David Jopling

jopling@yorku.ca

This course explores attempts by a handful of major (and some minor) philosophers, both ancient and modern, to answer the following questions: What is the meaning of life? What is the meaning of my life? Is there any meaning in (my) life that will not be destroyed by (my) death? Is it better to never have been born, as some claim? What is death, and should I be afraid of it? Would it be better to be immortal than mortal? How should I deal with suffering, pain, and loss? Major approaches to be discussed include stoicism, cynicism, hedonism, skepticism, pessimism, anti-natalism, existentialism, absurdism, and theism. Readings from: Epictetus, Epicurus, Aristippus, Diogenes the Dog, Schopenhauer, Spinoza, Tolstoy, Nietzsche, Sartre, Camus, Taylor, Nagel, Williams. Links to other relevant materials such as interviews, podcasts, websites, and videos will be posted on the Moodle site.

Technical requirements for taking the course: You will need a computer (or tablet) and an internet connection. There is no video conferencing in this course. Office hours will be held once weekly via zoom, using audio only; or by email exchange.

Here are some useful links for student computing information, resources and help:

Student Guide to Moodle

Zoom@YorkU Best Practices 

Zoom@YorkU User Reference Guide

Computing for Students Website

Student Guide to eLearning at York University

To determine Internet connection and speed, there are online tests, such as Speedtest, that can be run.]

Times and locations: The entire course, including the submission of assignments, participation and/or discussion, will take place on the course’s Moodle site. Lectures will be pre-recorded and posted to the Moodle site at the start of each week. Although we are scheduled to meet at particular times and days of the week, this course has no live virtual meetings, except for office hours. Like an online course, you can learn the course material at your own pace, following the schedule of readings and activities. There will be no in-person interactions or activities on campus.

Virtual office hours: Virtual office hours by email exchanges Monday to Friday, or by zoom audio meeting (not video) one hour per week. Time and day TBA.

There is no course kit and no textbook. All texts used in the course are in the public domain and are found on the internet. URLs and links will be posted on the moodle website and in the syllabus.

Two essays, 40% and 45%, dates TBA.
Discussion and/or participation each week via Moodle discussion forum, 15%.

TBA

After completing this course, students will be able to:

1. understand and explain the main philosophical positions defended by Epictetus, Epicurus, Spinoza, Tolstoy, Schopenhauer, Sartre, Nagel, Camus, and others on the problem of the meaning of life;
2. critically analyze and evaluate the arguments developed by these philosophers in defense of their respective positions;
3. understand and explain the relevance of these philosophers to some ancient and contemporary debates in ethics and metaphysics.

Course policies

1. All audio recordings should be used for educational purposes only and as a means

for enhancing accessibility.

2. Students do not have permission to duplicate, copy and/or distribute the recordings outside of the class (these acts can violate not only copyright laws but also FIPPA.
3. All recordings will be destroyed after the end of the course.
4. Please hand in all assignments on time. Extensions are allowed in the event of illness, bereavement, disabilities, or special needs. Work that is submitted late and that falls outside these conditions will incur a late penalty of 2% per day. Students with disabilities automatically receive extensions.
5. Please refer to Senate Policy on Academic Honesty: http://www.yorku.ca/secretariat/legislation/senate/acadhone.htm.

6. Please refer to The Academic Integrity Tutorial at: http://www.yorku.ca/tutorial/academic_integrity/