World Philosophies

Catalog description

For more than 2,500 years, humans from across the globe have attempted to make sense of the universe and their place in it. They have asked questions about the nature of reality, of knowledge, of the self, and of justice, among other things, and they have offered a range of answers. In this course students will explore the wide variety of philosophies offered across time and place by investigating the views of a handful of representative thinkers and texts from some key historical eras. They will be exposed to ideas from Chinese philosophy, Indian philosophy, Islamic philosophy, African philosophy, Indigenous philosophy, and Anglo-European philosophy. The goal of the course is to provide students a broad understanding of philosophy generally and a better understanding of the philosophical assumptions that inform people’s thinking around the world--both in the past and today.