Document Type

Syllabus

Publication Date

Spring 2024

Course Description

This course will serve as an introduction to – well – philosophy, what else? The course takes its inspiration from Socrates and his approach to philosophy. Socrates’s approach was distinctly ‘first personal.’ He didn’t want to know what others said, or even what might be said, on particular issues. He wanted to know what was true, and to find out, he recommended a ruthless and critical focus on what you (whoever he was talking to) believed. To up the stakes a bit, he even claimed that failure to engage in such serious and critical self-scrutiny rendered life not worth living for a person. With the stakes so high, surely we’ll want to know – was he right? Come along.

Student Outcomes

Students in this course will: – be able to state some central philosophical questions and describe some of the main answers to those questions that have been proposed. – be able to analyze philosophical arguments, identifying important strengths and weaknesses in those arguments. – develop their own views on important philosophical questions and defend those views in both speech and writing.

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