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Philosophy of Love in the Western World

This course is a seminar on the nature of love and sex, approached as topics both in philosophy and in literature. Readings from recent philosophy as well as classic myths of love that occur in works of literature and lend themselves to philosophical analysis.

The Nature of Creativity

This course is an introduction to problems about creativity as it pervades human experience and behavior. Questions about imagination and innovation are studied in relation to the history of philosophy as well as more recent work in philosophy, affective psychology, cognitive studies, and art theory. Readings and guidance are aligned with the student's focus of interest.

Logic & Proofs

Logic is a remarkable discipline. It is deeply tied to mathematics and philosophy, as correctness of argumentation is particularly crucial for these abstract disciplines. Logic systematizes and analyzes steps in reasoning: correct steps guarantee the truth of their conclusion given the truth of their premise(s); incorrect steps allow the formulation of counterexamples, i.e., of situations in which the premises are true, but the conclusion is false.Recognizing (and having conceptual tools for recognizing) the correctness or incorrectness of steps is crucial in order to critically evaluate arguments, not just in philosophy and mathematics, but also in ordinary life. This skill is honed by working in two virtual labs. In the ProofLab you learn to construct complex arguments in a strategically guided way, whereas in the TruthLab the emphasis is on finding counterexamples systematically.

Theory of Meaning

Language as social behavior. Language compared to other sign systems. The foundations of semantics, truth, meaning, reference. Issues of logical form in belief sentences, indirect discourse, sentences about causality, events, actions. Relations between thought and language.

The Nature of Mind

Introduction to the philosophy of mind. Topics to be considered may include the relation between mind and body; the structure of action; the nature of desires and beliefs; the role of the unconscious.

Death

There is one thing I can be sure of: I am going to die. But what am I to make of that fact? This course will examine a number of issues that arise once we begin to reflect on our mortality. The possibility that death may not actually be the end is considered. Are we, in some sense, immortal? Would immortality be desirable? Also a clearer notion of what it is to die is examined. What does it mean to say that a person has died? What kind of fact is that? And, finally, different attitudes to death are evaluated. Is death an evil? How? Why? Is suicide morally permissible? Is it rational? How should the knowledge that I am going to die affect the way I live my life?
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