This Fall at Monroe County Community College I will be teaching two philosophy courses instead of one.
I'll teach Introduction to Logic for the sixth straight year, using Hurley's 9th edition.
I'll also teach History of Western Philosophy, using Jerry Gill's Enduring Questions.
And, for the past 5 years every winter I have taught Philosophy of Religion, using Pojman's anthology of readings, which I find to be quite good.
In all these classes my main goal is: learning. The material, especially in the Western Philosophy and Philosophy of Religion classes, is extremely difficult to read since I am using primary texts and not explanations of the texts. My task as teacher, which I love, is to take the students from no understanding of philosophy to a solid basic understanding of philosophical issues.
I rarely have one student who comes to class familiar with this material, even a little bit of it. Philosophical thinking opens up a new world of possibilities to them. It strengthens their analytic abilities. It also makes them think in new ways about God and the meaning of life.
