Doran Smolkin
BA (UBC), MA (Illinois, Chicago), PhD (Illinois, Chicago)
Dr. Doran Smolkin is a full-time member in the Philosophy Department at KPU. He received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Illinois, Chicago. His research and teaching interests are in ethics. Dr. Smolkin's has published journal articles on a variety of moral problems, including the nature of our obligations to future generations; the obligations of physicians to treat patients with HIV; the nature of trust; the nature of fortune; and whether speciesism is a prejudice. He is also the co-author, with Dr. Warren Bourgeois and Dr. Patrick Findler, of a textbook, Debating Health Care Ethics: Canadian Contexts, 2nd edition. His current research is focused on philosophical questions surrounding moral status. Dr. Smolkin sees his research as an opportunity to deepen his teaching skills and his skills as a philosopher. He views teaching as an opportunity to improve students’ reasoning and writing skills, and to encourage them to develop their own opinions about complex philosophical questions. At KPU, he frequently teaches courses in Introduction to Philosophy, Introduction to Ethics, Moral Theory, Life and Death, and Topics in Ethics.
Courses taught
- PHIL 1100 Introduction to Philosophy
- PHIL 1110 Confronting Moral Issues: Introduction to Ethics
- PHIL 2110 Moral Theory
- PHIL 3033 Business Ethics
- PHIL 3105 Life and Death
- PHIL 3119 Contemporary Moral Theory
- PHIL 3510 Confronting Moral Issues: Bio-medical Ethics
- PHIL 3900 Honours Research and Thesis I
- PHIL 4110 Topics in Ethics