Dangerous Ideas in Science and Society

Catalog description

Do cancel culture and "wokeness" stifle free speech on campus? When should campus speakers be protested or disinvited? Should race be considered in college admissions? Should we use genetic engineering to create super-intelligent babies? Under what circumstances, if any, is abortion permissible? When, if ever, can a doctor kill a newborn baby or a dying patient? If we can in the future, should we end human aging, allowing people to live for thousands of years? Does civilian gun ownership make people safer, and if not, should it be allowed anyway? Is the case for defunding the police compelling? Should the United States open its borders to more immigrants? Has neuroscience shown that free will is an illusion? Could a digital computer become sentient? What is the probability that we are living in a computer simulation? Is it rational to believe in God in a world that contains so much suffering? These are some of the toughest, most pressing questions of current social, moral, and philosophical inquiry. Philosophers address them by producing intricate and often beautiful arguments. In this course, you will assess those arguments and produce your own. You will learn how to have challenging, productive, and respectful discussions across political and moral differences. You will learn to think like a philosopher - to strip an argument presented in prose to its essentials and plainly expose its structure. This course will improve the clarity and rigor of your own thinking and writing. It will put you in a position to make progress on hard questions like those mentioned above. And it will improve your ability to crisply convey your ideas - an ability that will serve you well not just in class, but also in daily life.