As your instructor, I will attempt to embroil you in philosophy. Unlike other academic areas, what philosophy is, is itself a question. We know therefore that philosophy concerns the rational. The best way to learn philosophy, is by actively doing philosophy, and in so doing, our thinking about these fundamental questions are inevitably addressed.
Philosophy can be a very personal endeavor.
To Socrates, the unexamined life is not worth living. The second purpose of this course is to engage you in what philosophers themselves have written about these fundamental questions. These are contained in the readings of the course. You will note that almost all readings are primary source readings. That is, they are written by the writers themselves.