The student is able to:
- characterize a number of important philosophers from the history of philosophy and their points of view;
- explain some central philosophical concepts and debates;
- analyze some contemporary societal issues from a philosophical perspective.
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This course offers a historical introduction to western philosophy, which focuses on important philosophical questions and their relation to contemporary debates in the United States. We will deal with questions such as: Are we free to make our own choices? Can we have knowledge of God? Do we have a soul? Are we by nature political animals, and if so, what does that mean? Can I trust my senses? After examining canonical European philosophers such as Plato, Descartes and Kant in the first half of the course, we will focus on specific American thinkers such as Peirce, Dennett and Nussbaum in the second half of the course.
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