In this course we will carefully think our way through some of the
most important perennial problems in philosophy.  Throughout we will
find ourselves wrestling with fundamental issues in logic,
metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics, the core areas of
philosophical inquiry. Pressing philosophical concerns in the
appropriate way will thus lead us to ask questions having the
following general forms.

- What should we believe? (And why?)

- What is the world really like?

- What can we actually know about the world anyway? (And how?)

- How should we live our lives?

Introduction to Philosophy aims to be a historically sensitive but
problem-centered approach to the subject.  The biggest questions are
familiar to nearly everyone: What is the meaning of life?  What
matters most?  Who (or what) am I?  What should I do?  Is there a
god?  Why do people suffer?  Is the world the way we experience it
or is everything an illusion?  How can I be certain?

Philosophy as practiced through the ages is largely a refinement of
the art of asking such questions and being critical of the answers
that might be given.  In this course, we'll discuss traditional and
contemporary debate about the existence and nature of god, about our
knowledge of the world, and about ourselves as rational and moral
beings.

It is often said that the goal of philosophical inquiry is truth
(or, if not truth, then at least some kind of clarity of thought).
In this course students will explore how to ask the right questions
and how to make the right criticisms in carrying out philosophical
investigations of their own.

If we are really lucky, we will manage to actually solve one or two
of the problems that have bothered philosophers for centuries.  What
is more likely is that we will develop a better understanding of
what those problems are by analyzing and critically evaluating
different views concerning them.  The goal of Introduction to
Philosophy is to give each student a chance to learn philosophy by
practicing philosophy.  Students should come away from the course
able to understand and appreciate central philosophical issues,
along with the basic skills needed to analyze and evaluate
philosophical arguments.