Teaching
Lectures: Philosophy of Finance and Business, Years 12/13, 2021-22.
The lecture series is summarised below.
Spring 2022
This year I am giving an experimental inter-disciplinary lecture series at Caterham School and Millfield School to years 12 and 13.
Our subject matter ranges across Finance and Business, and covers metaphysics, epistemology, and moral philosophy. Please contact me for access to the full presentations.
Acknowledgements: I am grateful to Dr. Thomas Ferretti, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the London School of Economics & Political Science, for ideas contributing to Lectures 2 and 4.
Lecture 1: What is Money?
Money has been around in various forms for over 5000 years. But we rarely pause to think about what qualities money must have, and why. Could Bitcoin or other digital coins co-exist with or replace traditional money? If not, why not?
Lecture 2: An ethical defence of sweatshops
Many hold that low-cost, manual labour sweatshops are unethical. But can a good philosophical argument can be made to defend them?
Lecture 3: The Ethics of Self-driving cars
Technology is now able to perform almost all the functions required to drive a car autonomously. But what are the ethical implications of this?
Lecture 4: Business: Profit or Purpose?
In 1970 Milton Friedman argued that managers should only do want shareholders them to do, which is usually to maximise profits. But is that defensible?
Testimonials
Paul’s fantastic set of lectures are a unique way to extend learning beyond the syllabus. This cross-curricular series has introduced pupils to themes they would not otherwise have explored, and provides an opportunity build lateral thinking skills suitable for the modern workplace.
Paul’s series of interactive lectures are engaging and made entirely relevant to students, both in terms of their academic study but perhaps more importantly to the wider world. Paul uses interesting current examples to pique the students’ interests and offers them a great space to ask questions which encourages them to move their thinking beyond the syllabus.
Paul’s lectures skilfully interweave the disciplines of philosophy and economics into a challenging but accessible narrative. Students from both faculties were engaged throughout and benefitted from considering familiar concepts through a new lens and relationships that were not immediately obvious. Paul’s delivery is well-paced, informative and clear, however, his differentiator lies within the Q&A section of his talks. Here, Paul treats students’ questions with respect and works with them to arrive at possible answers, pushing their understanding forward. The students are made to feel valued partners in the process. Paul’s thoughtful eloquence, comprehensive knowledge and collaborative demeanour left students keen to explore the topics further.