Teaching

Courses (syllabi available upon request)

• AI and Ethics

Course description:

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are pervasive, as they are now utilized across a wide variety of domains, such as education, finance, healthcare, social media, the military, the legal system, and so on. Moreover, as AI capabilities improve, these systems will likely become increasingly competent at performing many different kinds of tasks in addition to the ones they already undertake, and this will serve to increase their prevalence. Clearly, AI has the potential to make an enormous impact on the world. In view of these considerations, it is crucial to investigate the ethics of this emerging technology, and that is what this course aims to do. We will explore the following issues relating to AI systems: algorithmic bias, data privacy, explainability, mis(dis)information, labor disruption, autonomous weapons, catastrophic risks, AI policy, and more!

• Philosophy of Technology

Course description:

Virtually everyone uses technology—and many different kinds of technology—on a daily basis. Most of us have smartphones, watch television, and warm up our leftovers in the microwave (examples abound!). But rarely, if ever, do many of us stop to think about the philosophical questions surrounding such technologies and our use of them. Philosophical questions regarding the very nature of technology and how it differs from other artifacts, questions about our relationship to technology and how it impacts the meaningfulness of our lives, and questions about the ethics of specific technologies, such as ones concerning the risks of artificial intelligence, are all ripe for consideration. In this course, students will explore such questions and critically examine various answers to them.

• Engineering Ethics

Course description:

In this course, students will be introduced to major ethical concepts and theories, they will critically examine professional codes of ethics, and they will consider a number of contemporary ethical issues in the context of engineering. Students will learn how to competently engage in ethical reasoning, and they will practice that skill by applying it to each of the following topics: whistleblowing, conflicts of interest, cost-benefit analysis, risk and uncertainty, privacy, the problem of many hands, artificial intelligence, and sustainability.

• Contemporary Social and Moral Problems in the U.S.

Course description:

In this course, students will be introduced to major ethical concepts and theories, and they will consider a number of contemporary social and ethical issues in the U.S. These will include abortion, animal rights, poverty, gun control, reparations, gender, healthcare, immigration, social media, algorithmic bias, conspiracy theories, and climate change. Students will read and critically examine arguments relating to these issues, and they will learn how to apply their own ethical reasoning to them.

• Death and the Meaning of Life

Course description:

Some philosophers claim that if there is no afterlife, our lives are meaningless; all of our efforts are hopelessly and absurdly pointless. Nothing we do in life, according to these authors, can have any genuine significance. Others are far less pessimistic and argue that even without an afterlife, our existence can be meaningful. They claim that things like achievement, happiness, and engaging in valuable projects can give meaning to our lives. In fact, some philosophers even contend that death is a crucial feature of a meaningful life; immortality would inevitably drain our lives of meaning and undermine our happiness. This course will explore such competing theories.

• Ethical Theories

Course description:

Ethical questions permeate our existence: how should we live? What are the features of a good human life? Which actions are right or wrong? What makes them so? Is morality objective, or is it relative in some way? Although most of us do not frequently consciously attend to such questions, we often answer them implicitly through our behaviors and conversations with others. In this course, however, such questions will be confronted directly, and explicit answers to them will be considered. In addition to theoretical questions about ethics, we will consider a number of practical ethical questions surrounding different issues and how various ethical theories would approach them. Ethical questions concerning topics such as poverty, euthanasia, animals, the environment, and genetic engineering will all be addressed.

• Logic and Critical Thinking

Course description:

Studying logic is crucial for developing skills that will enable you to formulate sound arguments of your own and assess the arguments of others. In this course, students will be introduced to several major topics in informal, formal, and inductive logic, which will assist them in the development of such skills. In particular, we will cover the following: basic logical concepts (e.g. deduction, induction), linguistic meaning and definition, fallacies, categorical propositions and syllogisms, legal and moral reasoning, and hypothetical/scientific reasoning.

• Introduction to Philosophy

Course description:

Does God exist? What is the relationship between the mind and the body? How do we distinguish between right and wrong actions? What is the meaning of life? This course will critically investigate a variety of positions on such philosophical matters. Students will read both historical and contemporary philosophical texts that address these and related questions, and they will cultivate their critical thinking and communication skills through class discussion and writing activities. By the end of the course, students will appreciate the extent to which philosophical ideas pervade human inquiry and our lives more generally, and they will understand how their own worldviews incorporate certain philosophical viewpoints that are subject to rational evaluation.

Student Evaluations

• "Dr. Cook is hands down the best professor I have ever had here at Georgia Tech. He is funny, understanding, and passionate about what he teaches. Philosophy (a class where I thought it was going to be another boring humanities course), has definitely grown on me. Dr. Cook has opened my eyes to philosophy and related coursework. I have been telling my friends to take courses with Dr. Cook. He is that guy."

• "This class was conducted with a great structure that allows students to think critically and feel comfortable speaking about intense topics. I really appreciate how the instructor does not force people to speak, but rather allows discussion to happen organically. The class is set up in a very welcoming and judgement free way. The coursework is very relevant and well–discussed. This has honestly been my favorite class this semester and has made me consider a philosophy minor. Great professor who is well–organized and extremely down to earth."

• "I loved this teacher. They invested a lot of personal time to help with my philosophy development and every week they came to class with a prepared, interesting concept to discuss. Their criticisms of my papers were fair and timely. They also allowed students to express themselves."

• "As a practicing Professional Engineer, I found this course intellectually stimulating. The course's book provides good references, and Dr. Cook's lectures explained the philosophical arguments for the concept of morality regarding engineering ethics. Highly recommend to all engineering students, especially those in civil engineering."

• "Tyler Cook is an amazing instructor. He is so good at explaining complex ideas in digestible ways, and I learned a lot without him having to give too many assignments. The class was very discussion–based, which was great and I loved being able to contribute ideas. Tyler is very much an instructor who is not afraid to be a real person, meaning he is never condescending and treats everyone with respect. He is a better instructor than most professors I've had at OSU."

• "– Can there be an option for Strongly Strongly Agree?
  – Tyler was amazing at running his classes and the material.
  – Man, does he love Philosophy. And now, so do I."

PACT Summer Camp

The Ohio State Philosophy and Critical Thinking (PACT) Summer Camp is a week-long educational camp for high school students. It introduces students to philosophy through a variety of engaging learning activities. I have been involved in two iterations of the camp. For the 2021 camp, which focused on the topic of disagreement, I was a lesson planner and instructor. I created a lesson plan that outlined the various spheres of disagreement (e.g. religious, ethical, scientific) and explained some commonalities and differences among such spheres. I also had students think about possible ways of resolving such disagreements and discuss the potential barriers to resolution that might exist within each sphere. For the 2023 camp, which focused on artificial intelligence, I was a lesson planner. I worked with professors during the early stages of the design of the camp, contributing to the planning of lessons and activites, and I also provided feedback on the lesson plans developed by some of the graduate students in the philosophy department.

Being involved in the PACT summer camp has been an extremely rewarding experience. I have learned a lot from my fellow instructors as well as camp participants. I feel better prepared than ever to teach first-year undergraduate students since I have spent time with high school juniors and seniors, and I have gotten to know what works for them, educationally speaking. I have also learned lots of cool teaching methods too, which I plan to implement in future courses. My hope is that I will be able to contribute to summer camps in the future, whether at Ohio State or elsewhere, and in the latter case perhaps even start up a new one!