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Sessions: 1Class Date(s): 06-20-2024 to 06-20-2024Day(s) of the week: ThursdayTime: 09:30 AM-11:00 AM Central TimeInstructor: Steven Gimbel, Professor of Philosophy, Gettysburg CollegeTerm: OELocation: Zoom - Washington Metro OasisThe classical Greeks defined human beings as rational animals, but are we really? It turns out that our brains are actually wired in many circumstances to believe irrational ideas, to draw unsupported conclusions and believe them. We will examine a number of these cognitive biases and logical fallacies and consider ways to avoid... read more
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Sessions: 1Class Date(s): 07-18-2024 to 07-18-2024Day(s) of the week: ThursdayTime: 09:30 AM-11:00 AM Central TimeInstructor: Steven Gimbel, Professor of Philosophy, Gettysburg CollegeTerm: OELocation: Zoom - Washington Metro OasisMachines can think...or can they? We know computers can calculate, and we know that for us to calculate we must think, but surely it does not then follow that computers must have thoughts. But could they? What would it mean for a machine to think? How would we know if a machine was actually thinking or just making it look as if it... read more
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Sessions: 1Class Date(s): 08-06-2024 to 08-06-2024Day(s) of the week: TuesdayTime: 12:00 PM-01:30 PM Central TimeInstructor: Bonita Billman, Art History LecturerTerm: OELocation: Zoom - Washington Metro OasisDr. A.C. Barnes made his fortune marketing patent medicine in “Mainline” Philadelphia. In establishing the Barnes Foundation, he sought to use art as a tool to teach students how to think critically. To that end, from 1912 until his death in 1951, Barnes purchased hundreds of works of art – from Impressionists to African masks – which he arranged... read more
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Sessions: 1Class Date(s): 08-08-2024 to 08-08-2024Day(s) of the week: ThursdayTime: 09:30 AM-11:00 AM Central TimeInstructor: Steven Gimbel, Professor of Philosophy, Gettysburg CollegeTerm: OELocation: Zoom - Washington Metro OasisAre there thoughts we cannot think and if so, how can we think about them? What are the limits of thoughts? Are they indicative of aspects of the world or simply arbitrary boundaries of our neurological wiring? We can surely think of thinks that are false, but can we imagine that which is impossible? Could there be truths that we cannot know and if so, how... read more