How to understand experience, and whether understanding is possible are basic philosophical questions. Philosophers have arrived at many different interpretations of experience and many different answers to these questions. Philosophy questions basic principles, assumptions, and prejudices. Some philosophy courses emphasize discussion and personal search for answers. Pay careful attention to subtitles in the Schedule of Classes.
Subtitles indicate the particular treatment the instructor intends to give the course.
The course gives students a basis for making value judgments about various social and political issues by arousing their awareness and challenging their intellect and imagination in reading and thinking about these issues in contemporary society. Emphasis is placed on methods of philosophical analysis appropriate to making these value judgments. This course explains the basic theories of the Social Sciences, describes their development and evaluates their effects on society in the context of historical philosophical questions about the nature of human beings. This course demonstrates the technique of philosophical analysis by analyzing the use, meaning, and relevance of educational concepts in different education systems. It also examines various theories of education and their definitions of learning, teaching, education, and curriculum, considering what is taught and how it is evaluated.