Thinking to some purpose

I've taken the title from a book of the same name by the 20th century philosopher Susan Stebbing. In class I want us to try to find some answers to questions like these:

How can we improve the way we think in general?
How does human thought differ from the thinking of other animals? Is it totally different, or are there similarities?
How should we best understand the world and the universe around us?
What is the status of religious belief?
How should we behave towards each other, and the rest of the living world?

There will be no textbook for this course - I will post handouts from time to time on this website, so that you can download them and bring them to class.
Grades will be decided according to the essays you will be asked to write every two weeks or so. There will not be any examination.

Therefore clearly another question to take up in class is how to write better essays in English!

If you check the timetable, you will find links to the first downloads - be sure to bring them to the first class! Also you will find some details of the first homework essay.