SYLLABUS
Introduction to Philosophy
Phil A201, Web course
Spring 2009
William Jamison Instructor
THEME: Introduces works of influential thinkers, both ancient and modern, in the Western philosophical tradition. Emphasizes central problems of knowledge, reality, and good and evil.
Special Note: This page links to other pages on my web site that are an important part of the syllabus. Students should select those links to become familiar with the other elements of the syllabus. On following a link a page will state that it is part of the syllabus if it is. Other links are supplied as resources for students that are interested in taking advantage of them, but if they are not specifically noted as part of the syllabus it is up to the student to pursue them or not. The purpose of this is to simplify the main page of the syllabus while supplying supplementary information as necessary or to enrich the experience of taking the course.
Student Outcomes
Students completing this course should be able to identify, comprehend, analyze, and evaluate complex philosophical arguments in oral and written discourse. They should also be able to understand, analayze, interpret, and apply major works in the areas of the History of Philosophy, Ethics, and contemporary topics.
TEXTS:
Philosophy:
A Text with Readings by
Manuel Velasquez
 |
EXAMINED LIFE by Robert Nozick (Paperback ) |
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Course grades are based on:
50%
of the grade will be based on short papers, equally weighted, showing an
understanding of the materials covered in the assigned readings,
25%
of the grade will be based on a term
project, also check my page on
plagiarism.
25%
of the grade will be based on dialogue via Blackboard.
See
this link for the grade key.
CLASS: By Web using Blackboard and e-mail. This course makes use of a dialogue between students. A weekly question is posted for dialogue (here) to which everyone can respond on Blackboard. All requirements for this course can be met through use of the Internet and use of texts. Please disregard general requirements for ATS courses that imply on site exams are part of this course. There are no on site exams required. There are no videos for this course.
OFFICE: Hours: Check news. Room Admin 261, Phone: 786-4458. My home phone is 694-1023. My e-mail address for this course is: wsjamison@uaa.alaska.edu and my web page is http://wsjamison.uaa.alaska.edu (in case you are reading a printed copy of this page) which has links to other sources not included in the text. Please include your name in the text on e-mail since I may not be able to match student name to e-mail address. (Sorry for this, but we all experience "Duh" every so often!) Also include "Philosophy" in the subject line of the email message so I know it is not spam!
The Philosophy Department Secretary’s phone is 786-4455. The best way to get a message to me is via e-mail. Please feel free to call my home phone or office phone which is 786-4458. All papers should be turned in using e-mail. This syllabus on my web site has links to other sources for many of the texts for the philosophers we will discuss. As indicated in the special note above, some of the links are supplements to the syllabus and must be read to understand specific instructions for parts of the course. Other links are to notes that may help understanding materials presented in the texts. Still other links are to web sites that might be of interest but certainly are not required reading, as should become obvious. Since in many cases these are links to full texts I have not book marked the specific pages that may come up in discussion since I have no way to do this. Some of the links include wonderful web pages on the various philosophers. It is not possible to read all the links on this page! I make these available for those who may have not used the Internet to do philosophical research before.
This is a "Webcourse," a college-level course that makes use entirely of the Internet and text books as an integral part of the course material. In taking this course, you will have the opportunity:
-- to read, in your copy of Philosophy: A Text with Readings, Manuel Velasquez comprehensive introduction to Philosophy along with substantial selections from primary sources, written by philosophers through all our history, from ancient Greece and Palestine to the present time with a focus on Robert Nozick;
-- to join the debate yourself through the papers you write each week on those concepts;
-- to reflect on the whole conversation including the views of all participants from Plato to yourself;
-- to understand the place that Philosophy has in our lives.
Components for the Course:
This syllabus will take you week by week through the concepts that provide the basis for this course;
Philosophy: A Text with Readings, which contains a broad selection of the most important works in the history of philosophy to provide the background you will need to understand how we have come to the views about life that we do and to read Robert Nozick's book EXAMINED LIFE.
To complete this course successfully, you are obligated to complete the following assignments:
1. Read all the materials assigned for the course as this syllabus directs. The link leads to the list of readings.
2. Email a short paper each week on each of the two lessons to wsjamison@uaa.alaska.edu. Take the link to read more detailed directions.
