Teaching

“Lectures were very clear, discussion facilitation was excellent. I expected to only take one philosophy course. Now I'm thinking of majoring in philosophy because of this course.” (Introduction to Moral Philosophy)

“This course inspired me to take more philosophy courses here at Dartmouth, and to major in philosophy. Prof. Putnam's lectures are clear, engaging, and well-planned. I appreciate that they are organized linearly. He is very receptive to students' thoughts and to their questions. He encourages us not to take every reading at face value, but to question all the philosophers and to analyze their arguments. His emphasis on logic and argumentation is a great skill.” (Introduction to Moral Philosophy)

“One of the best philosophy courses I’ve ever taken at Dartmouth. Discussion was super beneficial especially when supplemented by short explanations on terms and things by the prof.” (Freedom of Expression)

“Daniel was really good at answering questions and about restating our examples and questions into ways that used the appropriate philosophy language. He was also good about encouraging participation by warming us up with questions about intuitions before getting into the theory questions.” (Bioethics)

“This is a fantastic and interesting course! Even with no prior experience in philosophy, I was able to learn, participate, and really thrive.” (Bioethics)

“Section meetings with Daniel were always stimulating and effectively expanded upon material introduced in lecture. He created a discussion space in which questions could be presented easily and debates could be held productively. The comments and critiques he gave on submitted paper assignments were thorough and thoughtful.” (Early Modern)

“I really liked this section, probably my favorite at Yale so far. Daniel did a great job keeping the conversation focused enough and adding helpful clarifications and distinctions when needed to facilitate the conversation. And, the entire group was very engaged.” (Moral Skepticism)

“Daniel was an amazing teaching assistant, who tried his hardest to accommodate the students and make sure that we had everything we needed to be successful and to grow in the class. Daniel was perfect, no weaknesses to be discussed.” (Life)

“Daniel was exceptional. He devoted more time, thought, and effort to this course than I have ever seen a teaching assistant devote before. Each section with him was fascinating and a pleasure to attend. His comments on papers were thoughtful, helpful, and insightful. And his knowledge and mastery of the material was astonishing.” (Rawls, Recognition, and Equality)

“Daniel was an excellent TA, who stood out for his ability to get exactly to the heart of a philosophical issue whenever a student asked a question or suggested an argument of his own. He did a stellar job navigating the variety of backgrounds in philosophy that students in this class arrived with.” (Ethics and International Affairs)

“Daniel led fantastic sections. Each week he diligently prepared discussion questions which were always relevant to that week’s readings, and really helped to focus the discussion around the key issues, and also proved very useful to writing papers and thinking further on the texts. Daniel did a great job encouraging everyone to participate, and acknowledging and welcoming input from both experienced and novice philosophers.” (Introduction to Political Philosophy)

“Without a doubt, Daniel is the best T.A. I’ve had at Yale. Don’t change anything. His sections were thoughtful, insightful, and truly helpful in a way I’ve never before seen in college. He put so much effort into them, and it really showed (and the no laptop policy was great because it made students pay attention). I loved the discussion questions he sent out before lectures; they really helped me approach the philosophers and often inspired my paper. I’ve never actively looked forward to section before, but I always found myself excited for those 4:00 pm Thursday meetings. Moreover, Daniel was always willing to go the extra mile for all of us, and meeting with him outside of class was very helpful. I also found his notes on my papers to be really helpful for me both as a writer and as a studier of philosophy. I’ve already said this at the beginning, but I feel strongly enough about it that I want to end with it as well: by far the best T.A. I’ve had at Yale.” (Introduction to Political Philosophy)

"Professor Putnam is fantastic at putting complex philosophical ideas into understandable and memorable language. He clearly knows the material to the point of being able to talk about it conversationally and extemporaneously, which is great." (Introduction to Moral Philosophy)

"Daniel was a terrific TF, who displayed a tremendous gift for leading philosophical discussion. His intelligence and good humor was evident in every section, and I always left with a stronger grasp of the reading than I had entered with. I have never had such a productive section at Yale!” (Rawls, Recognition, and Equality)