Photo: DePauw University, 2024
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 public work and my research projects as well.
Selected Courses
Philosophy for Children
DePauw University
Coming Soon: Syllabus (Spring 2025)
This course will provide extended engagement with both the theory and practice of engaging children in philosophical discussion. Topically, students will explore issues in traditional areas of philosophy such as ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology, as well as more specific questions about the philosophical and developmental nature of childhood and the purposes of education. This theoretical work will be supplemented with the development of age-appropriate pedagogies for introducing philosophical ideas to young people through children’s literature. Students will apply their work outside the classroom by leading and facilitating periodic discussion workshops with local children in grades 3-5 at Greencastle’s Tzounakis Intermediate School.
Ethical Theory
DePauw University
This course provides an introductory exploration of ethical theory via extended engagement with both influential thinkers from the history of moral philosophy and cutting-edge recent work in normative ethics. Throughout the course, we will focus on questions about the nature of the good life, moral status, and our moral obligations to ourselves and others. We’ll begin with a primer on moral reasoning, developing a useful ‘toolkit’ of various values and methods employed by moral philosophers. Then, we’ll examine normative theories of the good life as advanced by classical thinkers like Plato, Aristotle, John Stuart Mill, and Immanuel Kant, as well as some of their more recent methodological counterparts. We’ll end our term with an exploration of some normative problems and prospects currently being grappled with by moral philosophers.
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.
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.
Student Testimonials
DEPAUW UNIVERSITY
“I learned a lot about philosophical and ethical ideas and arguments that I’d never been exposed to before. I really enjoyed talking about new things, as the class was very discussion intensive and interactive.”
“[Alex’s] feedback was extremely helpful, both on written assignments and other contributions. He told us what we did well but also what we could improve on for the next assignments and more generally. Very clear, concise, and intentional.”
“[The course] presented a large amount of new material to us in the relatively condensed span of one semester. Getting beyond-surface-level engagement with a wide array of philosophers and their ideas made approaching ethics from a philosophical standpoint easier than otherwise, and honestly fun.”
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.”