HUM 320: The Humanities & Philosophy: Nihilism

Course Description:

The humanities comprises the efforts through the ages to understand the “human condition” in its various shapes and guises. As a consequence, it presupposes that human experience is inherently meaningful. One of the great challenges posed to the humanistic tradition is therefore the problem of a loss or a crisis of meaning, meaninglessness or “nihilism”. By drawing on a number of sources that lie both within and outside of the discipline of philosophy, this course examines the causes and consequences of nihilism.

Seminars:

While there will be occasional lectures to provide context, the course will follow a seminar format. Students will be required to do short presentations as a way of provoking discussion of the readings. They will also be called upon to give a short “protocol” at the start of each class to summarize the main points of the previous class.

Required Texts: