PHIL 101.001 – Introduction to Philosophy: Central Problems, Great Minds, Big Ideas

Instructor: Felix Benzant. This course meets MTWRF 1:15 – 2:45 p.m. via remote synchronous (RS) instruction.

Everyone engages with philosophical questions, and everyone persists in thinking about them. Is there a God? Do we have free will? Do we have souls? What is the relationship between the brain and the mind? How do we manage to remain the same individuals over time? Is there even such a thing as time? If so, what is its nature? What can we know about the world? Are there limits to what we can know? Since everyone persists in thinking about these questions, they might as well think about them well. This course will give you the tools to engage with these and similar questions in a more systematic way. It will introduce you to different philosophical concepts and ideas, and you will learn to think critically about different answers to such important questions. As a result, you will be better able to articulate your own point of view with respect to such questions and you’ll have the resources to explain why you think that a particular answer might be right or wrong. You will also learn interesting perspectives that you probably had not considered before.