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Philosophy 111. Basic Problems of Philosophy.
(3h) An examination of the basic concepts of
several representative philosophers, including their accounts
of the nature of knowledge, persons, God, mind, and matter.
All sections of Philosophy 111 should conform
reasonably well to the description above (quoted from the college
bulletin), though there are important differences from section
to section. Please click the links below to see how individual
professors describe the sections of Philosophy 111 they will
be teaching this semester.
Adrian Bardon
MWF 2-2:50pm. - Tribble Hall A306
In this course we shall examine several core issues in classical,
early modern, and contemporary Western philosophy through reading,
writing, and discussion. Our topics will include: the nature
of virtue, skepticism concerning knowledge and science, rationalist
approaches to religion, free will and determinism, personal
identity and immortality, and the nature of consciousness and
intelligence. Development of critical reasoning skills through
class participation and structured writing will be emphasized.
There will be three short-answer exams and a final paper.
Eric Brandon
MWF 1-1:50pm & 3-3:50pm. - Tribble Hall A306
This course aims to give both an historical and a thematic introduction
to some of the central problems of philosophy. Issues such as
virtue, the good life, the role of reason in human life, freedom
of the will, the origin of evil, the existence of God, and the
nature of knowledge will be explored through the use of classical
texts. These texts are categorized in four historical periods:
Ancient, Medieval, Early Modern, and Modern. Within each period
the readings will concentrate on problems which were especially
pertinent to the particular historical period in question. The
aim of the course is not to give a comprehensive survey of western
philosophy. Instead, the goal is to challenge students to think
deeply about philosophical problems by reading a few texts as
intensively as possible.
Andrew Cross
TR 12-1:15pm & 3-4:15pm- Tribble Hall A306
The course is envisioned as a kind of workshop in philosophy.
What that means is that at least much of the time it will be
more like a "lab" section than a lecture course. The
emphasis will be not on learning the content of philosophical
doctrines, but on acquiring the skills involved in reading,
writing, and thinking philosophically--learning the practice
of philosophy largely by working through texts and problems
in class in a collaborative manner. In-class work (collective
discussion and exercises) will be an important part of this
process; however, such work will naturally require considerable
out-of-class preparation. The assigned readings will be a mix
of contemporary and classic sources, with considerable (though
not exclusive) emphasis on questions of ethics. Two papers,
a mid-term exam, and a cumulative final exam, along with various
short writing exercises, will be required. Required readings:
articles to be downloaded from course web page.
Marcus Hester
MWF 9-9:50am & 11-11:50am. - Tribble Hall A306
In the first couple of weeks, we work on translating arguments
from English to logic and determining whether these arguments
are valid. Logic is an important tool of the course. I have
written a text for this part of the course. Then the course
consists of three problems:
1) The Nature of Morality, with two subparts: A.)
Subjective Relativism and Objectivism. We read some secondary
material on the Sophists, who thought every opinion is as true
as any other. Then we read two texts by Plato (the Apology
and the Crito) about Socrates. Socrates rejected the
Sophists view and thought moral opinions could be improved by
critical questioning. Last we read some early views of Plato
in the Meno. Plato thought that moral matters such as
what is justice could be rationally aroused in persons by questioning
in a way parallel to questions in math. This problem is whether
expressions of a moral judgment such as "abortion is wrong"
are mere expressions of taste or personal preference or whether
such a judgments can be defended objectively by rational means.
This question is about morality. B.) Substantial Moral
Codes. Instead of being merely about morality, substantial moral
codes are like the Ten Commandments in telling us how to actually
make moral decisions. J.S. Mill argues that the moral good is
doing that possible action which maximizes happiness among all
those affected by the action. Kant argues to the contrary that
the best action is done solely from duty defined by moral imperatives
such as "you should not make false promises."
2) Free Will, Knowledge and Modern Philosophy. Aristotle
thought that our body parts, and most things in nature, served
a purpose and that you could not really explain them without
referring to these purposes, a view expressed in his Physics.
Descartes in his Meditations on First Philosophy has
no use for this sort of explanation of material bodies in terms
of purpose. Instead, our bodies, and all animal bodies, are
just machines behaving according to laws of nature. Yet we do
not think of ourselves as machines in our thoughts, actions
and art works. Descartes struggles to reconcile this modern
scientific mechanical view with the way we think of ourselves.
