Course Instructor Contact: Dr. David N. Stamos
dstamos@yorku.ca
Office Location: S447 Ross Building
Phone number:  (416) 736-2100 Ext. 33134
Office Hours:  TBA

In this course we will critically examine arguments on various issues concerning the meaning of life, which is one of the key “What is x?” questions in philosophy. Hence, what is the meaning of life?

The content of the course will be divided into a number of sections: some answers from ancient philosophers, the meaning of the question itself, some theistic answers, and finally some non-theistic answers, including answers from philosophers and non-philosophers, the latter including mainly biologists and psychologists.

The goal of this course is not to reach any final conclusion on our topic, let alone to indoc­trinate, but rather to develop a critically responsible understanding of many of the answers to our question and an appreciation of the related issues and problems.

Students from all back­grounds are welcome but should keep in mind that this is a philosophy course, not a religion course, that academic philosophy is a discipline (with arguments and their evaluation at the core, not “I feel I feel I feel,”) and intel­lectual curiosity should be the key.

Technical Requirements for Taking the Course:

Students will need a computer with high-speed internet in order to write the final exam.

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.]

There is nothing to buy. Readings will consist mainly of pdfs provided by me on Moodle, along with some websites.

Essays (2)                    50% (25% + 25%)

Tutorial Attendance   10%

Final Exam                  40%

TBA

Comprehension of the lectures and reading material, development of critical reasoning skills, and improved essay writing.

Double-Speed:

   This is a double-speed course. What that means is that you are taking what is normally a one-semester course in half a semester. What that further means is that you will be doing twice the amount of work per week, but you finish in half the time.

Blendedness:

   This is a blended course. When you register for this course, you register into a particular tutorial. The tutorials are in-person. For example, if you register in Tutorial 1, your tutorial is every Tuesday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30. Attendance will be taken, once at the start and once at the finish of each tutorial. Here you can ask questions, comment on course material, and have interesting conversations with your class mates and tutorial leader. (Please do not attend a different tutorial or try to change tutorial after registering, as that can turn into a nightmare.)

The lectures, on the other hand, are delivered remotely. My teaching videos will be uploaded to Moodle at the start of each week. (A detailed and user-friendly Course Outline and Syllabus will be available on Moodle shortly before the course starts. I also provide skeleton notes to help guide you through the lectures and readings. You should add to these as you read the readings and watch the lectures. The course content is not simply the readings, but the readings and the teachings.

There will be no tests during the course. Instead, there will be two papers, requiring a paper-copy submission to your TA and a digital-copy submission to the dropbox in Moodle.

The final exam will not be in-person. Instead, it will be on Moodle during the S1 exam period, with everyone writing on the same day and at the same time (no matter where in the world they are). The day and time have not yet been determined by York administration (as far as I know).

Warning:

This course recurringly deals with the topic of death, and from more than one perspective. Students who have recently suffered a death in the family, or have a loved one in the hospital possibly on their deathbed, or are taking medi­cation for depression, or are simply having a problem with thinking about death (including especially the possibility of death as nothingness), should consider taking this course at another time.

Course Policies:

(1) The videos and the notes that I supply on Moodle are my property and are to

be used by students only for the purpose of this course. If they are discovered else-

where, the student responsible will be prosecuted as a matter of Academic Mis-

conduct.

(2) Essays will be submitted through Moodle using Turnitin. Students who wish to

opt out of Turnitin will need to contact me well in advance of submission.