn't all theory, it's applied ethics.' This article explains the field that Contemporary Moral Issues courses represent, distinguishing it from theoretical ethics.
Welcome
Happy fall, everybody! The blustery weather has arrived here in Madison, and we’re feeling enlivened by the great sessions and conversations at last weekend’s NAAPE Conference.
We’ve assembled an excellent new group of undergrad curriculum creators this year, so please welcome Ari, SeaJe, and Nancy to our team.
And we’re excited to be working with our new postgraduate fellow Ria Dhingra, a recent UW–Madison graduate with a knack for writing and connecting ideas creatively. In addition to her work on our teaching guides, Ria will be a regular newsletter contributor. She’s also an avid note-taker, and the next few newsletters will be our takes and takeaways from NAAPE—what we were surprised/amused/delighted/inspired by. (Do you have reflections on this year’s NAAPE that you’d like to share? Let us know!)
In today’s newsletter, Ria interviews Harry Brighouse about teaching controversial issues, shares an excerpt from her philosophy department graduation speech: “Why You Should Major in Philosophy,” and offers some seasonal recommendations.
With Ria’s help, we’ve spruced up some of our Substack tabs, including a new About page and welcome email, so please visit our resources and keep on sharing!
—Carrie
Icebreaker
My new favorite icebreaker, which makes me realize that nothing is boring, is:
Share a boring fact about yourself.
Teaching Contemporary Moral Issues
A Chat With Harry Brighouse
by Ria Dhingra
“The most controversial thing about teaching controversial issues is deciding what is controversial.”
- Diana Hess
(quoted by Jeremy Stoddard at the recent Education for Democracy Panel)
PHILOSOPHY 341: Contemporary Moral Issues, is a prerequisite course for countless majors at UW–Madison. Over the years, the syllabus of the class has changed alongside with the student body, from readings dedicated to funding the arts to divorce to affirmative action.
Ria, who took the class in spring 2022, sat down with Professor Harry Brighouse, who has taught this course over 30 times.
…
R: I know you're a big fan of icebreakers. So I want to start with this: what is your favorite topic you’ve taught in 341?
HB: Oh, the morality of abortion, for sure. It’s the only topic I have taught every single time I’ve instructed the
...This excerpt is provided for preview purposes. Full article content is available on the original publication.