4. Prepare a term project (follow this link for the minimum requirements) on one of the following:
a. Explore the implications of one philosopher's views that you find most interesting. For example, how does that view explain what a person is, what our place is in the universe and how we should maintain that place. Nozick can certainly be your choice for this if you like but you can request to do your paper on another philosopher if you wish.
b. Explore the competing claims of several philosophical positions. For example, discuss how the principles of faith clash, if they do, with science.
c. Follow the due dates in this syllabus below.
In the term project, as in the short papers, use of your own experience is very helpful.
5. Dialogue on Blackboard with other members of the class.
Your grade will be determined by your performance as follows: One-half of the grade will be determined by the short papers, one-quarter by the term project and one-quarter by dialogue participation. See grade key.
Schedule of Readings. (Take this link to the list of readings or follow the link for each set, or go to the bottom of this page)
Set 1: (300 word essay on this set due by January 28)
101) What Is Philosophy?
Combines two classic models—Plato’s
Parable of the
Cave and the character of
Socrates—with
contemporary philosophers comment on the subject. If you are interested in my
notes for the class room lectures I give they start here:
http://wsjamison.uaa.alaska.edu/philnotes/philnts1.htm but these are not required reading
for this course.
102) What Is Human Nature?
Contrasts traditional Greek and
Judeo-Christian
views of human nature with post-Darwinian
and existential views.
Respond to dialogue questions posted on Blackboard. Also e-mail me (wsjamison@uaa.alaska.edu) so that I have your address and can include you in things I send to the whole class via e-mail. This is very important!
Set 2: (300 word essay on this set due by February 4)
103) Is Mind Distinct From
Body?
Examines how
Descartes’ dualistic view has been subject to waves of attacks from
materialism, including present exponents of artificial intelligence and
neuroscience. The program features commentary by
John Searle,
Daniel Dennett,
Paul Churchland, and
various other philosophers.
104) Is There An Enduring
Self?
Weaves the reflections of an expectant mother with inquiries from
philosophers ranging from
Socrates to the present about whether or not a person has an enduring self.
Respond to the dialogue question posted on Blackboard.
Set 3: (300 word essay on this set due by February 11)
105) What Forms Our Identity?
Are we social beings?
Looks at the relation between personality and socio-cultural context. Contrasts
an atomistic and a situational view of the self, represented by Descartes and Hegel
using the endangered culture of the Laplanders in Sweden. Contemporary
philosophers include Charles Taylor.
106) What Is Real?
Explores the conflict between Thomas
Hobbes’s materialism and George
Berkeley’s idealism and the 20th century conflict between
realists and anti-realists. Philosophers include John
Searle, Hilary Putnam,
and Richard Rorty.
Respond to the dialogue question posted on Blackboard. You should also be selecting your term paper topic. Email me with your topic to get approval for it and ask for suggestions I might have.
Set 4: (300 word essay on this set due by February 18)
107) How Do We Encounter the
World?
Examines the views of Husserl,
Heidegger,
and others in which reality is a phenomenon of consciousness.
108) Do We Have Free Will?
Asks if our lives determined, or if we freely choose among alternatives? Ancient
philosophers believed us to be free moral beings, but how do we define our
options in a world governed by the laws of physics?
Respond to the dialogue question posted on Blackboard. You should begin collecting the resources for your term paper.
Set 5: (300 word essay on this set due by February 25)
109) Is Time Real?
Questions whether time is something measured only by clocks and calendars or
exists as a separate entity in its own right. The program explores theories of
time presented by Aristotle,
Augustine and Kant,
and contrasts Newton’s
theories of time with Einstein’s
theory of relativity.
110) Does God Exist?
Delves into how philosophers have examined the universe for evidence for God’s
existence. How did the world begin? Is there a reason for its order and design?
And, can we reconcile the existence of God with the existence of evil?
Respond to the dialogue question posted on Blackboard. You should begin reading the resources for your term paper.
Set 6: (300 word essay on this set due by March 4)
111) Can We Know God Through
Experience?
Considers whether certain mystical experiences are indications of the existence
of a Divine Being, and what kind of evidence is necessary for religious belief.
112) Is Reason The Source Of
Knowledge?
Presents the rationalism of Descartes and Leibniz,
the roots of rationalism in Plato and geometry, and the continuing debate over
whether the mind alone can generate knowledge.
Respond to the dialogue question posted on Blackboard. You should begin actually writing your term paper.
