What can we prove? For example, can we prove that there is a God? Can we prove that scientific theories are true? Can we prove that claims about morality apply to everyone? Can we prove that humans are rational while animals are not? These are all serious questions and what they have in common is the use of reason and argument to try to answer them. Reasoning is an important part of life: we use it in school, work, politics, and in romance, family, and friendship. But we rarely think about what reason is or why some reasons and arguments are good while others are not. In this course we investigate reason and argument, and critically examine some classic philosophical examples to see what reason and argument can accomplish. Students who have taken PHIL 020 Brainstorm: Ideas and Arguments cannot take this course.
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