AP/PHIL4075 3.0 M: Life, Death, Absurdity, and Meaning
Offered by: PHIL
Session
Winter 2025
Term
W
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 UIT Student Services or the Getting Help - UIT webpages.
Professor David Jopling
jopling@yorku.ca
Office Location: S435 Ross Building
Phone Number: (416) 736-2100 Ext. 77588
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 (aka "the Dog"), Sextus Empiricus, 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. There is no video conferencing or live online interaction in this course. Office hours will be held via zoom (audio only), by phone, or by email exchange.
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: This is an online asynchronous course. The entire course, including lectures, quizzes, and the submission of assignments, will take place on the course’s e-class site. Lectures will be pre-recorded and posted to the e-class site at the start of each 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 lectures. However, the four assignments must be completed on time and on the assigned days (two quizzes, one take home exam, and one final essay). There will be no in-person interactions or activities on campus. Discussion and Q&A will take place asynchronously on the e-class discussion board.
Virtual office hours: Virtual office hours by email exchanges Monday to Friday, or by zoom audio meeting, or by phone, two hours per week. Times and days 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 online 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, 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 automatically receive extensions.
- Please refer to Senate Policy on Academic Honesty: http://www.yorku.ca/secretariat/legislation/senate/acadhone.htm.
- 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