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The Big Questions

Ask yourself what it all really means with our Great Courses on philosophy and what it really means to be human.

These courses include:

The Big Questions of Philosophy

We have all pondered seemingly unanswerably but significant questions about our existence–the biggest of all being, “Why are we here?” Philosophy has developed over millennia to help us grapple with these essential intangibles. There is no better way to study the big questions in philosophy than to compare how the world’s greatest minds have analyzed these questions, defined the terms, and then reasoned out potential solutions. Once you’ve compared the arguments, the final step is always deciding for yourself whether you find an explanation convincing.

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The Meaning of Life

What is the meaning of life? How do we find that meaning? To whom should we listen as we shape the path we will walk through the world? This course is an invigorating way to begin or continue your pursuit of these and other questions. Embark on an intellectually gripping course that is every bit the equal of the monumental subject it sets out to explore.

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Mind-Body Philosophy

How is it that our very physical brain creates the very subjective experience we call reality? That is the mind-body problem. In Mind-Body Philosophy, award-winning Professor Patrick Grim of SUNY Stony Brook leads an exhilarating tour through millennia of philosophy and science addressing one of life’s greatest conundrums: What is consciousness and how does it arise?

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Being Human

Why do we have bad moods? Why do we long for the foods, fashions, and music of our youths? Why do we have vivid dreams? Understanding our humanity is one of the deepest mysteries in science. But fields including biology, neuroscience, anthropology, psychology, and sociology are starting to reveal more about the mechanisms of human behavior–and just how intriguing the human species truly is.

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Sci-Phi: Science Fiction as Philosophy

Join Professor of Philosophy David Kyle Johnson, of King’s College, on a 24-lecture exploration of the final frontiers of philosophy across several decades of science fiction in film and television. See how science fiction allows us to consider immense, vital - and sometimes controversial - ideas with a rare combination of engagement and critical distance.

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