Here is a list of the learning objectives for this course.

Students will ...

	become familiar enough with a few selected basic philosophical issues to be able to explain those issues clearly and carefully.
	develop a basic ability to work through a philosophical issue in a reasoned manner, rather than just throwing randomly generated opinions at it.
	be able to write an organized, reasoned position paper on the philosophical questions considered in the course.
	articulate an appreciation for the importance of philosophical issues in human life.
	become more logical and organized in their approach to open-ended questions.
	develop skill in taking a position on such questions that is supported by reasons that carry weight, rather than just expressing personal, ungrounded opinion.

This course carries credit in the General Education Program, Outer Core, Humanities category.  That means it serves to illustrate the approaches and issues arising in one of the central humanistic academic fields.  It is not an overview of humanities.  It is not even an overview of the field of philosophy.  Instead, it is a sampler, with useful intellectual goals, listed above.