It is often thought that analytic philosophy is mainly concerned with abstract issues, removed from “real life”, and even when it is (rarely) concerned with more practical questions, its treatment of them is arid and uninspiring. The purpose of this course is to examine this prevalent opinion by examining analytic treatments of several “existential” issues: death, the meaning of life, the rationality of emotions, determinism and free will and moral dilemmas.

The course is conducted in the format of individual tutorials, in preparation for each students are required to read a paper and submit an essay on it.

The grade will be based on the essays.