From its beginning philosophy has been the aspiration to understand human existence. That aspiration conflicts with the dominant convictions of our time, including the belief that the various sciences are the only source of real knowledge, or the belief that all knowledge is relative to one’s history, economic background, linguistic inheritance, and so on and so forth.

These particular objections to the possibility of philosophy are only recent versions of the permanent opposition to philosophy, because every community always has answers to the questions that philosophy raises, such as: What is happiness? What is justice? and What is human excellence?

But ironically, these objections also stem from the modern philosophical project to make science and reason not just respected, but the main benefactor of social life. However, while the great success of modern natural science seems to provide us with a model of knowledge, it cannot in principle direct us in the use of our ever expanding powers or solved the basic problems that every human being faces concerning the significance of life.

To be introduced to philosophy means to enter the human activity of trying to make sense of the whole of life. In this course we will read and discuss key texts of ancient, modern and post-modern philosophers whose thought is of fundamental importance for our self-understanding. Philosophers whom we will consider include Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Alfarabi. Descartes, Kant, and Nietzsche.