AP/PHIL4075 3.0 M: Life, Death, Absurdity, and Meaning
Offered by: PHIL
Session
Summer 2023
Term
S2
Format
ONLN (Fully Online)
Instructor
Calendar Description / Prerequisite / Co-Requisite
This course focuses on one of the fundamental questions in philosophy: What is the meaning of life?. The theories and supporting arguments of major philosophers in the past and present who have addressed this question are analyzed and critically evaluated. Prerequisite: At least nine credits in philosophy.
Course Start Up
Course Websites hosted on York's "eClass" are accessible to students during the first week of the term. It takes two business days from the time of your enrolment to access your course website. Course materials begin to be released on the course website during the first week. To log in to your eClass course visit the York U eClass Portal and login with your Student Passport York Account. If you are creating and participating in Zoom meetings you may also go directly to the York U Zoom Portal.
For further course Start Up details, review the Getting Started webpage.
For IT support, students may contact University Information Technology Client Services via askit@yorku.ca or (416) 736-5800. Please also visit Students Getting Started UIT or the Getting Help - UIT webpages.
Professor David Jopling
jopling@yorku.ca
Office Location: S435 Ross Building
Phone Number: (416) 736-2100 Ext. 77588
Virtual office hours: Virtual office hours by email exchanges Monday to Friday, or by zoom audio meeting (not video) one hour per week; or by phone. Time and day TBA.
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 the ancient practical philosophies of stoicism, cynicism, hedonism, and skepticism; then, more recent Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment approaches such as pessimism, anti-natalism, existentialism, absurdism, and theism. Readings from: Epictetus, Epicurus, Aristippus, Diogenes (aka "the Dog"), Sextus Empirics, Schopenhauer, Spinoza, Tolstoy, Nietzsche, Darwin, Sartre, Camus, Taylor, Nagel, Williams. Links to other relevant materials such as interviews, podcasts, websites, and videos will be posted on the e-class site.
Technical requirements for taking the course: You will need a computer (or tablet) and an internet connection to access the e-class site.
Here are some useful links for student computing information, resources and help:
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 course is online and asynchronous. You can complete the readings and listen to the lectures at your own pace, on your own time, and post comments on the e-class discussion forum for each of the topics at any time. Lectures that cover the readings will be posted to the e-class website each week. Midway through the course, and then at the end of the course, there will be an online quiz. The dates and times of the quizzes and written assignments are fixed.
The entire course, including the submission of assignments and posts to the discussion forum, will take place on the course’s e-class site. There are no live online meetings or group discussions or classes, and 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; or by phone. 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 e-class site and in the syllabus.
Two quizzes (15% each); two essays, 30% and 40%, dates TBA
TBA
After completing this course, students will be able to:
- understand and explain the main philosophical positions defended by Epictetus, Epicurus, Diogenes, Sextus Empiricus, Spinoza, Tolstoy, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Darwin, Sartre, Nagel, Camus, and others on the problem of the meaning of life;
- critically analyze and evaluate the arguments developed by these philosophers in defense of their respective positions;
- understand and explain the relevance of these philosophers to some ancient and contemporary debates in ethics and metaphysics.
Course policies
- All audio recordings should be used for educational purposes only and as a means
for enhancing accessibility.
- 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.)
- All recordings will be destroyed after the end of the course.
- 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 will automatically receive extensions.
- 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/
- Academic Honesty
- Student Rights and Responsibilities
- Religious Observance
- Grading Scheme and Feedback
- 20% Rule
No examinations or tests collectively worth more than 20% of the final grade in a course will be given during the final 14 calendar days of classes in a term. The exceptions to the rule are classes which regularly meet Friday evenings or on Saturday and/or Sunday at any time, and courses offered in the compressed summer terms. - Academic Accommodation for Students with Disabilities