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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
TR 1:30-2:45
pm -
Tribble Hall A306
Philosophy is not so much a body of knowledge as an activity:
it is the activity of thinking critically about issues fundamental
to human existence, aided by techniques developed by rigorous
thinkers over the last 2500+ years. Any field of human endeavor
can be the subject of philosophical inv
estigation: mathematics, biology, psychology, art, medicine,
etc. Some inquiries, however, have come to be seen as particular
to the discipline of philosophy itself, and these are often
considered the “core” areas of philosophy. In this
course we shall sample several core issues in early modern
and contemporary Western philosophy through reading, writing,
and discussion. Topics we shall focus on include: skepticism
concerning knowledge and science, rationalist approaches to
religion, free will and determinism, personal identity and
immortality, consciousness and intelligence, and moral obligation.
Attendance for two films outside of class will be required.
Hannah
Hardgrave
TR 3-4:15
pm & MW 4:30-5:45 pm - Tribble Hall A306
It has been said that the history of philosophy is a series
of footnotes to Plato. In this course Plato’s Republic
will introduce students to many of the basic problems of philosophy
as well as early steps in the Critical Tradition of Western
thought. Responses to Plato’s ideas by classical philosophers
including Aristotle, Descartes, Kant, and Mill will be included
as readings as will the ideas of selected contemporary philosophers.
Contemporary films will also be used to illustrate some of
the philosophical problems and will be the subject of paper
assignments. Through student-led discussions the class will
participate in the tradition of critical thinking which had
its first flowering with Plato.
Marcus Hester
MWF
9-9:50 am & 11-11:50 am - 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.
Avram
Hiller
MWF
1-1:50 pm & 3-3:50 pm -
Tribble Hall A306
This course will help you think critically about
systems of belief, including your own. Do we have any knowledge
of anything? Should we believe in God? Can science tell
us how the world really works? Is there a foundation to
our moral judgments? We will provide means to respond to
these doubts, but if this class is successful, it will
raise more questions than it answers.
The course is designed to develop your ability to read
texts and respond critically to them. It is also intended
to help you write more clearly and persuasively. While
the class will be very challenging, it should be rewarding — as
the editors of the textbook write, “those of our
values and concepts that survive this process will be more
truly our own.”
Ralph Kennedy
TR 8-9:15
am - Tribble Hall A307
We will be considering such questions as: What can
we really know? Is anything absolutely beyond doubt? How does
past experience support beliefs about what hasn't happened yet?
Is it true that nothing exists except physical objects and events
(and, possibly, the spatio-temporal framework that “contains”
them)? If this were true, would there nevertheless be room in
the world for minds, numbers, birthday parties, legal contracts,
declarations of war, gods (or God), and so on? What is a person,
or a self? Do we ever really act freely? What does it mean to
say that we do? How if at all does the idea of beings with “free
will” fit in with the scientific world-view? Would morality
be possible in the absence of free will? What do moral claims
(such as “X is wrong,” “one ought to do Y”)
mean?
We’ll focus on contemporary thinking and writing about
these things, though we will be reading selections from great
philosophers of the past as well.
The textbook for the course is Thinking it through:
an Introduction to Contemporary Philosophy, by Kwame
Anthony Appiah. There will be additional readings distributed
as handouts, posted on the course website, or otherwise made
available.
Charles Lewis
MWF 10-10:50am
& 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 - 10:45 a.m - Tribble
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.
This introductory course will be dealing with basic problems
of philosophy in a twofold sense: We will be exploring typical
traditional questions of philosophical inquiry as well as 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.
The course does not intend to give definite answers to the
questions discussed, but rather to encourage thinking about
them. Special attention will be paid to basic reading and writing
skills as are required in assessing or developing a philosophical
text or argument. The course focuses on systematic problems
and methods in philosophy itself – it is not intended
as a chronological survey of the different epochs in the history
of ideas, or as a narrative of the systems of the “Great
Philosophers”.
Requirements: (1) regular attendance; (2) A number of short
exercises, discussion assignments and/or quizzes; (3) one essay
(5 pages; double-spaced) on a given topic discussed in class;
(4) a midterm take-home exam; and (5) a final take-home exam.
Textbooks: John Perry/Michael Bratman (eds.), Introduction
to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings, Oxford
University Press 1998
Clark Thompson
TR 12:00 - 1:15 p.m. - Tribble A306
We shall study the following questions in political and moral philosophy, and
in the philosophy of religion. Do we have an obligation to obey the law? What
is the extent of the legitimate authority of government? Is it reasonable to
believe someone who says he witnessed a miracle? Can God's existence and attributes
be established by an appeal to the existence of design in nature? Is the existence
of an all-powerful, all-knowing, and benevolent God consistent with the existence
of suffering and moral evil? What makes an act morally right? We shall read works
by Plato, Locke, Hume, and Mill.
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