Is it morally wrong for a person (X) involved in a romantic relationship with a person (Y) to leave Y to pursue her romantic interests towards Z who happen to be a teacher of both X and Y? In general, is it okay for teachers and students to date each other?

There are two, independent questions here: (1) is it morally permissible for X to leave Y to pursue another relationship and (2) is it permissible to pursue a romantic relationship with a teacher. At least, I don't see how answering (2) is relevant to (1). If X's relationship with Y (1) is unsatisfying or otherwise deficient, it's permissible to leave. Perhaps my colleagues will see something here I'm missing. About (2) much has been said and thought. I suppose I think it depends upon the kind of teacher. I think it's permissible to have a relationship with a ski instructor, maybe a yoga instructor, a Sunday school teacher, or other kinds of teacher where the stakes of engaging in the relationship aren't likely to have an adverse effect upon the class or others in it. University classes, however, where grades are distributed are otherwise, since the process of grading is likely to be corrupted by romantic relationships. By corrupted I mean that grades and letters of recommendation are likely to be...

When a writer is giving advice on writing and they are saying what not to do and what you should do, then do you take the advice or kind of find your own groove?

The short answer is: find your own groove. It's a bit of a false alternative, however. That's because finding your own groove often takes some experiment, and experimentation is often well guided by the advice of others. So, my advice (!), since you asked, is to weigh thoughtfully the advice of others whose writing you admire, and try out what they suggest. Ultimately, you have to find your own authentic voice, but others can help you make that discovery.

I do not have much experience with philosophy, but am interested in debating. Can you recommend any good and thorough introductory texts to both formal debating and philosophical argumentation? Thank you.

I'd recommend these: 1. The Philosopher's Toolkit (Fosl & Baggini) 2. How to Think about Weird Things (Schick & Vaughan) 3. A Rulebook for Arguments (Anthony Westin) 4. The Art of Deception (Nick Capaldi) 5. Nonsense (Gula) 6. Crimes against Reason (Whyte)

What books are most important for a neophyte philosopher to read?

I recommend Plato's Apology , Will Durant's The Story of Philosophy , Camus's Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays , Bryan Magee's The Story of Philosophy , David Cooper's anthologies, and perhaps The Philosopher's Toolkit .