Field
Definition
Historical Developments
Theories
Key Contributors
Principal Issues
Week 2
Epistemology
The study of knowledge: What constitutes knowledge, the nature of knowledge, and whether knowledge is possible?
Pre-Socratics observe and seek to define physical phenomena. Socrates studied human behavior and tried to determine the essential nature of knowledge. Aristotle sought to categorize his observations. The Scientific Revolution Newtonian influences Freudian influence
Skepticism
Realism
Conceptualism
Nominalism
Empiricism
Rationalism
Absolute Idealism
Existentialism
Phenomenology
Hermeneutics
Structuralism
Deconstruction
Critical Theory
Pragmatism
Behaviorism
Functionalism
Thales, Anaximander,
Anaximenes,
Leucippus,
Democritus,
Socrates,
Plato,
Aristotle,
Pyrrho,
Descartes,
Locke,
Berkeley,
Hume,
Kant,
What is knowledge?
What can be known?
Is knowledge possible?
How do we attain knowledge?
Can we trust our memory?
How does language affect what we know?
Week 3 Metaphysics
Metaphysics is the study of the nature of reality, including the relationship between mind and body, substance, and accident, events, and causation.
Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity is considered by many to be based in metaphysics but was adopted into physics because of its significance.
Cosmology, Ontology, Natural Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Mind, Perception
Aristotle, Plato, George Berkeley, Anne Conway, Olivia Sabuco de Nantes, Benedictus de Spinoza, Émilie du Châtelet, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes
What is the nature of reality?
What is the nature of the self?
How are the mind and body related to each other? Do we have personal freedom or are our choices limited?
What are the arguments for and against the existence of God?
Is there life after death?
Does life have meaning?
Week 4
Moral
The philosophical study of moral judgments—value judgments about