Reason in a Dark Time

1 Credit · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

Headlines are dominated not simply with bad news, but potentially catastrophic news. It is not mere hyperbole to note that you will spend your adult lives confronting global challenges and tragedies whose scale goes well beyond that of former ages—from environmental degradation to inequality and poverty to mass migration to technological revolutions and labor disruptions. This creates a uniquely poignant existential burden. The key question this course will examine is: Given this context, how do we utilize our reason and other capacities to pursue both the good and the good life? How do we live well in a dark time? We will read a diverse array of philosophers attempting to answer just this question. Ultimately, this course hopes to inspire you to use reason as a means of promoting hope, and hope as a means of dynamically increasing our ability to live well in dark times.