Classic Thinkers (PHIL*1000)
Code and section: PHIL*1000*01
Term: Fall 2018
Instructor: Peter Eardley
Details
An introduction to philosophy through readings from the classical and contemporary periods. The aim of the course is to give students a sense that the major issues and questions within philosophy, although initially raised by thinkers of the past, are in fact perennial and therefore still relevant to us today. We will accordingly examine a range of traditional topics, from a variety of historical periods, associated with such branches of philosophy as epistemology, philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion, metaphysics and ethics. Thinkers studied will include Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Hobbes and Kant. Questions to be addressed will include: Am I free to choose between right and wrong, or are all of my actions determined by antecedent causes? Does God exist and, if so, why does he or she permit evil to occur? Will I survive the death of my body? How can I be certain that I know anything? And why should I be moral if it pays me not to be?