Event Timeslots (2)
Wednesday
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What is knowledge and why is it important? Do our senses give knowledge of the world? Can we really know anything at all? What is the role of arguments, and what does it mean to beg the question in an argument? What is the difference between dreaming and perceiving? Do animals have minds and conscious experiences? And how could we know this? What about plants? Are colours real? What sort of things exist? Do things like holes and shadows really exist? If two things share all of their properties, are they the same thing?
This course will explore some central questions in metaphysics and epistemology through the writings of philosophers from a range of traditions and times, such as Plato, Margaret Cavendish, Abū Ḥayyān al-Tawḥīdī and Abū ʿAlī Miskawayh, George Berkeley, Gongsun Longzi, Cicero, Zhuangzi, Richard Robinson, Hedwig Conrad-Martius, Jonathan Birch, and Max Block.
What is distinctive about this course is that we will focus on philosophical dialogues (written texts in a dialogue form). These genuine or fictional philosophical debates amongst characters with different views and insights will give us an engaging way of approaching philosophical argument.
During the seminar, you will develop your reading and interpretative skills, gain an understanding of central questions in metaphysics and epistemology from a historical and global perspective, and improve your argumentation, cooperative discussion skills and critical thinking. The assignments will include written answers to comprehension questions on the readings, group work, and a presentation in which you will read and comment on a fragment of a dialogue.
Wednesday
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What is knowledge and why is it important? Do our senses give knowledge of the world? Can we really know anything at all? What is the role of arguments, and what does it mean to beg the question in an argument? What is the difference between dreaming and perceiving? Do animals have minds and conscious experiences? And how could we know this? What about plants? Are colours real? What sort of things exist? Do things like holes and shadows really exist? If two things share all of their properties, are they the same thing?
This course will explore some central questions in metaphysics and epistemology through the writings of philosophers from a range of traditions and times, such as Plato, Margaret Cavendish, Abū Ḥayyān al-Tawḥīdī and Abū ʿAlī Miskawayh, George Berkeley, Gongsun Longzi, Cicero, Zhuangzi, Richard Robinson, Hedwig Conrad-Martius, Jonathan Birch, and Max Block.
What is distinctive about this course is that we will focus on philosophical dialogues (written texts in a dialogue form). These genuine or fictional philosophical debates amongst characters with different views and insights will give us an engaging way of approaching philosophical argument.
During the seminar, you will develop your reading and interpretative skills, gain an understanding of central questions in metaphysics and epistemology from a historical and global perspective, and improve your argumentation, cooperative discussion skills and critical thinking. The assignments will include written answers to comprehension questions on the readings, group work, and a presentation in which you will read and comment on a fragment of a dialogue.