Philosophy

This course is an introduction to epistemology and metaphysics. Epistemology addresses questions about what we can know and about how we can know it. Metaphysics addresses questions about the nature of reality. The epistemological questions on which we will focus include the following. Can we know anything on the basis of our senses? Can we know anything independently of our senses? Is knowledge of the future possible? The metaphysical questions on which we will focus include the following. What is the nature of causation? Is it possible to conceive of the world in ways that are radically different from each other? And to what extent are metaphysical questions answerable in the first place? By addressing these issues, we will try to understand how minds relate to the external world and, more generally, how they fit into the broader scheme of things.