How should we live? What happens after we die? What is the relation between our minds and bodies? How much can we know? Does God exist? Do our lives have meaning? In this course, we will examine classic works in philosophy that address these big questions. Authors include: Plato, Aristotle, Epictetus, Boethius, Lucretius, Sextus Empiricus, Berkeley, Descartes, and Hume. We will also focus on critical thinking, writing, reading, and speaking skills.

1. Introduction  

2. Plato (I): Euthyphro, 2a-11b, 15d-16a   

3. Plato (II): Apology  

4. Plato (III): Crito 

5. Plato (IV): Phaedo , “The Release of the Soul from the Chains of the Body” 

6. Aristotle: Nichomachean Ethics, Book One: 1, 5, 7 

7. FIRST EXAM

8.  Epictetus: Discourses, Chs. 6 & 16 

9.  Boethius: The Consolation of Philosophy [Online Class Debate]

10. Lucretius (I): On the Nature of Things, Book I: lines 50-61, 615-635, 329-344, 370-383, 952-984; Book V: 158-235; Book II: 1048-1067

11. Lucretius (II): On the Nature of Things, Book II: 215-295; Book III: 160-176  

12. Lucretius (III): On the Nature of Things, Book II: 1-61; Book III: 1-94, 830-1094  

13. Sextus Empiricus: “Outlines of Pyrrhonism” & “First Mode” 

14. SECOND EXAM  

15.  Descartes (I): First Meditation and Second Meditation §1-3

16.  Descartes (II): Third Meditation

17. Descartes (III): Fourth Meditation, Fifth Meditation & St. Anselm Supplemental Reading 

18.  No Class - Papers Due

19. Descartes (IV): Second Meditation §4-12 (pp. 18-22; from "But I do not yet" to  “wax consists”) and Sixth Meditation §4-15 (pp. 49-55; from "But I am in the habit" up to “obscurely and confusedly”) & Arnauld: "Fourth Set of Objections"

20.  Berkeley: Principles of Human Knowledge, §1-3, 8-9, 14-23, 29-31, 33-37, 58-59

21. THIRD EXAM

22. Hume (I): Dialogues on Natural Religion, Part II & Paley: "The Argument from Design" 

23. Hume (II): Dialogues on Natural Religion, Parts IV-V 

24. Hume (III): Dialogues on Natural Religion, Part IX and Clarke: "Cosmological Argument"

25. Hume (IV): "Of the Immortality of the Soul" (pp. 91-97) [Online Class Debate]

26. Hume (V): “Of Miracles” pp. 108-114 (from "Though experience be our only guide" up to “all religious miracles”) and pp. 124-125 (starting from “I am the better pleased” through to the end). 

27. Clifford: “The Ethics of Belief” & James: “The Will to Believe” [In Person Class Debate]

28. FOURTH EXAM