Teaching

I am passionate about sharing my knowledge of, and love for, design and philosophy

Overview

If all of the problems that affect the human experience were solved, education would persist for there remains much to learn and, therefore, teach.

Teaching is an activity that encompasses every discipline. My attraction to design and philosophy is from this perspective secondary for whatever discipline interests me, education is my goal—it not only necessitates practical and theoretical knowledge, but it also requires engagement with others, a quality that is fundamental to my character. I enjoy teaching precisely for this reason.

Design

Design is like philosophy where our intuitions are only as strong as they are substantiated.

As a designer, I do not see myself as a philosopher so much as I draw from my academic background and pursue my intuitions through analysis.

Design is problem solving but it is also a dialect—it is a conversation, and consequently its ideas may persist, evolve or perish.

And like philosophy, design requires exposure, critique and refinement. The best solutions in design, as in philosophy, are those that are researched, analyzed and discussed—essentially, tested.

Haus Wittgenstein

Haus Wittgenstein, Vienna. Designed by the architect Paul Engelmann and philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, 1925-1928. Wittengestein's vision and attention to detail is a lesson in organization, flow and interaction—all elements of user experience.

UC Berkeley Extension

I teach Diagramming and Prototyping for UX   asynchronously and online for UC Berkeley Extension .

As the tile suggests, this class is about employing diagrams and prototypes in user experience design. I introduce students to design artifacts and tactics in clarifying and defining a product idea:

  • A Little Research
  • The Customer Journey
  • Story Mapping
  • User Flows
  • Paper Prototypes
  • Wireframes
  • Digital Prototypes
  • Critiquing and Presenting
  • Final Presentation

The course culiminates in a presentation and clickable protoype as proof of vision.

Philosophy

“Philosophy is to be studied, not for the sake of any definite answers to its questions since no definite answers can, as a rule, be known to be true, but rather for the sake of the questions themselves.”

—Bertrand Russell, The Problems of Philosophy

Russell's remark on the value of philosophy underscores my approach to teaching philosophy. My role is to introduce the problems of philosophy to students and guide them through possible answers. I aim is to foster analytical and critical thinking skills in them for application anywhere.

The School of Athens

Detail of Raphael's The School of Athens, Apostolic Palace, Vatican City.

City College of San Francisco

I began teaching philosophy in 1996 and have been fortunate to teach throughout the San Francisco Bay Area:

  • City College of San Francisco
  • De Anza College
  • Diablo Valley College
  • San Francisco State University
  • Skyline College

Since 2004, I have been teaching at City College of San Francisco  where I am a member of the Department of Social Sciences and teach:

Students watching a film

Students watching Richard Dawkins's The Enemies of Reason, Philosophy 40, Introduction to Logic: Critical Thinking, CCSF.

Let's Connect

Whether to advise, mentor or talk shop, I'm happy to connect.

Resume 

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