PL101 Introduction to Philosophy

The unexamined life is not worth living. This is what Socrates said in the fourth century B.C. He set out to examine his life and in so doing he launched the tradition of Western Philosophy. How do I know what is true? Does God exist? Do I have control over my fate? How should I live? These are some of the questions philosophers ask. Anyone who takes time to think carefully about important issues can be considered a philosopher, but philosophy at its best is a discipline that requires training and practice.

In this course we will survey the central problem areas of philosophy through classic authors of the ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary periods. Our goal will be two-fold: first, to learn how these authors thought through philosophical problems; second, to think them through for ourselves. Our method will be to study the art of argumentation. By the end of the course you should be able to identify arguments, analyze arguments, and construct arguments of your own.