UNIT ONE: EPISTEMOLOGY, LOGIC, AND CRITICAL THINKING |
| T, Jan. 11 |
About this course: an Intro to Intro to Philosophy
Reading: none |
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| R, Jan. 13 |
What is Philosophy, and why study it?
Reading: Russell- “The Value of Philosophy” (R&R:11-14) |
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| T, Jan. 18 |
Logic (soundness and validity)
Reading: Layman- “Logic” (pdf) |
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| R, Jan. 20 |
Logic (fallacies)
Reading: Schick & Vaughn, “Informal Fallacies” (pdf)
“Logical Fallacies: a beginner’s guide” (pdf)
Optional humorous reading: Dave Barry “How to Win an Argument”
Paper #1 Topic Assigned |
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| T, Jan. 25 |
Descartes- Knowledge, Skepticism, and the Method of Doubt
Reading: Descartes, “Meditations on First Philosophy” meditations 1-2 (R&R: 184-191)
Suggested film: “Inception” |
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| R, Jan. 27 |
Skepticism- Do we know that we have a physical body?
Reading: Pollock, “A Brain in a Vat” (pdf, not the version in R&R)
Suggested film: “The Matrix” or “The 13th Floor” |
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| T, Feb. 1 |
**PAPER #1 DUE** (10% of grade)
How do we decide what to believe?
Reading: Chisholm- “The Problem of the Criterion” (R&R: 160-166) |
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| R, Feb. 3 |
What is knowledge?
Readings: Plato, Knowledge as Justified True Belief (R&R: 167-171)
Gettier, “Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?” (R&R: 171-173) |
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| T, Feb. 8 |
T.B.A. |
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| R, Feb. 10 |
**Unit One EXAM** (25% of grade) |
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UNIT TWO: METAPHYSICS
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| T, Feb. 15 |
Parfit, “Divided Minds and the Nature of Persons” (R&R: 381-386)
Suggested film: “Blade Runner” |
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| R, Feb. 17 |
Personal Identity
Reading: Dennett, “Where am I?” (R&R: 386-394)
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| T, Feb. 22 |
The Mind-Body Problem- What is the mind, and is it non-physical?
Reading: Churchland, “The Ontological Problem” (pdf p.7-21)
Suggested film: “Freaky Friday”
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| R, Feb. 24 |
The Mind-Body Problem (continued)
Reading: Churchland, “The Ontological Problem” (pdf p.23-35)
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| T, Mar. 1 |
The Mind-Body Problem (continued)
Reading: Churchland, “The Ontological Problem” (pdf p.36-49)
Suggested film: “Transformers”
Optional fun reading: Matt Pike’s Transformers paper: “Can Metal Be Mental?”
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| R, Mar. 3 |
Free will- Do we have it, or are our actions determined?
Reading: Van Inwagen, “Freedom of the Will” (R&R: 421-430)
Suggested film: “Groundhog Day”
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| T, Mar. 8 |
Is time travel possible?
Reading: David Lewis, “Paradoxes of Time Travel”
Suggested films: “Back to the Future” or “Primer”
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| R, Mar. 10 |
A Teleological argument for God’s existence
Reading: Collins, “The Fine-Tuning Design Argument”
“Run Lola Run” (Multiverses…)
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| T, Mar. 15 |
The Problem of Evil argument against God’s existence
Reading: Tooley, selections from “The Problem of Evil” (online)
Suggested film: “Star Trek T.N.G.: Q Who” (or any episode with Q)
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| R, Mar. 17 |
**Unit Two EXAM** (25% of grade)
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| T, Mar. 22 |
Spring Break- No class
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| R, Mar. 24 |
Spring Break- No class
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| R, Mar. 29 |
T.B.A.
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UNIT THREE: VALUES/ETHICS, AND THE MEANING OF LIFE
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| R, Mar. 31 |
Divine Command Theory- Is God the source of morality?
Reading: Shafer-Landau, “Does Ethical Objectivism Require God?” (pdf) |
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| T, Apr. 5 |
Cultural Relativism
Reading: Rachels, “The Challenge of Cultural Relativism” (pdf)
Suggested film: “Apocalypto” |
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| R, Apr. 7 |
Utilitarianism
Readings: Mill, “Utilitarianism” excerpt (pdf)
Greene, “Moral Dilemmas and ‘The Trolley Problem’” (pdf)
Suggested film: “Sophie’s Choice” |
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| T, Apr. 12 |
Utilitarianism (problems)
Reading: Rachels “The Debate over Utilitarianism” (pdf)
Suggested film: “The Village” or any of the “Saw” series |
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| R, Apr. 14 |
Deontology
Reading: Ross, “What Makes Right Actions Right?” excerpt (R&R: 610-616)
Suggested film: “Watchmen” |
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| T, Apr. 19 |
Applied ethics- World hunger
Reading: Singer, “Famine, Affluence, and Morality” (R&R: 630-636)
*PAPER TOPIC ASSIGNED* |
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| R, Apr. 21 |
The Meaning of Life
Reading: Taylor, “The Meaning of Life” (R&R: 675-681)
Suggested film: “The Razor’s Edge” |
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| T, Apr. 26 |
The Meaning of Life (continued)
Reading: Nagel, “The Absurd” (R&R: 681-687)
Suggested film: “I (heart) Huckabees” |
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| R, Apr. 28 |
The Meaning of Life (continued)
Reading: TBA
Suggested film: “Monty Python and the Meaning of Life” |
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| May 3rd |
**Final Paper DUE by Tuesday May 3rd, 7:30pm** (20% of grade) |
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