An Introduction to Arts and Sciences
http://www.world-warpictures.com/war-artist-markgertler.htm
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Office number H439
Email daryl.culp@humber.ca
Phone 416-675-6622 x8938
Course website:
◦ learn.humber.ca
◦ Course outline
 Assignment breakdown, late penalty
◦ Course schedule
 Due dates
◦ Online readings
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What does it mean to be
human?
Psychological,
sociological, political,
scientific perspectives
How do we know?
Don Tapscott, “It’s not what you
know, it’s how you think”
http://myclass.peelschools.org/sec
/12/36479/Homework/Short%20W
orks%20Unit/Non%20Fiction/Don%2
0Tapscott%27s%20Speech.pdf
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“the unexamined life is not worth living”
Note-taking exercise: Listen to the story of
Socrates and write down the 3 most
important points.
Jacques-Louis David, “The Death of
Socrates”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socrates
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Plato was a student of Socrates who wrote
down his dialogues.
One of the most famous is the “Allegory of
the Cave.”
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/platoscave.
html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69F7GhAS
OdM
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Study strategies books suggest 5 steps for
reading in order to extract information from a
text.
1. Survey
2. Question
3. Read
4. Recite
5. Review
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Socrates’ question has been updated in a
recent movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8eFF8MsqU
How is the matrix like the shadows in Plato’s
cave?
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Should we doubt everything? (even what we see)!
http://plus.maths.org/content/visual-curiosities-and-mathematicalparadoxes
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From the study guide:
Socrates says “education” (cultural formation)
is like being in a cave since childhood. Why?
◦ Pink Floyd, "We Don't Need No Education"
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwTpZpwjtIE
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Plato’s solution was to say that there is a
reality beyond our senses.
For example: think of a circle
The most accurate description of a circle is
the idea expressed in the equation:
(x-a)2 + (y-b)2 = r2
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http://www.mathsisfun.com/algebra/circle-equations.html
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Aristotle had the opposite idea:
Aristotle: “All men by nature desire to know”
Metaphysics Book 1
http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/metaphysics
.1.i.html
What you see is what you get!