PPE3016 – Foundations of Philosophy
This introductory course considers the main concepts that have been engaging philosophers from the ancient times to the contemporary age. It adopts an unusual format: rather than dealing with individual philosophers or schools of thought, it will review a number of philosophical principles and see how different thinkers have dealt with such principles throughout the ages.
Philosophers have been asking questions about the nature of life and human existence for a very long time, questions that do not have definite answers and that are still with us today.
What is truth? How can we live good lives? What is virtue? Is there life after death? What are the limits of freedom in a civilized society? Indeed, what is a civilized society?
This course addresses some of these questions by means of maxims or aphorisms: for each maxim, we shall consider the context in which its author produced it as well as its meaning, then and now. Students are thus encouraged to focus on those philosophical ideas, rather than on their authors or schools of thought.
By the end of the course, students should:
- Be familiar with the most basic philosophical concepts;
- Understand major philosophical problems and debates;
- Learn to discuss and analyze major philosophical questions;
- Acquire a basic knowledge of philosophical terms;
- Understand how and why philosophy is seen as elevating human curiosity;
- Use philosophy to adopt an ethical approach to living.