You did it. You made it to Notre Dame. You've been waiting for this your whole life. And the first thing they do is plop you into a giant Philosophy lecture and start bombarding you with bizarre and unfamiliar issues. You didn't sign up for this! What does any of this have to do with learning to be an engineer, or a doctor, or an accountant?
Everything and nothing. That's the beauty of it.
As Ramsey said the other day, philosophy is about thinking very carefully about abstract issues. The "thinking very carefully" part is what is going to aid you in the long run, whatever career you end up taking. The "abstract issues" part is the fun little bonus. While it seems that the questions we'll cover have no bearing on everyday life, they're actually some of the most fundamental questions we can ever ask. And this might be the first time in your life that you have time to think about them. In fact, college might be the only time in your life that you get to think about them. So take advantage while you're here-- philosophy can be a lot of fun if you let it.
To that end, the course is organized around the questions and issues themselves, rather than around any particular thinkers' thoughts on the issues. While the classic thinkers-- your Platos, your Berkeleys, your Kants-- are certainly important, you can only appreciate their contributions if you are already somewhat familiar with the material. The goal of the Intro course is to introduce the questions, and to get you talking intelligently about the issues, without bogging you down with specific historical points of view. Memorization ain't fun. Thinking for yourself is.
And even more fun is arguing for your own point of view. That's what this place is for-- to extend the discussion outside of class. After all, if this is your one chance in life to get to think about these abstract issues, fifty minutes a week is not going to cut it. I'll probably be posting a little something after every lecture, and the comments section is yours. (Just stick to philosophy, unless my post isn't about philosophy. Expect a football post or two-- I just can't help myself). We're open 24 hours a day. The dresscode is casual. Have at it.
1 comment:
I was bothered by Anselm's definition of God. That seems to me to be the flaw with the argument. It sounds like it could be accepted generally, but for the purposes of convincing an atheist, I do not think that it holds up. It also goes back, in my thinking, to the idea of not being able to use something like religious scripture to prove that there is a God.
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