How should you respond to existential anxiety, peer pressure, or a crisis? Will a religious, scientific, or artistic life make you feel more at home in the universe? Should you choose a career that helps the most people, one that makes the most money, or one that’s the most fun? What’s so important about being your authentic self if it means being an outcast? Is it even possible to be authentic on social media?
In this course, students will design their own “life philosophy,” drawing inspiration in views of the good life put forward by history’s great philosophers and exploring how their theories are reflected in the world around us in pop culture. We also engage with cutting-edge developments in the philosophy of identity, thinking about what our race, gender, or sexuality tell us about who we are. By the end of the course, students will be able to articulate their own life philosophy and use it to help them confidently make life’s big decisions in high school, college, and beyond.