Then we read Aristotle's theory of voluntary actions in relation
to his kind of science in his Nicomachean Ethics. Last
we read Hume's attempt to reconcile liberty with his belief
that everything we do is causally determined.
3) Rational Grounds for Belief in God. Some thinkers
have thought that one can prove by argument that God exists.
Anselm tries to prove that the very definition of God, defined
as a being than which none greater is conceivable, implies that
God necessarily exists. Aquinas tries to prove that God exists
from things we see in nature such as motion and degrees of perfections
such as justice and goodness. Hume casts doubt on all such proofs
and argues that at best we can make belief in a powerful and
good God consistent with the massive evils we observe in the
world.
In terms of grading, we have short weekly tests on the readings,
and a midterm and final exam. The midterm and final exams consist
of problems in logic and essays on the problems covered in the
course. There is an optional paper on any topic in philosophy.
Ralph Kennedy
MWF 11-11:50 am - Tribble Hall A307
An introduction to philosophy via a consideration of some
of its central problems and methods. Topics include: varieties
of skepticism (about the external world and other minds); the
mind-body problem; personal identity; freedom and determinism.
Readings from classic texts and contemporary books and articles.
We'll also screen several movies (attendance required) dealing
with the philosophical themes of the course. Grading based on
participation, several short papers, and a final examination.
(First year students only)
Charles Lewis
MWF 10-10:50 am & 12-12:50 pm - Tribble Hall A306
This course, after examining the common sense and religious
background of the first scientific thinkers or philosophers,
turns to the study of Plato and Aristotle, the major shapers
of pre-modern scientific, theological, and philosophical thought.
Then the course turns to Descartes, the first great architect
of the modern scientific and philosophical ways of thinking.
The study of this momentous departure from pre-modern belief
in the purposive natures of all things--and thus from classical
moral and political philosophy--is followed by the study of
Hume, one of Descartes' major critics who takes modern skepticism
to a new level. Twentieth-century existential nihilism is introduced
along the way in order to consider its place in modern thought
and its radical critique of conventional assumptions about the
meaning or purpose of human existence. Attention is given throughout
to how an examination of modern and pre-modern ways of thinking
can help us to understand contemporary conceptions of self and
world.
Dorothea Lotter
TR 9:30-10:45am & 1:30-2:45 pm - Tribble Hall A306
Philosophy can be roughly described as the study of the
systems of basic ideas that are at the root of culture in the
widest sense and hence ultimately are responsible for people's
motives for action. In this way, they are responsible for political,
historical, religious, scientific or any other cultural developments
in the history of mankind. Philosophical ideas normally go unnoticed
until we start reflecting on and examining them critically.
Philosophy serves to make us aware of the culturally inherited
ideas and concepts that underlie our beliefs and thus enables
us to get to know ourselves better. It enables us to find out
whether what we have always believed so far and never questioned
before really is what seems to us true or right still after
becoming aware of its logical consequences in other areas of
belief.
The course will be dealing with basic problems of philosophy
in a twofold sense: We will be exploring typical traditional
questions of philosophical inquiry and also specific aspects
of philosophical method. We will be discussing basic philosophical
questions about personal identity, knowledge, the mind, the
self, the world, God, free will and morality. Special attention
will be paid to acquiring basic skills as are required in reading,
writing, analyzing and criticizing a philosophical text, or
in having a philosophical discussion. The course does not intend
to give you definite answers to the questions discussed, but
rather to encourage you to think philosophically about them
according to your own common sense and good reasons.
Requirements: (1) regular attendance (you should not
miss more than three classes in order to avoid grade reduction.
Please let me know beforehand, if possible, if you are unable
to come to class and why.); (2) A number of short exercises,
discussion assignments and/or quizzes; (3) two essays (5 pages;
double-spaced) on a given topic discussed in class; (4) a midterm
take-home exam; (5) a final take-home exam.
Textbooks: Joel Feinberg/Russ Shafer-Landau (eds.), Reason
and Responsibility, Wadsworth Publishing Company, 11th edition
(2001); and Joel Feinberg/Russ Shafer-Landau, Doing Philosophy:
A Guide to the Writing of Philosophy Papers,
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