PH 215 Knowledge, Truth, and Reality

This course is a philosophical examination of our knowledge of the world and the ultimate nature of reality. Topics may include the difference between knowledge and mere opinion; what may be reasonably doubted and what can be known with certainty; the meaning of "existence," "being," "truth," and "reality"; conceptual relativity vs. absolutism about the ultimate nature of reality; the nature of and relationship between basic features of our world, such as space, time, mind and matter, causation, actuality, possibility, and necessity; why there is something rather than nothing; the nature of persons; free will; and the possibility of life after death. Prerequisite: One prior course in philosophy. Liberal Arts Core Designation: Philosophy (PH), Depth in Faith and Reason (DF&R) (3)