Teaching

Recent Courses

Fall 2023: “Philosophy of Art,” University of North Texas
Spring 2023: “World Religions,” University of North Texas
Spring 2023: “Introduction to Philosophy,” University of the Incarnate Word

Fall 2022: “World Religions,” University of North Texas
Fall 2022: “Introduction to Philosophy,” University of the Incarnate Word
Summer 2022: “Ethics in Science,” University of North Texas

Statement of Teaching Philosophy

The glaring problem of modern education is the diminishment of classical, traditional learning. The Sufi philosopher and scholar, Seyyed Nasr, who advocates for “rediscovery of the lost spiritual dimension of both man and Nature,” suggests that such a problem must be dealt with by “returning to the full message, and not only the moral and social aspects, of traditional religions and the wisdom embedded in them.” [1] Thus, my teaching philosophy aims to counteract issues with modern education through the assumption that students learn best when the instructor exemplifies truth, charity, wisdom, knowledge, and virtue. In my teaching philosophy, these “exemplary notions” comprise the very substratum of learning. Not only are they are the reason why we learn; they also constitute the model of a genuine “liberal education” — learning for its own sake. As Aristotle would likely argue, modern education may be more practically useful than the study of Wisdom, but it is not better than the study of Wisdom. It is learning, not so much “education,” that I intend to convey to my students.

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[1] Nasr, Seyyed Hossein (2017). “God is Absolute Reality and All Creation His Tajallī (Theophany)” in The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Religion and Ecology. John Hart (ed.). Oxford: Wiley. Pg. 3.