Teaching Sunday School
I've been asked to teach a Sunday school class on philosophy. What are your thoughts on this kind of class? What would you want to learn about philosophy? What aspects would be of interest to you, and which philosophers?
Here are some of my thoughts. At the outset, I recognize two things. First, that it takes a unique way of thinking to do philosophy, and most people lack the necessary training, aptitude, or both. Second, that it takes a whole lot of hours of doing philosophy for you to really start seeing connections and grasping the significance of philosophical choices and trends.
With these in mind, here is my basic plan. I concentrate on two things that people are much more familiar with than abstract philosophy: biography and narrative. So, I'll talk about philosophers as people, giving a little bit of implication-laden biography. And, more importantly, I will try to describe philosophies by retelling the stories philosophers tell.
It's much easier to get people to understand stories than to get them to understand a jargonized morass of complex abstract thought. Fortunately, lots of philosophers told stories. Plato told a story about a cave. Descartes told a story about a meditation that he had. Hegel told a story about the conflict between a master and a slave.
Once I go through the story and explain a bit of what kind of philosophy this story is all about, I can relate it directly to concrete phenomena everyone today understands. For instance, where did transgenderism come from? What about RIchard Dawkins? Why does the State distinguish between the public sphere of reason and the private sphere of religion opinion? What is postmodernism, and why is it so tied to relativism in the popular imagination? Why do we frame discussions about euthanasia, abortion, divorce, homosexuality, etc. in the way that we do?
An additional goal is to encourage critical thinking and humility. What is driving this philosopher that is good? What good came of his philosophy? How do we unknowingly agree with him? Should we at all challenge this philosopher? Does that mean I should restructure my actions and the way I use language? Do I dislike some of the results of the kinds of things this philosopher is talking about, all the why believing what he's saying in principle? How did this philosopher overstep the bounds of good and wise thinking, and how might I unknowingly be doing the same?

