Carolina Enagement Week, 2023. Photo: Carolina Center for Public Service.
I am an award-winning philosophy teacher.
I think of philosophy as an activity best done in collaboration and connection with others, rather than as a set of ordered facts or theories to be taken up and operationalized in isolation. This activity is best characterized as an ongoing dialogue between interlocutors about those things which are fundamental to our lives. My central aim in teaching philosophy, then, is to bring my students into this conversation, making the activity of doing philosophy as accessible and engaging as possible, and sharing with them the value of Socrates’ prescription to live a life examined. This, of course, involves challenging some of our most basic suppositions about the world in a systematic and rigorous fashion, developing a coherent (and ideally consistent) set of values and beliefs, and engaging in deliberation on how best to live up to these ideals—both as individuals with our own lives and pursuits, and in our more public relations with others. These goals suffuse and inform my approach to pedagogy not only in the classroom, but in my research and public work as well.
Recent Courses
Photo: Elon University
Ethical Practice
Elon University
This course invites us to think carefully together about those practices which contribute to a good human life—a life well-lived. This conception, and its philosophical substance, raises many questions and confronts us with frequent decisions to make which may not only affect our lives and interests, but those of others in our surrounding families, communities, and society. In this course, we will delve into those core moral and political questions which arise around the project of living well—not merely in the abstract, but as they arise in our daily practices. We’ll begin by engaging with thinkers both classical and contemporary to build a conceptual toolkit to help us confront tough normative questions. In addition to some fundamental methodologies, we’ll briefly study three traditions in the history of moral philosophy—consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics. Once we’ve established a strong groundwork, we’ll shift our focus toward some important and timely applied issues. First, we’ll take up questions about membership in our moral community. Here, we’ll consider the ethics of abortion, our treatment of children and animals, and the moral costs of climate change and environmental degradation. Finally, we’ll take up some larger conceptual questions about the nature of justice at a broader social scale, and whether the values and practices of our own society live up to its stated ideals of liberty, equality, and democracy.
Photo: Mike Andrews
How Should We Live?: The Ethics and Politics of Democracy
Elon University
The namesake question of this course invites us to think carefully together about what it means to live well. This semester, we will frame this perennial question using our own moral and political context—as citizens of a democratic society comprised of putative equals—as the central lens. While America’s experiment with a democratic form of government has been around for a while, recent events like the COVID-19 pandemic and a moral reckoning around questions of identity and belonging have strained the commitments around which we organize our lives, heightening the stakes of fundamental disagreements about values, norms, and the nature of democracy itself. In this course, we will delve into those core moral and political questions which arise around the project of not only living well, but living well together.
Photo: Alex Richardson
Professional Responsibility
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
At some time or another, each of us has probably thought about what our obligations are as students or teachers, as children and parents, as citizens of a democracy, etc., In addition to these practical identities, professional occupations are important factors in how we structure our livelihoods, and often have equally important implications for our moral lives. This course will be an introductory look at the various types and instances of moral problems and obligations that are relevant to various professions to which students might find themselves contributing.
Photo: Alex Richardson
Contemporary Moral Problems
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Complex and contested moral problems are ubiquitous in our society and daily lives. These often confront us with decisions to make and actions to take which may not only affect our lives and interests, but those of others around us. This course will serve as an introduction to various problems and questions that confront us as citizens of a contemporary democracy. Is abortion permissible? How should our society rise to the moral and political challenges presented by a changing climate? How should a decent people handle oppression and social turmoil which track social differences: in class, gender, sexuality, and race? These questions and more will be our focus for the semester.
Photo: Alex Richardson
What is Love? An Introduction to Philosophy
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
What is love? Aside from comprising the eponymous refrain to a catchy song from the early 1990s, this is a central question which has captivated human interest from time immemorial. It’s safe to assume that, in at least some capacity, it has similarly fascinated, implicated, or perhaps entirely eluded us all at some time or another. What is the nature of love itself? How does romantic love differ from friendship? How do related physical and mental states like attraction and sexual desire fit in? Can we love things that aren’t individuals? How, in fact, does it all work? We will confront these questions and more in this class as we examine the work and methodology of great thinkers from throughout history.
Student Testimonials
ELON UNIVERSITY
“Professor Richardson always created a classroom environment that was extremely positive, fun, and enthusiastic. He continuously made each class fun and engaging. He allowed for open communication, bizarre ideas, and every student to express their ideas. I will truly miss the fun and open environment he created.”
“Alex is an excellent professor, and is super enthusiastic. He is an excellent teacher in both philosophy and general. He is able to explain topics in a formalized, academic sense, while using more casual and informal language and analogies both humorously and to further convey his points. Likewise, he engages with students personally, and is able to connect even classical philosophy to our daily lives and perspectives.”
“[Alex’s] positivity, empathy, and understanding have encouraged a beneficial learning environment and the assignments administered gave us freedom while also fostering deep thinking.”
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
“Alex Richardson is the best instructor I have had in my 3 years at Tennessee. He’s very relatable and down to earth, while managing to be super professional at the same time.”
“Alex is one of the best professors I have ever had. He wants us to succeed and he gives helpful feedback on every assignment: something I have never had a teacher do!”
“I love Alex’s teaching style! He mixes up the class structure to cater to different learning styles and to enhance students’ comprehension. He is always approachable; his friendliness makes it easy to enjoy class and I think students feel welcome to go to office hours as a result. I can tell Alex is passionate about philosophy and teaching, and it shows in the way he makes his students a top priority. ”