CURRENT COURSE, FALL 2024
Undergraduate Seminar, Tufts University
INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
PHIL 0002 (Multiple Sections)
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Description for all departmental sections of Introduction to Philosophy: The major types of philosophical thought and the central problems of philosophy are presented through study of some classic texts of the great philosophers. Offered each term. (May be used to satisfy the second half of the college writing requirement by students with credit for ENG 1.)
In this section, we’ll cover a variety of philosophical topics including epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and political philosophy. The texts we’ll read span several hundred years of the history of (Western) philosophy from the early modern period to the present day. We’ll consider questions including the following: What is knowledge? Do we know anything with absolute certainty? Are you the same person now that you were 10 years ago? What kind of control over your actions do you need to be morally responsible for them? How do we learn what morality requires of us? Is it ever appropriate to form beliefs in the absence of compelling evidence? Should you believe in God? What would a just society look like? What rights do we have?
PREVIOUS COURSE, SUMMER II 2024
Undergraduate Seminar, Tufts University
INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
What makes an action right? For instance, is the rightness of an action primarily determined by the outcome of that act? Or by the agent’s motives, or her enduring character? What kind of freedom, or control over one’s actions, is needed in order for a person to be morally responsible? What does it mean to live a good life? How can we know what is morally required of us? In this course, we will critically examine some of the answers that have been proposed to these enduring philosophical questions. The course will be offered virtually. We will have once-weekly live virtual seminar meetings (Tuesdays, noon-1:30 pm, Eastern time). Additional readings, assignments, and moderated discussions will be conducted asynchronously. No previous background in philosophy is required.
(Also open to students who are not regularly enrolled Tufts undergraduates)
6 weeks, begins July 2
PREVIOUS COURSES, SPRING 2023
Undergraduate Seminar, New York University
TOPICS IN THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY: "PHILOSOPHY OF MIND IN THE EARLY MODERN AND MODERN PERIODS"
PHIL-UA 101
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
When I will to raise my hand, how does my mind, or soul, causally interact with my body? When I look at a tree, how do I form an idea that represents that object in nature? How do I become aware of other minds? How might these processes be dependent upon the will of an all-knowing and all-powerful God? Does God’s involvement in these processes render God responsible for what I think and do? In this course, we will critically examine historical answers to these questions about the nature of the mind and its faculties from authors including Descartes, Spinoza, Malebranche, Leibniz, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant.
Prerequisite: one course from those listed in Group 1: History of Philosophy. May be repeated once for credit as topics change.
For more information on these requirements for NYU undergrads, click here.
Undergraduate, The City College of New York, CUNY
INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
PHILOSOPHY 102
COURSE DESCRIPTION (for all CCNY sections):
An introduction to some of the central questions of philosophy, concerning our knowledge of the external world, causation, God, mind and body, freedom, justice, and moral judgment, via analysis of classical and contemporary philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Mill, Kant, Russell, Wittgenstein and Rawls.
PREVIOUS COURSE, FALL 2022
Undergraduate Seminar, New York University
GREAT WORKS IN PHILOSOPHY
PHIL-UA 2
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course provides a general introduction to western philosophy through the study of some of the most influential writings in its history (up to the present day). Some of the questions to be discussed include the following: Can we know that there is an external world outside of our minds, or are there any reasons for skepticism? Can we prove the existence of God? Can we know anything with absolute certainty? What is the self? Are we free to act, and believe, at will? What obligations do we have to other people? What makes for a just society? We will discuss answers to these questions from authors including Epicurus, Descartes, Pascal, Locke, Hume, Mill, James, Rawls, Nozick, and Korsgaard.
