What is Philosophy?
What does it study? Some examples.
How does it study?
What are the differences with the sciences and the religions?
Where did Philosophy originate?
The first philosophers.
Why there and then?
How has philosophy evolved?
Why studying a little philosophy today?
Rational and irrational thinking
Superstition, myth and pseudosciences
Common sense, sciences and philosophy
Knowing, believing, doubting and ignoring.
Is knowledge possible?
Dogmatism and relativism.
Escepticism: two kinds.
Which are the sources of our knowledge?
Empirism
Rationalism
Scientific methods
Do we need to study Logic?
Thinking: two kinds.
Fallacies: two kinds.
Some tools:
Propositional logic
Class logic
Probability
What does exist and what just looks like it exist:
Sensory Illusions. Sensorial limitations.
Beyond the senses: Plato's cavern.
Realism: naive and scientific.
Does reality follow laws?
Determinism / Indeterminism / Chaos
Human freedom
Naturalism and spiritualism
Does God exist?
The origins of the human species:
Evolution by natural selection.
Our ancestors
Human psicology:
Emotions and feelings
Personality
Interrelation of nature and culture.
Philosophy: looking for meaning to our existence
Meaning beyond this world: salvation and transcendence.
Meaning within this world: hedonism, happiness and fullfilment.
Morality:
What is it? Its purpose in a society.
Moral change: relativism, absolutism.
Sources of our morals: emotions, intuitions, customs, reason.
Moral reasoning: ethics
Beyond the Golden Rule.
Happiness versus moral obligation.
Human freedom:
Restrictions and limits.
Freedom and responsibility.
Compatibilism vs incompatibilism.
We are a social species:
Pro-social behaviour and skills.
Socialization: two phases.
Social organization: four types.
Politics:
Why politics? Naturalism versus contractualism.
Power and authority.
Political institutions: state, government, civil society.
Democracy: its strengths and weaknesses.