2020-21 Academic Catalog

In this course we explore the interrelations between questions concerning God’s existence, the nature of the mind, and the human condition. We begin by evaluating arguments for and against God’s existence. This will give us a basis upon which to consider Descartes’ arguments in the Meditations. We then turn to contemporary objections to Descartes’ claim that the mind is an immaterial thing. If the mind is a material thing, what does that tell us about the human condition? Do humans have free wills and moral responsibilities? Are our lives meaningful? Is death a bad thing and if so, for whom?