About the lecturer:
Cecilia was first interested in the study of philosophy as a high school student when she realized she wanted to learn about all subjects but needed to start from the beginning, philosophy. She received her first degree in philosophy from the University of Buenos Aires. She then traveled to the United States to pursue a doctoral degree in philosophy at Princeton University. There she found out that she was especially interested in philosophy of mind and cognitive science, particularly on how reasoning relates to judgment and decision making. She is a member of Princeton’s Neuroscience Institute and she has studied artificial intelligence at K.U. Leuven, Belgium. During her stay at Princeton she taught logic, moral philosophy, statistical learning theory and epistemology, and philosophy of art.
About the class:
The Examen Philosophicum provides the students with an introduction to the way of thinking and reflecting that characterizes academic and scientific activity at the university level. This makes Examen Philosophicum a very useful course to introduce students to the study of any discipline, whether scientific or humanistic. It is also a great first course for those who have no experience with reading and analyzing original philosophical texts and critically thinking about them.
In the Examen philosophicum students will address the foundational questions of philosophy relating to reality, knowledge, and morality that have characterized Western thought. This will be accomplished through the study of the history of philosophy and science and of ethical theories and their applications to everyday problems. Students will be provided with an introduction to central philosophical problems from ancient Greece until the present. There will be an emphasis on demonstrating how philosophical thinking consists of a systematic reflection on fundamental questions that do not necessarily have any clear answers or solutions, and how philosophy therefore has the character of a continuous debate in which it is the questions, and the process of reasoning, that makes the debate philosophical.
Classes will be mainly be conducted as lectures but they will also include discussion sessions and diverse activities. During the semester we will do excursions that contribute to the study of the subject and the general knowledge of the student. These excursions usually involve the visit to a museum or cultural venue or a cinema/theater outing.
Student work requirements:
The requirements for the course are that students read a selection of original texts and commentaries about the history of philosophy and ethical problems. The active participation of students during lectures is expected and welcomed. The evaluation consists of a midterm and a final exam, both in the written form.