PHIL 105 - Philosophical Questions

Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)

Topic for 2019/20a: Life & Death. In this course we study, evaluate, and develop a set of interconnected puzzles, claims, and philosophical arguments about the nature of life and death and their ethical significance. People die. But what, exactly, is death? What is a person? What is it for a person to cease to be? How drastically can a person change without ceasing to be? Why do we value our continued existence? Is death a harm to the person who dies? If so, what does the harm consist in? Should we prefer never to die? Can changing our views about what persons are change our attitudes towards death? These questions lead us from the theoretical domain to the practical. We can and do bring persons into existence. Should we? What considerations are relevant to deciding? Is it permissible to end a person’s life? If so, in what circumstances? Do we owe things to the dead? Do we owe things to persons who are not yet alive? In pursuing answers to these questions, our purpose is also to master the art of philosophical debate: to reconstruct and assess arguments charitably, precisely, and clearly, and to formulate good objections and counterarguments. Work consists in inclass discussion and short essay assignments, with particular attention to the goals and norms of argument-driven writing. Matt Moss.

Topic for 2019/20a: Knowledge & Value. This course is an introduction to a selection of major themes in the philosophical tradition, with no particular historical focus. To warm up we start by discussing the existence of God, the problem of evil, and the case for religious belief. We then move on to problems in the study of knowledge. Is there an external world? How do we we know about what there is outside of ourselves? Are there scientific laws? We then talk about what kinds of creatures we are: at what point do I cease to be the same person? And - are the kinds of creatures we are imbued with free will? We end by discussing issues of whether there is a way we ought to live or a way we ought to behave. This course includes an open unit that is selected by student vote: in the past we have covered topics including the nature of time, the ethics of comedy, and love. The main purpose of the course is to build up philosophical skills, pass on useful philosophical tools, and enable students to tackle difficult topics in writing and group discussion. Emphasis is placed on the reading and interpretation of primary texts and their application to contemporary debates in the field of philosophy. Sofia Ortiz-Hinojosa.

Topic for 2019/20b: There are things you assume without question. Perhaps: you know that the Earth is not flat, you willfully tipped more than usual because the service was good, people have different characters, you can mean one thing rather than another by using words, etc. Why should you accept any of these? To pose such a question is philosophical. In this rendition of Philosophical Problems, we focus on three things that human beings apparently – and essentially, perhaps – can have, more or less: knowledge, freedom, and virtue. Considering powerful challenges, we reflect on whether a human being really can have them. Accordingly, with regard to each of the three, we investigate three sub-questions: “What is it?” “Is it possible for any being to have it?” “How is a human being supposed to attain it?” We grapple with these problems by engaging thinkers from different eras and different parts of the world. Gus Law.

Two 75-minute periods.

Course Format: CLS