Freshman Seminar: Skepticism Ancient and Modern
3.0
creditsAverage Course Rating
Can we gain knowledge of reality, or is everything a matter of opinion? Does it matter? Why do we want (or need) knowledge anyway? Questions like this have been the stock in trade of philosophical skeptics throughout the entire history of our Western philosophical tradition. This class will involve close readings of some classic works on the topic of skepticism with a view to understanding some of the main arguments for (and against) skepticism: how they work and how they may have changed over time. Readings include selections from Sextus Empiricus, Descartes, Hume and Wittgenstein.
Fall 2014
Professor: Michael Williams
253Students praised this course for having a passionate and knowledgeable instructor as well as a manageable workload. Students largely believed that for a seminar-style class, the course wasn’t that engaging but instead felt more like dry or boring lectures. Suggestions for improvement largely centered on a desire by multiple students that the lectures be more engaging and incorporate more in-class discussions. Prospective students should know that students found the course covered a good deal of history. Also, to succeed, students needed to be engaged and to keep up with the required reading.