|
Introduction to Philosophy
Nature of Philosophy by consideration of major
types of philosophy questions, such as principles of rational
belief, existence of God, pursuit of good life, nature of knowledge,
problem of truth verification and relationship of people to state.
Establishes frames of reference so students can begin asking philosophical
questions.
Prerequisites: E, R
THE EXAMINED LIFE
An Introduction to Philosophy
Offering learners an in-depth analysis of the wisdom
of the Western world, The Examined Life studies the "great
questions" that have intrigued philosophers from antiquity
to the present. Using writings of past philosophers and interviews
with more than 50 contemporary thinkers, the telecourse episodes
underscore how such questions as what is art? does God exist?
what is the meaning of life? does the end justify the means? still
reverberate in society today.
Produced in cooperation with TELEAC/NOT and UR.
Textbook: Philosophy: A Text with Readings, 8th
Edition by Manuel Velasquez. 2002. ISBN# 0-534-56181-0 (9th Edition
will be out July 16, 2004, ISBN# 0-534-62628-9)
Study Guide: The Examined Life Telecourse Study Guide, 8th Edition
by White. 2002. ISBN# 0-534-56190-X (9th Edition will be out August
30, 2004, ISBN# 0-534-626-16-5)
Twenty-six episodes
Episode 1: What is Philosophy?
What is Philosophy? combines two classic models -- Plato's
Parable of the Cave and the character of Socrates -- with contemporary
philosophers' commentary on the subject.
Episode 2: What is Human Nature?
What is Human Nature? contrasts traditional Greek and Judeo-Christian
views of human nature with post-Darwinian and existential views.
What is Human Nature? contrasts traditional Greek and Judeo-Christian
iews of human nature with post-Darwinian and existential views.
Episode 3: Is Mind Distinct From Body?
Is Mind Distinct From Body? examines how Descartes' dualistic
view has been subject to waves of attacks from materialism, including
present exponents of artificial intelligence and neuroscience.
The program features commentary by John Searle, Daniel Dennett,
Paul Churchland, and other philosophers.
Episode 4: Is There an Enduring Self?
Is There an Enduring Self? weaves the reflections of an expectant
mother with inquiries from philosophers, from Socrates to the
present, asking whether a person has an enduring self.
Episode 5: Are We Social Beings?
Are We Social Beings? looks at the relationship between personality
and sociocultural context, and contrasts atomistic and societal
views of the self, represented by Descartes and Hegel and using
the endangered culture of the Laplanders in Sweden. Contemporary
philosophers include Charles Taylor.
Episode 6: What is Real?
What is Real? explores the conflict between Thomas Hobbes' materialism
and George Berkeley's idealism, and the 20th Century conflict
between realists and antirealists. Philosophers include John Searle,
Hilary Putnam, and Richard Rorty.
Episode 7: How Do We Encounter the World?
How Do We Encounter the World? examines the views of Husserl,
Heidegger, and others in which reality is a phenomenon of consciousness.
Episode 8: Do We Have Free Will?
Do We Have Free Will? asks if our lives are determined, or if
we freely choose among alternatives. Ancient philosophers believed
us to be free moral beings, but how do we define our options in
a world governed by the laws of physics?
Episode 9: Is Time Real?
Is Time Real? questions whether time is something measured only
by clocks and calendars or something that exists as an entity
in its own right. The program explores theories of time presented
by Aristotle, Augustine and Kant, and contrasts Newton's theories
of time with Einstein's theory of relativity.
Episode 10: Does God Exist?
Does God Exist? delves into how philosophers have probed
the universe for evidence of God's existence. How did the world
begin? Is there a reason for its order and design? And, can we
reconcile the existence of God with the existence of evil?
Episode 11: Can We Know God Through Experience?
Can We Know God Through Experience? considers whether certain
mystical experiences are indications of the existence of a Divine
Being. What kind of evidence is necessary for religious belief?
Episode 12: Is Reason the Source of Knowledge?
Is Reason the Source of Knowledge? presents the rationalism of
Descartes and Leibnitz, the roots of rationalism in Plato and
geometry, and the continuing debate over whether the mind alone
can generate knowledge.
Episode 13: Does Knowledge Depend on Experience?
Does Knowledge Depend on Experience? focuses on the 17th and 18th
Century empiricism of John Locke, George Berkeley and David Hume,
and the 20th Century empiricism and naturalism of W.V.O. Quine,
who is interviewed.
Episode 14: Does the Mind Shape the World?
Does the Mind Shape the World? examines Immanuel Kant's position
that we interpret the world through a priori constructs of the
mind, as well as later philosophers' views of how these constructs
may vary among languages and cultures.
Episode 15: How Does Science Add to Knowledge?
How Does Science Add to Knowledge? highlights the classic, Baconian
inductivist view that grew out of the Scientific Revolution and
challenges to that view posed by Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn.
Includes consideration of Kuhn's views about the role that paradigm
theories play in scientific revolutions.
Episode 16: Does Science Give Us Truth?
Does Science Give Us Truth? looks at correspondence, coherence,
and pragmatist theories of truth, and discusses how conflicts
have carried over into realist vs. antirealist views of science,
including the Einstein-Bohr debate about quantum mechanics.
Episode 17: Are Interpretations True?
Are Interpretations True? asks how it is possible for us to interpret
and understand each other. Is there a true or correct way of interpreting
the meaning of what people say or write? Explores the views of
Schleiermacher, Gadamer and Wittgenstein on language and meaning.
Episode 18: Is Morality Relative?
Is Morality Relative? discusses whether all morality is culturally
determined, or whether some moral values are valid for all cultures.
Harman, Wong, and Rachels explore the claims of relativism. The
issue of child labor is explored from a relativist point of view.
Episode 19: Does the End Justify the Means?
Does the End Justify the Means? looks at utilitarianism against
the backdrop of a construction project with environmental import
and asks what is intrinsically valuable.
Episode 20: Can Rules Define Morality? -- Can Rules
Define Morality? addresses formalist theories of ethics, particularly
that of Immanuel Kant, and explores the implications of his views
in relation to ethical issues.
Episode 21: Is Ethics Based on Virtue?
Is Ethics Based on Virtue? explores Aristotle's and other ancient
views of virtue and the good life, as well as contemporary virtue
ethics with its focus on emotions, personal relationships, character,
and long-term values.
Episode 22: Moral Dilemmas...Can Ethics Help?
Moral Dilemmas...Can Ethics Help? considers the relevance of utilitarian,
Kantian, and virtue ethics to the situation of a family with a
severely impaired newborn.
Episode 23: What Justifies the State?
What Justifies the State? asks whether the state is merely
an artificial arrangement we construct to make life better, as
social contact theorists claim, or whether it’s a natural
organism through which people achieve their potential.
Episode 24: What is Justice?
What is Justice? explores questions about distributive justice,
both from a national and global perspective, and examines the
views of Aristotle, Marx, Rawls and Nozick.
Episode 25: What is Art?
What is Art? looks at several views on the nature of art, and
asks how these have been affected by changes in artistic styles
and techniques. Danto, Duchamp, Lyotard and others are interviewed
on the significance of contemporary conceptual art.
Episode 26: What is the Meaning of Life?
What is the Meaning of Life? evaluates how the meaning and purpose
of life have been viewed in light of religion, culture and history,
as well as from an individual existential perspective. Program
features the views of Hegel and Kirkegaard.
This page was last modified :
August 17, 2007
|
![[Click here to go to LMC's homepage]](/graphics/logo/lmclogo-326.gif){kind=logo}
