PHL 155 Skepticism & Rationality
Course Details
- Online | Asynchronous
- December 21, 2026 – January 8, 2027
- 3 credits | $2,022
- Last day to register: December 22, 2026
- Restriction: PHL 100-149 are equivalents so students can only take one
- Core Curriculum Attribute: Language, Arts, and Humanities
Course Overview
In an age fraught with deception and misinformation, students need tactics and strategies in order to separate truth from falsity. This course encourages its participants to act as skeptics—not cynics, necessarily—by requiring evidence and proof before believing or accepting claims. Students are urged to identify the most-likely-to-occur opportunities for deception in their major fields and draw from the tenets of classical rhetoric, logic, and the scientific method in order to develop safeguards. Frequent collaboration with classmates will allow for dynamic solutions to small and large-scale contemporary problems ranging from the personal (e.g., used car prices and avoiding fraud) to the universal (e.g., “fake news” and God)
Additional Information
Faculty will contact all students after the Tuesday, December 22, registration deadline.
About the Instructor
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