PHIL 101.001 – Introduction to Philosophy: Main Problems

Instructor: Krasi Filcheva. This course meets MTWRF 1:15 – 2:45 p.m. in CH 204.

This course will serve as a survey of major philosophical problems in a variety of fields. Topics include the relationship between mind and body, free will, the nature of personal identity, epistemological challenges to our claims to knowledge of the external world, the puzzle of existence and God, among others. Special topics of interest we will cover are artificial intelligence and the nature of consciousness and disorders of the self as implicated in our conception of personal identity.

The goal of the course is for students to develop basic skills in argumentation, assessments of soundness and validity, careful analysis of complex philosophical material, and in crafting clear and rigorous philosophical writing.