PSYC 19
Living a Good Life: Insights from Philosophy and the Science of Human Nature Winter 2020

Cross-listed PHIL 19
This is not the current course catalog

Class Details

This course pairs central test from the classical and contemporary Western philosophical tradition with recent findings in cognitive science and related fields. In addition, life-long learners from the Berkshire Osher Life-Long Learning Institute will be paired with Williams students from all years and all readings from classical and contemporary western philosophy, and recent findings in the cognitive sciences will provide a context for intergenerational participants from the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and Williams College to explore promising answers to fundamental questions like the following: What makes life most worth living? What is happiness? What are the components of human flourishing and how can they be best secured for as many people as possible, now and in the future? What kinds of answers can we anticipate from philosophical reflection and empirical research? Required reading: Selections from Plato Crito, The Republic and Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics; articles from psychology journals: books available at the college bookstore: Thomas Hurka The Best Things in Life; Jonathan Haidt The Happiness Hypothesis; Martin Seligman Learned Optimism; Williams MacAskell Doing Good Better. Adjunct Instructor Bio: Virginia O’Leary recede her Ph.D. in Social Psychology at Wayne State University in 1969. Her early research was on women and work. Later she focused on resilience and thriving in the face of adversity and gender in cross-cultural context. Adjunct Instructor Bio: Tom Hodgson received his MA in philosophy from Yale University, after majoring in philosophy and in religion at Williams. He taught philosophy and coached various sports at Phillips Academy for 40 years, helped found the urban squash program in Lawrence, MA, and directed summer programs in Kunming, China. He currently coaches squash at Williams.
The Class: Format: lecture
Limit: 15
Grading: pass/fail only
Requirements/Evaluation: 10-page paper; short paper and final project or presentation
Prerequisites: none
Enrollment Preferences: lottery; 15 williams students 15 OLI students
Materials/Lab Fee: $50 and cost of books
Notes: This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
PSYC 19 PHIL 19

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