Set 7: (300 word essay on this set due by March 11)
113) Does All Knowledge Come
From Experience?
Focuses on the 17th and 18th century empiricism of John
Locke, George
Berkeley and David
Hume, and the 20th century empiricism and naturalism of W.V.O. Quine,
who is interviewed.
114) Does The Mind Shape The
World?
Examines Immanuel
Kant’s position that we interpret the world through a priori constructs of
the mind, as well as later philosophers’ views of how these constructs may
vary among languages and cultures.
Respond to the dialogue question posted on Blackboard. Send your first draft of your term paper to me for comments.
Set 8: (300 word essay on this set due by March 18)
115) How Does Science Add to
Knowledge?
Highlights the classic, Baconian
inductivist view that grew out of the Scientific Revolution and the challenges
posed by Karl Popper and Thomas
Kuhn. Includes consideration of Kuhn’s views about the role that paradigm
theories play in scientific revolutions.
116) Does Science Give Us
Truth?
Looks at correspondence, coherence, and pragmatist theories of truth, and how
conflicts have carried over into realist vs. antirealist views of science,
including the Einstein-Bohr debate about quantum mechanics.
Spring Break March 21-26
Respond to the dialogue question posted on Blackboard. You should receive my comments on the first draft of your term paper.
Set 9: (300 word essay on this set due by April 1)
117) Are Interpretations True?
Inquires how it is possible for us to interpret and understand each other? Is
there a true or correct way of interpreting the meaning of what people say or
write? Explores the views of Schleiermacher,
Gadamer and Wittgenstein
on language and meaning.
118) Is Morality Relative?
Discusses whether all morality is culturally determined, or whether there are
some moral values that are valid for all cultures. Interviews with Harman, Wong,
and Rachels explore the claims of relativism. The implications of relativism for
the issue of child labor are explored.
Respond to the dialogue question posted on Blackboard. Begin revising your term paper.
Set 10: (300 word essay on this set due by April 8)
119) Does the End Justify the
Means?
Looks at utilitarianism against the backdrop of a construction project with
environmental import and discusses the problem of what is intrinsically
valuable.
120) Can Rules Define Morality?
Addresses formalist theories of ethics, particularly that of Immanuel Kant, and
explores some of the implications of his views for particular issues in ethics.
Respond to the dialogue question posted on Blackboard. Use the holiday break to finish up your term paper.
Set 11: (300 word essay on this set due by April 15)
121) Is Ethics Based On Virtue?
Explores Aristotle’s and other ancient views of virtue and the good life and
contemporary virtue ethics with its focus on emotions, personal relationships,
character, and long-term values.
122) Moral Dilemmas... Can
Ethics Help?
Considers the relevance of utilitarian, Kantian, and virtue ethics to the
situation of a family with a severely impaired newborn.
Respond to the last dialogue question posted on Blackboard.
Set 12: (300 word essay on this set due by April 22)
123) What Justifies The State?
Asks whether the state is merely an artificial arrangement we construct to make
life better, as social contract theorists claim, or whether it’s a natural
organism through which people achieve their potential.
124) What Is Justice?
Explores questions about distributive justice, both from a national and global
perspective, examines the views of Aristotle, Marx,
Rawls and
Nozick.
Set 13: (300 word essay on this set due by April 29)
125) What Is Art?
Looks at several views on the nature of art, and how these have been affected by
changes in artistic styles and techniques. Danto, Duchamp, Lyotard
and others are interviewed on the significance of contemporary conceptual art.
126) What Is The Meaning Of
Life?
Evaluates how the meaning and purpose of life have been viewed in light of
religion, culture or history, as well as from an individual existential
perspective. Program features the views of Hegel and Kierkegaard.
Final Week for Introduction to Philosophy.
Send in your term project. (Due by April 25.)
Suggestions:
a. Keep copies of all your work in case some email gets lost in cyberspace. Keep a copy of your work on your own disk or machine in case the e-mail system doesn't work right.
b. Email is the best way to ask questions but you can also call me. You can call me at the office (786-4458) or my home phone. My home phone number is 694-1023. During my office hours I will be in the Philosophy Department at Admin 261. The most convenient method to reach me is e-mail.
This syllabus may be adjusted at any time to meet the class or instructor’s requirements upon one week’s notice to students.
