Life and Death (Summer 2009)
"Those who practice philosophy in the right way are in training for dying and they fear death least of all men." - Plato
Description
This course will focus on three topics related to life and death:
- Metaphysics: What is life and death? What does it mean to "have a life"? What sorts of things can have lives? Can animals have lives? Machines? Rocks? Is it possible to have an afterlife? If I destroy your body and then create an exact replica, am I keeping you alive or replacing you with someone else? Does it matter?
- Ethics: Do you have a right to life? What does that involve? Is abortion okay? Euthanasia? Suicide? Could you ever have a duty to kill someone?
- Existentialism: Does life have a purpose? Is it worth living? How should you feel about your own death? If you could live forever, or repeat this life an infinite number of times, would you want to? What is the good life?
In addition to philosophy articles, we may also look at short stories, plays, movies, TV shows, and so on. No background in philosophy is required.
General Information
- Time: MTWR 1:30-3:05, 5/18-6/25
- Place: TBA
- Instructor: Jeff Sebo
- Email: jeffsebo at gmail dot com
- Office: 5 Washington Place, #514
- Office hours: by appointment
Books
All readings will come from either (a) one of the required books, (b) a link on this webpage, or (c) blackboard.
There are two required books for this course:
- Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays (Vintage)
- Perry, A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality (Hackett)
You can buy these from the bookstore, but you may prefer to buy them from someplace like Amazon instead.
Grading
Your grades will be determined as follows:
- Papers (60%): There will be three paper assignments. Paper 1 (15%) will cover metaphysics, Paper 2 (20%) will cover ethics, and Paper 3 (25%) will cover existentialism.
- Quizzes (30%): Each lecture will begin with a short quiz covering that day's reading and the previous day's lecture. These quizzes are designed to be easy if you do the reading and come to class.
- Participation (10%): I want this to be a discussion-based class, so I encourage you to talk as much as you like.
- Extra Credit: In exchange for a 1/3 letter bump in your final grade, you can give a 15 minute presentation about a particular culture's or religion's views on life and death. You can choose any culture or religion that you like, but I think it would be great if you challenged yourself by picking one other than your own.
Schedule
Some Helpful Links