Teaching

Teaching in 2025-2026

University of Toronto, Scarborough

[Coming soon!]

Past Courses 

University of Toronto, Scarborough 

PHLC06H3: Topics in Ethical Theory (Partiality), Winter 2025
Most ethical theories posit a fundamental relationship between morality and impartiality. In other words, most ethical theories claim that we ought, morally speaking, to treat everyone the same. Practically speaking, however, each of us is partial to some persons over others—for example, to our friends, family members, or romantic partners. But are we really permitted to treat some people differently than others? We will examine this tension as it arises in specific ethical theories; in particular, in deontology and utilitarianism. In the course of doing so, we will consider how proponents of these theories have historically responded in order to evaluate the efficacy of the various strategies available.

PHLB02H3: Environmental Ethics, Winter 2025
Environmentally speaking, we live in increasingly desperate times. Yet, at the same time, our mitigation attempts are hampered by climate change denial, inaction, and thoughtlessness. Given this state of affairs, it is perhaps only natural to feel hopeless about the future. But we ought not feel hopeless, nor allow ourselves to fall into inaction due to despair. Instead, what we need is a radical reconsideration of the problem. In this course, we will undertake precisely this reconsideration, prioritizing Indigenous, feminist, and other radical voices as we develop a hopeful, active, and collaborative approach to the most pressing environmental issues of our time.

PHLB04H3: Philosophy and Literature, Fall 2024
What is the relationship between literature and philosophy? Are the two complementary, or is the one antithetical to the other? Given this relationship, what is the role of the ‘philosophical novel’? To answer these questions, we will engage in a close reading of French existential philosopher Albert Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus: And Other Essays alongside Czech novelist Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. In the course of doing so, we will compare the ways that each introduces and analyzes such essential philosophical and literary themes as absurdity, freedom, nihilism, hope, the good life, and death.

PHLB05H3: Social Issues, Fall 2024
Human beings are social beings. As such, relationships are necessary for our flourishing. Of these many relationships, loving relationships—that is, the relationships we have with our romantic partners, family, and friends—contribute particular meaning to our lives. We might wonder, however, what it means to be a “good” romantic partner or friend: How should we treat those we love? Do different relationships require different things of us? This course investigates these and other pressing questions about the ethics of loving relationships.

PHLB30H3 F Existentialism, Summer 2024
Existentialism has been called “perhaps the most misunderstood of modern philosophical positions” (Kaufmann, 1975). Narrowly construed, it defends the metaphysical position that, for humankind, ‘existence precedes essence.’ What this means—and what it means for us—will be the primary subjects of this course. Along the way, we will explore themes of absurdity, authenticity, freedom, and responsibility. Authors discussed include Dostoevsky, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Kafka, Jaspers, Heidegger, Sartre, de Beauvoir, Fanon, and Camus.

University of Toronto, St. George
*Martha Lile Love & FAS Superior Teaching awards course

PHL275H1 S Introduction to Ethics, Summer 2023
What is morality, and why should we care? Doesn’t our disagreement about ethical claims suggest that morality is all just relative, anyway? This course explores these questions and more while introducing students to key ethical theories such as deontology, virtue ethics, consequentialism, and ethics of care as plausible responses to “the challenge of relativism”. The course also introduces students to the activities of philosophical writing and analysis, with a particular focus on argument reconstruction and evaluation.

PHL388H1 F Literature and Philosophy, Summer 2022*
This upper-year course pairs two of existential philosopher Albert Camus’ most influential works: his essay, The Myth of Sisyphus and his novel, The Plague.  Read together, these texts advance Camus’ view that ‘philosophical revolt’ (living passionately in spite of life’s inherent meaninglessness) is the solution to the ‘problem of suicide’ (the problem of whether life is worth living, given its meaninglessness). As such, the course is a philosophical and literary journey from nihilism into optimism; from anxiety and grief into hope. Themes analyzed include freedom, absurdity, the good life, and death.