ONLINE: What do all humans have in common? What is our nature? This course offers a broad survey of what philosophers from various traditions and eras have taught about the nature of humanity. Students will explore perspectives from Ancient Indian thought in both Hindu and Buddhist traditions, as well as Greek thinkers like Plato and Aristotle, Chinese sages and more modern philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, David Hume and Immanuel Kant. The course will also cover existentialists like Jean-Paul Sartre and Soren Kierkegaard. By engaging with these diverse philosophies, students will gain an understanding of the scope of ideas on human nature that have shaped history. Through conversations in class, participants will refine their understanding of these influential perspectives. We will address one philosopher per week. Anyone new to the study of philosophy is encouraged to join. | Facilitated discussion.
Max enrollment: 24.
Class sessions are recorded.
Richard Prust taught philosophy at St. Andrews University in North Carolina. Having retired in 2010, he has written two books and is working to complete another, "Personal Meaning: How We Give Individual and Relational Significance, Relative Importance, Emotional Force, and Moral Value to Our Actions." He holds a Duke Ph.D.