What is the nature of human life?  Does human life have an essential (or inessential) "nature"?  This course examines how authors from different historical perspectives and different intellectual traditions view the nature and purpose of human life and compares and contrasts their views through their treatment of major philosophical themes such as the relationship between mind/soul and body, and the way in which articulations of this relationship emerge in and from debates regarding materialism and idealism, determinism and freedom, the role of the will in individual and social action, etc.  The texts in this course are viewed as offering suggestions of different possible ways of being human in the world:  different ways of viewing our relationships to ourselves, others, and the world around us.  Students are encouraged to actively participate with texts both during class discussions and in their preparation of reading and writing assignments, by comparing them to our contemporary views of human life.  The ultimate goal of the course is to discover how philosophical thought is relevant to our daily lives and whether it can aid us in understanding how we are now human and how we might become more (as) human.  The course will also focus on developing the critical skills required to read and comprehend the philosophical content and significance of a variety of texts and write coherent and focused short essays.