Ethics: Living the Examined Life seeks to emphasize the practical elements of studying ethics, turning theory into action and good decision making, and implementing these lessons into our lives. It was written with students who have no background in philosophy in mind, as many students who enroll in their first ethics or philosophy course have little or no previous exposure to logic or critical thinking. To address this, we begin with an introductory unit covering the basics of deductive and inductive logic so that students will be better able to recognize and analyze the arguments they will encounter in daily life and to appreciate the power of the moral arguments we discuss. Living the Examined Life focuses on identifying arguments in writing and evaluating the strength and validity of those arguments. After engaging successfully with this text, students will be better able to appreciate and judge the value of the arguments they encounter, inside or outside of the classroom.
Living the Examined Life aims at putting ideas into practice. Students will be challenged to reflect on their own actions, decisions, and values, and to change them if they find that they do not stand up critical scrutiny. Some will find that even though their thinking has not altered significantly after considering these arguments, they have still gained a deeper understanding and appreciation for the values they maintain and are better able to explain and justify them. The true test of any study in ethics is not in the number of important names or concepts one can recall but in how well a person lives and the quality of their character. We aspire to prepare each of our readers to pass that test.
Matt Watkins completed both his B.S. in Psychology and B.A. in Philosophy in 2004 at Texas Tech University. He went on to complete his M.A. in Philosophy at Texas Tech in 2007. He has been teaching at Austin Community College since 2008 and has also taught in the Alamo Community College District and at Texas State University. His primary areas of interest in philosophy are value theory (including ethics and aesthetics), history of philosophy, and existentialism. His courses emphasize reading, writing, and thinking, with the aim that students continue to practice and implement these skills after completing their educations. Outside of academia his hobbies include music, film, gaming and martial arts.