Teaching Philosophy

Volume 25, Issue 1, March 2002

Teaching Applied Ethics, Critical Theory, and “Having to Brush One’s Teeth”

This paper argues that to study and teach ethics without due attention to feminism and other relevant aspects of critical theory (e.g. race or sexual orientation) is to be ethically handicapped. In arguing for this point, the author explains the key components of critical theory, how critical theory augments critical thinking insofar as the former points out certain limitations of exclusive abstract analysis, and how a consideration of critical theory can aid teachers to achieve their learning objectives. In illustrating these points, the paper points to various perspectives on the nature and scope of sexual harassment.