Apply for Spring IntroSems by February 10th at 4PM!

Calling all Frosh, Sophomores, and First-year Transfers! It’s your final opportunity to apply for priority enrollment in IntroSems this year! For best system experience, don’t wait until the last minute to apply. Lags may be encountered if too many students access the IntroSems’ VCA all at once. Strong interest in Spring Seminars is expected. Apply early!

PHIL 11N: Skepticism

Application Deadline: February 10

General Education Requirements

Not currently certified for a requirement. Courses are typically considered for Ways certification a quarter in advance.

Course Description

The universe is exceedingly complex and learning about it requires great cleverness and effort. Through reasoning, we humans can arrive at impressive and deep knowledge of our universe. But reason can also lead us into paradox and skeptical puzzles. We will look at a variety of skeptical arguments—Cartesian, Humean, Pyrrhonian, among others—and consider what sorts of challenges they raise for our use of reasoning to learn about our world.

Meet the Instructor: Krista Lawlor

"When I was an undergraduate at a small state school (UNH), I liked mathematics, and I also studied a bit of philosophy on the side. I never thought about teaching as a career, until a friend of mine decided to head off to graduate school in English. Her example gave me the idea to explore a subject I really had enjoyed most of all—philosophy. One thing led to another, and I got my PhD in philosophy (from another, much larger, state school: University of Michigan). Stanford hired me, and I’ve been very happily teaching and exploring ever since."