PHIL-221

No one gets out of this life without at some point asking themselves, "Why bother? What's the point?" But when faced with this question as to the meaning of life our response is usually to duck and run. This question seems too big and the implication of its answer seems scary. This course is built around asking the questions we most want to avoid. What does it mean to say that life is meaningful, or meaningless? Does a meaningful life presuppose the existence of a divine being, or can human beings somehow create meaning? Does the certainty of death rob life of meaning, or provide it? Can life be meaningless and yet still worth living? We'll pursue these and other questions through a series of classical and contemporary texts, while encountering some of the central problems of philosophy including freedom of the will and the nature of the self. Note: course meetings will occur at the Washington State Penitentiary, and the class will be composed of incarcerated and non-incarcerated students. Students must follow all rules and guidelines of the Penitentiary. Consent of the instructor is required, and students must also submit to, and pass, a criminal background check conducted by the Penitentiary. All semester, the course will meet at a non-standard time. Interested students should contact the instructor as soon as possible. Distribution areas: Humanities, Textual Analysis.

Academic Credit, Academic Evaluate Course, Graded Standard, DIST-HUMANITIES, Textual Analysis