PHIL 180: Being Human: Philosophical Perspectives
PHIL 180: Being Human: Philosophical Perspectives
The Generic Catalog Description
An introduction to philosophical thinking through the question: What does it mean to be human? As a first course in philosophy, it is an introduction to what philosophy is and to works of major philosophers. As a treatment of the meaning of human nature, the course considers the human person as physical being, as knower, as responsible agent, as a person in relation to other persons, to society, to God, and to the end, or purpose, of human life.
PHIL 180: Being Human
Monu Uwodi
This course will focus more on the study of some powerful ideas as developed by great philosophers throughout human intellectual history. It is very important to understand the foundation on which our contemporary world is built. The more we understand our social, political, moral and intellectual heritages, the more we shall appreciate our role in the society. Some of these powerful philosophical ideas, though developed some hundred years ago, still hold some amount of relevance in our contemporary world. Class discussions are highly emphasized and are centered on some thought provoking questions anchored on real life issues. Discussion questions are taken from specific chapters and pages of textbooks previously mapped out in the syllabus for each class section. This will enable the students have enough time to read and get their own questions ready for the general class discussions. In this class I place great emphasis on student participation and so efforts are made to simplify some of the abstract philosophical ideas in a lay man’s language for the clear understanding of everyone. Students participate more when the topics in discussion are fully understood and are directly related to their daily life experiences. This class will help you to understand what defines our beings as a ‘Human’; what is the human person? who is the human person? seems to be intriguing questions that need some critical reflection to elucidate. In this class Philosophy is taken to be a tool to help us comprehend our existences and the basis of the principles that govern our society.
PHIL 180: Being Human
Daniel Vaillancourt
Short Description: This course examines the way philosophy looks for fundamental characteristics that identify life as a properly human life, asks about its ultimate meaning or purpose, and raises questions about what counts as a good life.
Outcome Statement: Students will be able to demonstrate understanding of the various approaches of the philosophical question of what it means to be human.
I believe in class-by-class graded assignments that give evidence of the work you do between classes (you should work daily on this course). I use everything: quizzes, essays, discussions, presentations, groups, debates, dramatizations, and so on. My medium of choice, however, is the written one. I use an electronic classroom and rely heavily on the web, email, and other technological marvels to conduct class.
Typical Readings:
Christopher Biffle, A Guided Tour of Rene Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy
Joan Frances Crowley and Dan Vaillancourt, Lenin to Gorbachev
Sigmund Freud, The Ego and the Id
Jean-Paul Sartre, Existentialism and Human Emotions
Zachary Seech, Writing Philosophy Papers
Viktor Frankl, Man's Search For Meaning
For more detailed information, go to my personal web site http://kathyanddan.org, click “Dan’s Courses,” and scroll down to Phil 180: Being Human. If you click the web link and “This Page Cannot Be Displayed” appears, you can do one of two things: click the Refresh button at the top of the page OR copy and paste the link into the web browser address bar and press Enter.