An Introduction to Philosophy in Ten Dangerous Ideas

January 12/13

Start Date

10

weeks

75 mins

class length

30+ mins

Weekly Video

English

Language


Overview

The best philosophers are unafraid to follow a line of reasoning wherever it might lead. Sometimes their reasoning leads them to surprising places. This course offers an introduction to philosophy by way of ten arguments that challenge us with bold, and sometimes unsettling, conclusions. Our survey will cover philosophers from the Greek, Chinese, Buddhist, and Islamic traditions, as well as contemporary thinkers.

This course is designed to be accessible to people with no prior training in philosophy. Some of the texts are difficult, and university-level English reading skills are an asset, but video lectures are designed to make these texts accessible.


WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE COURSE?

We will meet on ten consecutive weekdays (plus a first organizational meeting). There are three class meeting times:

  • Wednesdays: 11am Pacific/2pm Eastern/7pm UK/8pm Europe
  • Wednesdays: 6pm Pacific/9pm Eastern
  • Thursdays: 11am Pacific/2pm Eastern/7pm UK/8pm Europe

Each class is 75 minutes long and will be supplemented by a 30–50 minute video lecture made available in advance.


What READINGS WILL BE REQUIRED FOR THE COURSE?

Readings will be made available in PDF format through the course website.

Week 0 January 12/13: Organizational meeting

Week 1 January 19/20: Plato: Doing wrong is worse than being wronged

Week 2 January 26/27: Zhuangzi: Relativizing rights and wrongs

Week 3 February 2/3: The Milindapañha: There is no self

Week 4 February 9/10: Ibn Tufayl: The discovery of God 

Week 5 February 16/17: David Hume: Causation isn’t real

Week 6 February 23/34: Friedrich Nietzsche: Master morality and slave morality

Week 7 March 2/3: Peter Singer: The drowning child

Week 8 March 9/10: Amia Srinivasan: The right to sex

Week 9 March 16/17: Myisha Cherry: The case for rage

Week 10 March 23/24: Nick Bostrom: Are we living in a simulation?

This course is now underway and enrollment is closed.

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