In a previous class, a scientist asked a great question: "Why study philosophy for its own sake, when we have so many other methods of finding answers?" This class aims to introduce you to (or re-acquaint you with) philosophy through that question, and a few others: - What is the usefulness of philosophy? - Are philosophers just unrealistic, impractical dreamers who have nothing to do all day but brood and think and write and make fun of each other? - Will philosophy just make me (more) depressed? - Why does philosophy kind of remind me of programming in some odd way?? - Why is Rousseau low-key beautiful and sassy and amazing???? (Bonus points if you spot what's "wrong"/odd about the title of the course.)

This class aims to introduce you to mindfulness and its importance in stress reduction and life appreciation! We will be discussing a bit about the history of mindfulness meditation and Buddhism, and will do some exercises that you can use whenever you're feeling overwhelmed.

(This is the 3-hour (with a break or two!), smaller, more discussion-heavy seminar section. If you're more into a casual, teacher-does-more-of-the-talking version, check out the lecture version.) When you're nervous, are you ever told to "just be yourself"? Is that perhaps the most unhelpful piece of advice we could ever receive? In this class, we will explore some of history's most discussed philosophical texts as well as some more-or-less-famous personal essays to approach questions like: - What does it mean to "be yourself"? - Is it possible to "be yourself" consciously? - Is hypocrisy inevitable? The main goal of this class is to provide a space for us to indulge in some of the many benefits of studying philosophy-- including building resilience against temptation to judge ourselves too harshly.

(This is the 2-hour lecture-y version. For a smaller, more discussion-heavy experience, check out the seminar version) When you're nervous, are you ever told to "just be yourself"? Is that perhaps the most unhelpful piece of advice we could ever receive? In this class, we will explore some of history's most discussed philosophical texts as well as some more-or-less-famous personal essays to approach questions like: - What does it mean to "be yourself"? - Is it possible to "be yourself" consciously? - Is hypocrisy inevitable? The main goal of this class is to provide a space for us to indulge in some of the many benefits of studying philosophy-- including building resilience against temptation to judge ourselves too harshly.