Course Summary
Unit 1 - About Philosophy
What philosophy is; why we should study it; the main areas of philosophical study; the relationship between philosophy and religion and philosophy and science.
Unit 2 - In The Beginning
The beginnings of Western philosophy; some problems and questions of the ancient Greeks; the life and death of Socrates; the Sophists.
Unit 3 - Two Theories Of Knowledge
Plato's 'Forms', the Cave and levels of reality, idealism; the philosophical naturalism of Aristotle.
Unit 4 - Epistemology - What Is Knowledge
The two major approaches to knowledge: rationalism and empiricism; the views of Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume.
Unit 5 - The Question Of Identity - Who Am I ?
Major theories in the 'mind-body' debate - materialism, behaviourism, idealism, dualism, science.
Unit 6 - Philosophy Of Religion
Nature of 'God'; arguments for the existence of God; arguments against the existence of God; the argument from religious experience; miracles; faith; Pascal's Wager.
Unit 7 - Ethics: What Is It To Live A Moral Life
What it is to live a moral life; facts and values; the language we use; free will and determinism; absolutism and relativism; some ethical theories.
Unit 8 - The Meaning Of Life
Some answers to questions about meaning and purpose; religious and atheistic existentialism.
Introduction to Western Philosophy
Forum discussions certainly were helpful. I was fortunate enough to do the course with two others who were very good at sharing their thoughts, as well as new sources of information. Their contributions were always eagerly awaited and so often contained lines of thoughts that I had not considered. The course would have been much more challenging without them.