Existentialist Philosophies
PHIL3030---21118
Summer Session I, 2008
Instructor: Kent Baldner (baldner@wmich.edu)
Class times: MW 9:00 – 11:30 a.m.
Location:
Office: 3013 Moore Hall
Office hours: By appointment
Office phone: 387-4402
Required texts: Existentialist Philosophy, ed. L. Nathan Oaklander
In
this course we will be concerned with what it is like to be an individual human
being, and how, or whether or not, it is possible for an individual person to find
meaning in an impersonal world. Thus our
topic is nothing less than the meaning of life—or how to live given the lack of
one. All philosophy classes require
sustained, deep, and clear-headed thinking.
Given the nature of this particular course, we will need to apply this
rigorous and questioning attitude towards ourselves, and the personal
beliefs we cherish or take for granted.
Consequently, this course requires a high degree of openness on the part
of the students (and the instructor!), and a willingness to look critically at
our innermost selves. If you are not
comfortable with examining your own personal beliefs, this is probably not the
class for you.
Grading: My goal is to stress class participation. This is material you get by engaging with it. So I am going to try something different with grading and offer two separate ways to get your grade. The first option will base your grade substantially on class participation. There will be in class quizzes every class period starting the second week of the class, on Monday, May 12th. Anyone who participates in class at least 10 times (starting Wednesday, May 12th) and misses no more than one quiz is guaranteed a B in the class. Anyone who does this and gives an in class presentation on any of the material we cover in the class is guaranteed an A. For those who don’t participate at least 10 times and/or miss more than one quiz, your grade will be determined in the following way: Each quiz will be worth 2.5 points, but I will drop your lowest two quiz scores, for a total of 25 possible quiz points. There will be an in class essay final exam worth 40 points, and a written paper worth 35 points. Students choosing to do an in class presentation instead of turning in a written paper will receive an additional 5 points extra credit. In other words, students who miss no more than one quiz and participate at least 10 times can get a B in the class without taking the final exam or doing either a paper or in-class presentation. (If you choose this option, you can still take the final exam if you like to try to raise your grade over a B.) And you don’t need to “choose” an option in advance. As long as you keep attending and participating, you will be eligible for the first option.
Course Objectives: 1. Students will acquire
knowledge of key existentialist philosophers and their methods of
inquiry. 2. Students will develop their writing skills.
3. Students will develop skills in stating and critically evaluating
arguments.
Academic Honesty: You are responsible for
making yourself aware of and understanding the policies and procedures in the Undergraduate
Catalog that pertain to Academic Honesty. These policies include cheating,
fabrication, falsification and forgery, multiple submission, plagiarism,
complicity and computer misuse. If there is reason to believe you have been
involved in academic dishonesty, you will be referred to the Office of Student
Conduct. You will be given the opportunity to review the charge(s). If you
believe you are not responsible, you will have the opportunity for a hearing.
Religious
Observance: (The following is from the University’s Policy on Religious Observance) The University is a diverse, multicultural enterprise
and, as a community, we jointly embrace both individual responsibility and
dignified respect for our differences. It is our general policy to permit
students to fulfill obligations set aside by their faith.
It is our intent that students who must be absent
from scheduled classes to fulfill religious obligations or observe practices
associated with their faith not be disadvantaged. However, it is the student’s
responsibility to make arrangements with his/her instructors in advance.
Instructors should assume that a claim of religious
observance has veracity, especially when advance notice is provided by the
student. Students likewise must recognize that it is their responsibility to
meet all their course obligations. Instructors are not obligated to provide
materials to students unless these materials would have normally been
distributed to the entire class.
Paper/Presentations Topics and Instruction
Tentative
The schedule may change to accommodate student in class presentations. If/when you have decided upon a topic you want to present in class, please let me know.
Note: Please read Oaklander’s introduction to each of the philosophers we
read. They are very helpful.
Monday 9:00—11:30 Wednesday 9:00—11:30
|
5/5 Procedural Matters: General Introduction |
5/7 Waking Life; Discussion |
|
5/12 Camus, “The Myth of Sisyphus” (O: pp. 357-369); Sartre,
“Existentialism is a Humanism” (O: pp. 310-319); QUIZ |
5/14 Kierkegaard, Faith and Subjectivity (O: pp. 9-45); QUIZ |
|
5/19 Kierkegaard,
Abraham and Isaac and the Three Movements to Faith (O: pp. 46-74); QUIZ |
5/21 Tom Petty Video; Discusssion; Nietzsche,
The Death of God (O: pp. 75-106); QUIZ |
|
5/26 No Class—Memorial Day |
5/28 Nietzsche, The Will to Power, Master and Slave
Morality, Christianity and Free Will (O: pp. 106-143); QUIZ |
|
6/2 The Fight Club (Note: Class will begin
at 8:45 this day, and may go a little late); Discussion; QUIZ |
6/4 Heidegger, (pp. 144-204); QUIZ |
|
6/9 Sartre (O:
pp. 205-280); QUIZ |
6/11 Sartre (O:
pp. 281-323); Sartre on Consciousness Class Notes QUIZ |
|
6/16 Student Class
Presentations; Sartre on Bad Faith and Negation (O: pp. 323-335); QUIZ |
6/18 Student In Class Presentations; Sartre on Shame; Discussion; QUIZ |
|
6/23 Student Class
Presentation; Review for Final Exam; QUIZ |
6/25 Final Exam |