Introduction to Philosophy

This course is a broad introduction to philosophy. It covers key ideas of Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, John Locke, and contemporary philosophy. "Enrollment" includes twelve 45-75 minute video lectures, with suggested readings for each class available in PDF format on the course page (only visible after enrolling). There are also recommended additional readings for each topic, to follow up with on your own. Class Schedule: Week/Class 1: Love in Plato's Symposium ("soul mates" and "Platonic friendship") Week/ Class 2: Plato's Meno I: Definitions, Virtue, and the Paradox of Inquiry Week/Class 3: Plato's Meno II: The Theory of Recollection and the Anytus passage ( + relation to Plato's Apology) Week/Class 4: Plato's Meno III: Plato's Theory of Knowledge (+ relation to Gettier's famous 1963 paper) Week/Class 5: Aristotle's Physics 1 and 2: Natural Principles and Methods of Inquiry (+ Aristotle's Four Causes) Week/Class 6: Aristotle's Metaphysics, Book 1: What Metaphysics is, and Aristotle's History of Philosophy Week/Class 7: Descartes' Meditations 1 and 2: Solipsism and Dreams of Demons and Substance Dualism Week/Class 8: Edward Feser on Substance Dualism: A Modern Version of the Argument Week/Class 9: Locke on Personal Identity: Freaky Friday in 1694 Week/Class 10: Peter Singer's "Famine, Affluence, and Morality": Ethics, Economics, and Political Policies Week/Class 11: Nick Bostrom's "Are You Living in a Computer Simulation?" Week/Class 12: Philosophers' Paradise: Modal Realism, or "possible worlds"