Philosophy?! Here's What to do with That

Students often lack preparation for philosophy in K-12 and may expect it to be impractical. Philosophy 101 aims to connect traditional “pure” philosophy with practical application. In an epistemology course, lectures and discussions cover knowledge, rationalism versus empiricism, and the ethics of belief acquisition. The final class applies these tools to conspiracy theories such as Pizzagate. Students use empiricism to distinguish likely from unlikely claims by starting from an empirical fact, then comparing competing explanations. Hume’s “On Miracles” is used to ask what experience suggests about the most likely explanation, such as children being at a pizza shop because they want pizza rather than because of an elaborate trafficking plot.

"Students are not typically taught philosophy during their K-12 years, so few know what to expect when they sign up for my Introduction to Philosophy course. Philosophy is often derided as useless in the "real world"-almost every philosophy major, upon revealing their area of study, has heard, deridingly: "Philosophy?! What are you going to do with that?" At the opposite end of the spectrum, applied or public philosophy are often dismissed as not "real philosophy.""

"My goal for every Philosophy 101 is to emphasize the intersection of traditional "pure" philosophy and practical application. Here is how I teach two sections of my class-epistemology and philosophy of mind-to fulfill this objective. Epistemology and Conspiracy Theories My epistemology section consists of pretty standard fare: lectures and discussions on defining the nature of knowledge (Ayer and Narayan), rationalism (Plato and Descartes) vs. empiricism (Locke and Hume), and the ethics of belief acquisition (Clifford)."

"For our last class for this section, we critically analyze some famous conspiracy theories, for example, PizzaGate, using the tools learned. A prominent theme is how empiricism can help us differentiate likely vs. unlikely claims. For example, when discussing PizzaGate, I start by an uncontroversial empirical fact: there were kids at a pizza shop. There are two possible explanations of this fact: (1) The kids were there because they wanted pizza or (2) The kids were there because they were part of a child-trafficking ring orchestrated by members of the Democratic Party headed by Hillary Clinton."

"Invoking Hume's arguments in "On Miracles," I ask the students what our experience tells us about the most likely explanation for why there are kids in a pizza parlor? Clearly, the simplest and most likely explanation is that they are there because they want pizza. As a response, a student may insist that we cannot know this to be true because it is"

Read at Apaonline