Professor: Michael Patton, 300B Comer Hall
Phone Numbers: Office: 665-6434 Home: 665-9569
Office Hours

Course description:  A study of the impact that the progress of science has on our lives and our futures through the development of various technologies, and the ethical questions raised by our ever-increasing ability to control the world.

The contemporary lifestyle has slowly turned us into fans of instant gratification and gourmets to an historically unprecedented extent.  To take just one example, we have the most exotic foodstuffs available to us at every moment, whether the item is locally produced or in season.  This course examines the consequences of this situation in terms of ethics, aesthetics and the environment.  It will be argued that alternative ways of eating could substantially improve our quality of life adn perhaps save the world in the process..

The successful student will engage the material in such a way as to deepen analytical and critical skills and will come to have a deeper understanding of how human beings attempt to understand the world.  Additionally, the student's rhetorical skills will be enhanced, and an understanding of the unique role of philosophy in intellectual life will be fostered.  The relationship of human beings to the natural world will be explored and the understanding of this relationship will be deepened.

 

The dates and assignments contained in this syllabus are presented as a guide only.  Actual dates and assignments may vary due to unforeseen occurrences.   

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