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Applied Ethics
Christian Moriarty
St. Petersburg College ethics professor Christian Moriarty would describe what he does at the St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus as arguing with 18-year-olds for a living.
It is not as combative as it sounds. These thought-provoking conversations where he encourages students to hear other perspectives are the cornerstone of his teaching philosophy: instilling empathy in a diverse student body.
In Christian’s classroom, much like games people play, every move matters. He challenges his students to realize that the theories they discuss aren’t just classroom exercises — they are the blueprints for real-world actions, where every decision carries its own weight and consequence.
Christian, who was the 2025 Titan Award winner for Outstanding Service, has taught Applied Ethics at the College for 16 years and explained that because he lets his students drive the class content, no class has ever been the same. Christian provides a safe space for students to bring to the table topics that are important to them and a platform where they can be transparent about their views.
A St. Petersburg native who attended Lakewood High School, his journey to becoming an ethics professor was anything but linear. It began with an “overinflated sense of justice” and a brief, misaligned detour into pre-med.
“Turns out, I like the idea of medicine more than the actual practice of it,” he said. “But I took a bioethics class that I absolutely fell in love with.”
That class sparked a trajectory through a master’s program in bioethics and medical humanities at the University of South Florida, followed by Stetson Law School. He is currently pursuing a doctorate at Florida State University.
Seeing the world through different perspectives
This desire to challenge students’ established perspectives is why he often jumps in to take the opposite side in arguments, a habit that occasionally extends to family and friends. For Christian, it is not about winning; it’s about helping people see things through someone else’s lens.
“Perspective is not just valuable, it’s everything,” Christian said. “You get the closest to the truth, the closest to what matters, the closest to what is moral, when you consider all viewpoints of a matter and then are able to come to a much more reasonable conclusion.”
This approach resonates with a deeply diverse student population, which spans from dual-enrolled high school students to individuals in their 70s. Applied Ethics is a required course at SPC, a commitment the College made 30 years ago to ensure graduates possess a foundation in decision-making logic and theory.
“So often a student comes into class and has their own perspectives about the world and what is right and wrong. By the end of the semester, the student may or may not have changed their mind, but they have a better understanding of why they think that way. When they tell me at the end of class, ‘You made me think!’ That makes me proud,” said Christian.
The goal for Christian, is for students to leave understanding their capacity to effect change and the necessity of collaborative empathy in creating a better world. Christian explains that many students come into his class thinking the world is what is affecting them. “I want them to see that the world is actually what they make it,” he said.
Christian wears a variety of hats outside of SPC. When he’s not teaching ethics, he is a writer, policy consultant and public speaker. Christian focuses his attention on things he is passionate about such as emerging technology, artificial intelligence, professional responsibility, the First Amendment, education technology, academic integrity and policy.
Most recently, the Tampa Bay Times published his column regarding Florida’s AI Bill of Rights and the Chronicle published his article “When AI Cheating Becomes a Legal Risk – Colleges must decide how to handle AI misuse, before courts do.”
When he’s home or with friends you might find him stirring the pot on politics or playing a high-stakes game of Dungeons and Dragons.
Continuing the SPC legacy
The commitment to the mission of SPC, an institution embedded in Pinellas County culture, is what keeps Christian engaged. It is a feeling that began the first time he taught a class on the same campus where his own mother had received her nursing degree years before.
“When I enter my classroom and the door closes, it’s magic,” he said. “I love working with students, helping them to be successful, seeing them get that job that they want and helping them arrive at being the person they want to be. I am a facilitator of growth.”
Just like a D&D campaign, Christian teaches his Applied Ethics students that life is a series of choices and each one has consequences. Most importantly, he wants his students to know that even when we disagree on those choices, we can recognize that our similarities far outweigh our differences.
“I truly love the mission of St. Petersburg College,” said Christian. “It makes a huge difference in not just the community, but the individual students and all the individuals that those students touch. I am so glad to be a part of it."
