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PHIL 3410H Epistemology: Home

Robert Lurz

INTRODUCTION TO PROBLEMS OF PHILOSOPHY, COURSE OBJECTIVES


The aims of the course are to acquaint students with important philosophical works and theories in areas of knowledge, reality, and values; and to acquaint students with characteristic philosophical methods of analyzing concepst and critically evaluating arguments in support of theories. By the end of the semester, students are expected to be able to clearly express (in writing and speech) a few perennial philosophical issues (e.g., freedom of the will, the question of personal identity, the possibility and scope of knowledge, the objective status of moral values) and philosophical theories (e.g., determinism, compatibilism, skepticism, idealism, realism, relativism, and dualism). Students are expected to be familiar with a number of important philosophical figures (e.g., Descartes, Kant, and Mill), and be able to interpret and analyze key selections from the writings of these figures. Finally, students are expected to be able to identify, explain, and evaluate philosophical arguments.

Philosopher's Gallery

St. Thomas Acquinas

Image source:  Carlo Crivelli. (2018). Saint Thomas Aquinas [Tempera on poplar]. 1024 x 1534 pixels. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St-thomas-aquinas.jpg

Biography source: St. Thomas Aquinas. (2018, August 23). Retrieved October 31, 2018, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Thomas-Aquinas

Acquinas bio.

Rene Descartes

Image source:  Frans Hals. (1649). Portrait of René Descartes(1596-1650) [Oil on canvas]. Height: 77.5 cm (30.5 in); Width: 68.5 cm (26.9 in). Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frans_Hals_-_Portret_van_Ren%C3%A9_Descartes.jpg

Biography source: René Descartes. (2018, October 2). [Online encyclopaedia]. Retrieved October 31, 2018, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rene-Descartes

link to Descartes bio

Immanuel Kant

Image source: Becker. (1768). Immanuel Kant. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kant_foto.jpg

Biography source: Michael Rohlf. (2018). Immanuel Kant. In Edward N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2018). Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2018/entries/kant/

link to Kant Bio

Simone de Beauvoir

Image source:  Moshe Milner. (1967, March 14). Simone de Beauvoir in 1967. Retrieved October 31, 2018, from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Simone_de_Beauvoir2.png

Biography source: Biography.com Editors. (2018, February 27). Simone de Beauvoir Biography. Retrieved October 31, 2018, from https://www.biography.com/people/simone-de-beauvoir-9269063

link to de Beauvoir bio