Readings in Velasquez and Nozick (Page numbers will not match all editions of the Velasquez text)
These are based on edition 10.
Lesson 1. What is Philosophy?
1.1
1.3
1.6
1.8 none in ed. 10
Nozick chapters 1 (Introduction) and 26 (Philosophy's Life)
Lesson 2. What is Human Nature?
2.2
2.7
2.8
7.10
Nozick chapter 3 (Parents and Children)
Lesson 3. Is Mind Distinct from Body?
2.3
2.8 Refer again to Readings from Lesson 2
Nozick chapter 6 (The Holiness of Everyday Life)
Lesson 4. Is there an Enduring Self?
2.4
5.7 (Hume)
Nozick chapter 2 (Dying)
Lesson 5. Are We Social Beings?
2.5
Nozick chapter 8 (Love's Bond)
Lesson 6. What is Real?
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.10 (especially question 9)
Nozick chapter 12 (Being More Real)
Lesson 7. How Do We Encounter the World?
3.6
3.11
Nozick chapter 9 (Emotions)
Lesson 8. Do We Have Free Will?
3.7
7.7
Nozick chapter 7 (Sexuality)
Lesson 9. Is Time Real?
3.8
Nozick chapter 4 (Creating)
Lesson 10. Does God Exist?
4.1
4.2
4.3
Nozick chapter 5 (The Nature of God, The Nature of Faith)
Lesson 11. Can We Know God Through Experience?
4.4
4.5
Nozick chapter 19 (Theological Explanations)
Lesson 12. Is Reason the Source of Knowledge?
5.1
5.2
5.8
Nozick chapter 23 (What Is Wisdom and Why Do Philosophers Love It So?)
Lesson 13. Does Knowledge Depend on Experience?
5.3
5.7 (review Hume)
Nozick chapter 24 (The Ideal and the Actual)
Lesson 14. Does the Mind Shape the World?
5.4
6.6
Nozick chapter 21 (Enlightenment)
Lesson 15. How Does Science Add to Knowledge?
5.5
5.8
Nozick chapter 17 (The Matrix of Reality)
Lesson 16. Does Science Give Us Truth?
6.1
6.2
6.3
Nozick chapter 16 (Importance and Weight)
Lesson 17. Are Interpretations True?
6.4
Nozick chapter 15 (Value and Meaning)
Lesson 18. Is Morality Relative?
7.1
7.2
7.9
Nozick chapter 20 (The Holocaust)
Lesson 19. Does the End Justify the Means?
7.3
7.10
Nozick chapter 14 (Stances)
Lesson 20. Can Rules Define Morality?
7.4
Nozick chapter 11 (Focus)
Lesson 21. Is Ethics Based on Virtue?
7.5
Nozick chapter 10 (Happiness)
Lesson 22. Moral Dilemmas...Can Ethics Help?
7.6
Nozick chapter 13 (Selflessness)
Lesson 23. What Justifies the State?
8.2
8.1
8.6
Nozick chapter 25 (The Zigzag of Politics)
Lesson 24. What is Justice?
8.3
8.6 (review Marx and Rawls)
7.10 (review)
Nozick chapter 22 (Giving Everything Its Due)
Lesson 25. What is Art?
9.2
Nozick chapter 18 (Darkness and Light)
Lesson 26. What is the Meaning of Life?
9.3
8.6 (review Marx)
Nozick chapter 27 (A Portrait of the Philosopher as a Young Man)
Readings in Velasquez and Nozick (Page numbers will not match all editions of the Velasquez text)
These are based on edition 9.
Lesson 1. What is Philosophy?
1.1 pp. 4-10
1.3 pp.18-31
1.6 pp. 41-45
1.8 pp. 50-70
Nozick chapters 1 (Introduction) and 26 (Philosophy's Life)
Lesson 2. What is Human Nature?
2.2 pp. 79-104
2.7 pp. 144-161
2.8 Woman as Body by Elizabeth V. Spelman pp. 171-172
7.10 All Animals Are Equal by Peter Singer pp. 601-603
Nozick chapter 3 (Parents and Children)
Lesson 3. Is Mind Distinct from Body?
2.3 pp. 104-118
2.8 C.E.M Joad The Mind as Distinct from the Body pp. 168-170
Nozick chapter 6 (The Holiness of Everyday Life)
Lesson 4. Is there an Enduring Self?
