Markets and Morals (Hon 320):
This honors class was very enlightening. We discussed multiple views and perspectives of economics through philosophical writers and their works. Throughout my schooling, I never learned about economic systems, the way they function, the sacrifices nations make to uphold them, and their effects on those nations. The new economic knowledge I gained from this course is going to lead me to better educated options on world issues and the state of the United States. Along with the gained knowledge on economic systems, we also had educated arguments using the books and articles we read and examined. Resulting from these arguments, I have bettered my communication skills, speaking ability, composure when articulating an opinion, and anxiety relating to disagreeing with someone. The arguments have been very useful and helpful although they are slightly terrifying and hard assignments. Being able to articulate an opinion and form an argument is a skill that is not usually taught and practiced in class, but becomes a large advantage when it is.
Artifact: Expanded Bibliography for Argument: This assignment allowed us to use our research skills while also using our knowledge from class resources to develop a well-rounded argument. Adding research to our argument assignment helped us to see more views on these topics out in the world and decide for ourselves what information we should trust.
Biomedical Ethics (Phil 315):
This honors course taught information that is deep and thought provoking allowing the students to develop larger academic views on ethical questions. I recommend this course to any student and especially honors students. I loved how we focused on information that went deeper than the facts relating to the issues we discussed. We looked at “thought experiments” which used analogies to relate directly to the ethical issues and these experiments made it fun to argue about their flaws and debate about their use in the ethical debate. Ethical issues are hard to talk about and debate because of their personal connection to a lot of people. This class allowed us, as students, to politely and respectfully articulate our opinions and views on the issues. We always talked about “arguing about ethics at thanksgiving with our Uncle Carl” and this was helpful, because these arguments do come up with family sometimes and responses need to be respectful, polite, and still allow a personal relationship afterward.