History of Philosophy I · Philosophy
More about ancient philosophy, as well as skills for assessing older texts + philosophical arguments. Also more precise writing skills in a context with very specific terminology.
I learned a lot in this course, and I found that even if I felt lost or lacked understanding, by the time I completed the midterm exam, that I did have that knowledge.
Introductory philosophical concepts, tools, and thinking, and some familiarity with early philosophical thinkers
3 1-page papers and 1 3-page paper, which is consistent across all discussion sections. Fair amount of coursework that I never found daunting. Had weekly reading that were not excessively long at all, but really bolstered understanding of the material.
I got a solid introduction to ancient Greek philosophy and philosophers.
I learned how to participate in a discussion section as well as how to skim through readings to gather the appropriate information for class.
I loved having Natalie as my TA for this course. She truly maximized the 50 minutes we had each week and made sure we covered important topics that needed more clarification. She is a very fair grader and knows how to moderate class discussion well. She is big on group activities, which I thought helped my understanding of the material. On top of it all, I can tell that she truly cares about her students and will go out of her way to meet with some that cannot come during her office hours. 10/10 would recommend!
I learned about the perceptible/intelligible, the "what is x?" question, the myriad ways you can dissect an argument, and so so much more that was interesting but not useful for my profession! :)
In the Western tradition, there was a general survey of Ancient Greek philosophers spanning from Heraclitis/Parmenides, Socrates/Plato, Aristotle (Physics and Nichomachean Ethics), and the Stoics. In the Chinese tradition, there was a survey of Confucianism and Daoism/Zhuangzi with brief mentions of the Mohists. In the Indian tradition, there was a discussion of the Nyaya philosophers and Nagarjuna. Discussions of epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics were woven together.
different persepectives and development of what it means to know and opinion/belief. analysis of arguments, counter arguments on the nature of substance, void, and different causes