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PHIL 110-0 : Introduction to Philosophy

Description

This course serves as an introduction to some of the most fundamental philosophical problems as well as to some classical attempts at dealing with those problems. There will be four main modules:1) The nature of Philosophy, 2) Knowledge & Reality, 3) Free Will and Determinism, and 4) Moral Philosophy. In this course, we will focus on four central philosophical questions:

1) What is the nature of philosophy?
2) What do I know?
3) Do we have free will, or is the future already determined?
4) What makes actions right and wrong?

The answers to these fundamental questions matter for answering practical problems we face in our lives as individuals and as members of society: Is abortion permissible? Can we wrong somebody merely by what we say? What do we owe to people who live in poverty? What exactly are the dangers posed by AI? Is genetic engineering morally permissible? Should prison be abolished?