2.4 pp.119-131
5.7 pp. 419-425 (Hume)
Nozick chapter 2 (Dying)
Lesson 5. Are We Social Beings?
2.5 pp. 131-140
Nozick chapter 8 (Love's Bond)
Lesson 6. What is Real?
3.1 pp. 178-182
3.2 pp. 182-199
3.3 pp. 199-205
3.4 pp. 205-211
3.5 pp. 212-218
3.10 pp. 250-260 (especially question 9)
Nozick chapter 12 (Being More Real)
Lesson 7. How Do We Encounter the World?
3.6 pp. 219-231
3.11 pp. 261-271
Nozick chapter 9 (Emotions)
Lesson 8. Do We Have Free Will?
3.7 pp. 232-240
7.7 pp. 576-581
Nozick chapter 7 (Sexuality)
Lesson 9. Is Time Real?
3.8 pp. 241-247
Nozick chapter 4 (Creating)
Lesson 10. Does God Exist?
4.1 pp. 274-278
4.2 pp. 278-293
4.3 pp. 294-301
Nozick chapter 5 (The Nature of God, The Nature of Faith)
Lesson 11. Can We Know God Through Experience?
4.4 pp. 302-309
4.5 pp. 310-325
Nozick chapter 19 (Theological Explanations)
Lesson 12. Is Reason the Source of Knowledge?
5.1 pp. 360-365
5.2 pp. 366-378
5.8 Peter Unger "A Defense of Skepticism" and Thomas Nagel "How Do We Know ANything?" pp. 431-435
Nozick chapter 23 (What Is Wisdom and Why Do Philosophers Love It So?)
Lesson 13. Does Knowledge Depend on Experience?
5.3 pp. 379-393
5.7 (review Hume)
Nozick chapter 24 (The Ideal and the Actual)
Lesson 14. Does the Mind Shape the World?
5.4 pp. 394-403
6.6 pp. 486-495
Nozick chapter 21 (Enlightenment)
Lesson 15. How Does Science Add to Knowledge?
5.5 pp. 403-415
5.8 Ambrose Bierce "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" pp. 426-431
Nozick chapter 17 (The Matrix of Reality)
Lesson 16. Does Science Give Us Truth?
6.1 pp. 438-442
6.2 pp. 443-464
6.3 pp. 466-473
Nozick chapter 16 (Importance and Weight)
Lesson 17. Are Interpretations True?
6.4 pp. 473-482
Nozick chapter 15 (Value and Meaning)
Lesson 18. Is Morality Relative?
7.1 pp. 510-514
7.2 pp. 515-518
7.9 pp. 584-593
Nozick chapter 20 (The Holocaust)
Lesson 19. Does the End Justify the Means?
7.3 pp. 519-530
7.10 pp. 595-601
Nozick chapter 14 (Stances)
Lesson 20. Can Rules Define Morality?
7.4 pp. 531-553
Nozick chapter 11 (Focus)
Lesson 21. Is Ethics Based on Virtue?
7.5 pp. 554-565
Nozick chapter 10 (Happiness)
Lesson 22. Moral Dilemmas...Can Ethics Help?
7.6 pp. 565-575
Nozick chapter 13 (Selflessness)
Lesson 23. What Justifies the State?
8.2 pp. 608-626
8.1 pp. 606-607
8.6 pp. 674-685
Nozick chapter 25 (The Zigzag of Politics)
Lesson 24. What is Justice?
8.3 pp. 627-645
8.6 (review Marx and Rawls)
7.10 (review Singer)
Nozick chapter 22 (Giving Everything Its Due)
Lesson 25. What is Art?
9.2 pp. 698-713
Nozick chapter 18 (Darkness and Light)
Lesson 26. What is the Meaning of Life?
9.3 pp.714-726
8.6 (review Marx)
Nozick chapter 27 (A Portrait of the Philosopher as a Young Man)
Robert Nozick "The Examined Life"
You can certainly read this text through from start to finish. Some chapters might make better sense if you had read the previous chapters in order. What I am trying to do is fit the chapters to the topics. Some chapters fit the topics I have selected better than others. The topics of Time and Art strike me as hard choices especially. I would have like to put Creating with Art but that left me with nothing exactly appropriate to go with Time. If after reading the book you feel a different sequence would be better, please let me know!