Why is philosophy important? Can we truly know anything in philosophy? What is truth? Is philosophy just asking questions that are impossible to answer? In this course, we’ll take a look at why fields such as science and mathematics seem to be able to progress more easily than the field of philosophy, and what steps we can take to turn the seemingly subjective nature of philosophy into something more concrete and objective.

Imagine there’s a runaway trolley, with malfunctioning brakes, about to crash into five people. The only way to save those five people is to pull a lever that will divert the trolley onto another set of tracks, where it will crash into one person instead. Should you pull the lever to save more people? Now imagine you’re a skilled surgeon in a hospital, and you have five patients who suffer from different malfunctioning organs. The hospital is out of organs, and the only way to save them is to forcibly transplant all five organs from one of your other, perfectly healthy patients, killing him. Should you perform the transplant to save more people? In this course, we’ll examine the Trolley Problem and several similar thought experiments to get a greater understanding on the question of morality.

Think you know everything? Then you might be omniscient (or maybe a little overconfident). What is omniscience? What is free will? Can omniscience and free will coexist? In this course, we’ll be discussing various definitions of omniscience and free will to find definitions that are compatible. We’ll also discuss philosophical paradoxes and puzzles such as Newcomb’s Paradox and Kavka’s Toxin Puzzle in order to help shape our understanding of omniscience and free will.

Long ago, Blaise Pascal posited a wager that supposedly proved that, whether or not God exists, it is infinitely advantageous to believe that God does exist. Yet, a similar wager supposedly proves that it is infinitely advantageous to believe that God does not exist. So which wager is correct? In this philosophy-based course, we’ll examine these wagers, and then explore the greater good and how it relates to the existence of God, heaven, and hell.

Suppose I have a heap of sand. If I take away a grain of sand, it’s still a heap. If I take away another grain of sand, it’s still a heap. So if I continue taking away grains of sand until there’s no more, do I still have a heap of sand? The Sorites Paradox, also known as the heap problem, continues to puzzle scientists and philosophers alike. 100 degrees is hot. 99 degrees is hot. 98 degrees is hot. At what temperature does it stop being hot, and why? Several thought experiments related to the heap problem will be discussed regarding topics such as shipbuilding, cyborgs, and unexpected executions.