PHH 2000 Introduction to Philosophy

Fall 2002

TR 6:00-7:15

CPR 122

Instructor : Melinda Rosenberg

Office : FAO 244

Office Hours : TR 5:00-6:00

E-mail : Orexis@aol.com

Text:

Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings, 3^rd edition, edited by John Perry and Michael Bratman. (Oxford University Press: NY) 1999.

Objective:

The objective of this course is for the student to become familiar with many thinkers of Western philosophy. The spectrum of western philosophy with which we will become acquainted extends from Greek antiquity to the late twentieth century. This is a survey course, so no philosopher will be discussed in depth. However, at the end of this course, the student should at least have a working knowledge of the philosophical theories presented in the text.

Grading:

Midterm examination– 25%

Final examination-25%

Ten page term paper-25%

Attendance and participation-25%

Since all sections listed above are weighted equally, being deficient in any area can seriously jeopardize your final grade.

The dates of the midterm and final exam will be announced after the semester starts. The exams are not multiple choice. The exams will be in an essay format. You will be given a list of questions and be required to answer two, three, or four questions from the list.

Introduction to Philosophy is a Gordon Rule class which means that there is a substantial writing requirement. A ten page paper is the minimum number of pages that I expect to see when the papers are submitted. If the paper is nine pages are less, the paper will automatically receive a failing grade. You are not permitted to use a font any larger than 12 point. Your paper must be typed and double-spaced. Double space between each paragraph. You must use footnotes, endnotes, or parenthetical citation in your paper. Failure to cite the texts to which you refer in your paper will result in a full letter grade deduction.

I will take roll in every class. Every absence will count against you unless you petition to have your absence excused. Remaining silent in class will also count against you. I do not expect every student to be talkative and engaging, but it will behoove the student to say a few things during each class.

Reading Assignments:

This schedule is tentative and subject to change.

Part I : Philosophy and the Meaning of Life

Thomas Nagel – The Absurd

Plato – The Apology

Part II : God and Evil

Saint Anselm - “The Ontological Argument”

Saint Thomas Aquinas - “The Existence of God”

Blaise Pascal - “The Wager”

Gottfried Leibniz - “God, Evil, and the Best of All Possible Worlds”

J. L. Mackie - “Evil and Omnipotence”

Part III : Knowledge and Reality

Rene Descartes - Meditations on First Philosophy

John Locke - “Some Further Considerations Concerning our Simple Ideas of Sensation”

David Hume - “Of Scepticism with Regard to the Senses” and An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

Part IV : Minds, Bodies, and Persons

Gilbert Ryle – “Descartes’s Myth”

David Lewis – “Mad Pain and Martina Pain”

John Searle – “Minds, Brains, and Programs”

Thomas Nagel – “What is it Like to Be a Bat?”

David Hume – “Of Liberty and Necessity”

Harry Frankfurt – “Freedom of the Will and the Concept of the Person”

Peter Strawson – “Freedom and Resentment”

Part V : Ethics and Society

Jeremy Bentham – The Principle of Utility

John Stuart Mill – Utilitarianism

Bernard Williams – “Utilitarianism and Integrity”

Peter Singer – “Famine, Affluence, and Morality

Immanuel Kant – Goundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals

Aristotle – Nicomachean Ethics

John Rawls – A Theory of Justice

Robert Nozick – “Justice and Entitlement”

Plato – The Republic

David Hume – An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals

J.L. Mackie – “The Subjectivity of Values”