Intro to World Philosophy
Introduction to World Philosophy This course will offer a comparative introduction to a number of world philosophical traditions, including those of Europe and America, India, China, and Africa. We will consider central debates within these traditions, including: How should we live? What is the ultimate nature of reality, and how can we come to know it? What is the nature of the self, and how does it relate to society? We will also investigate the broader question of whether truth and morality are relative to culture. Central readings will include works by Plato, Aristotle, Nietzsche, Lao Tzu, Confucius, and contemporary African philosophers, as well as Hindu and Buddhist texts.
Introduction to World Philosophy This course will offer a comparative introduction to a number of world philosophical traditions, including those of Europe and America, India, China, and Africa. We will consider central debates within these traditions, including: How should we live? What is the ultimate nature of reality, and how can we come to know it? What is the nature of the self, and how does it relate to society? We will also investigate the broader question of whether truth and morality are relative to culture. Central readings will include works by Plato, Aristotle, Nietzsche, La …Read more
Prof Spackman is enthusiastic, passionate, inclusive, and fair. We went through various areas of philosophy - not just a typical European focus which I appreciated. I took this class as a distribution requirement, but I am so glad I did. It's interesting, and the discussions are actually fun. There are 2 papers and a take home exam. This was my first philosophy class EVER and though I will not major/minor in it, it was still interesting and I found myself invested in the class. Even if you are trying to just get a distribution requirement out of the way, this is the one to do. There is a good portion of reading but it's fine as he goes over most content in class in lecture. He is a super sweet prof who wants to hear from his students.
Prof Spackman is enthusiastic, passionate, inclusive, and fair. We went through various areas of philosophy - not just a typical European focus which I appreciated. I took this class as a distribution requirement, but I am so glad I did. It's interesting, and the discussions are actually fun. There are 2 papers and a take home exam. …Read more
His enthusiasm and critical insight makes for really good food for thought and discussion. Although the readings themselves are often hard to understand due to abstract concepts and conventions that may not be obvious to an untrained eye, Spackman's often concise, albeit very heavy, clarifications in his lectures do make the class material relatively digestable. The papers require a high level of precision with your argument so be prepared to really get to know the material.
His enthusiasm and critical insight makes for really good food for thought and discussion. Although the readings themselves are often hard to understand due to abstract concepts and conventions that may not be obvious to an untrained eye, Spackman's often concise, albeit very heavy, clarifications in his lectures do make the class ma …Read more
Loved this class, it helped that I'm very interested in the topic. Professor Spackman deeply understands what he teaches and is good at relating that information to his students. He is also very good at stimulating class discussion and extending ideas in new directions for the class to think about.
Intro to world philosophy with Professor Spackman was great. Really interesting material, overall reasonable amount of reading and pretty easy grading. Final was very relaxed and essays were timed well to make midterms and finals weeks less stressful.
Spackman was an amazing teacher, everyone was extremely engaged with the material, and the lectures made it easy to understand. Spackman truly invites individual thoughts and different perspectives, everyone feels welcome to share in his class.
Spackman is super nice and gives clear explanations on complicated philosophical ideas. He uses slideshows each lecture and then posts them after class which is really helpful for understanding the ideas. Also I ended up not reading for class because the slideshows just summarized everything that was important (probably is better to read though...). Not too much work during the week, just need to grind for the midterm and final which consist of short essays and straightforward passage identifications (even w/ out reading I was fine). There's only one paper and it was in the 3rd week.
Spackman is super nice and gives clear explanations on complicated philosophical ideas. He uses slideshows each lecture and then posts them after class which is really helpful for understanding the ideas. Also I ended up not reading for class because the slideshows just summarized everything that was important (probably is better to …Read more
Great class overall for anyone wanted to learn more about philosophy. I have never learned philosophy but I've always wanted to. This class has a wide variety of topics which we can discuss about. I would say the deepness was a bit lacking because of the amount of different schools the professor is trying to cover. He is a very nice person in general and he is very logical (which will be shown in grading papers).
Great class overall for anyone wanted to learn more about philosophy. I have never learned philosophy but I've always wanted to. This class has a wide variety of topics which we can discuss about. I would say the deepness was a bit lacking because of the amount of different schools the professor is trying to cover. He is a very nice …Read more
I loved Spackman! So nice. The exams were take home. There was a lot of reading but all of it was not always necessary. He layed out the two sides for discussion pretty clearly and was open to any opinions.