Introduction to
Philosophy
PHIL 2000 Fall 2011 Call # 42480
Instructor: Dr. Kent Baldner (baldner@wmich.edu)
Class: TR: 9:30 a.m. - 10:45
a.m., Schneider Hall 2000
Office
Hours: By appointment, Moore
Hall 3013
Office
Phone: 387‑4402
Assistants:
Sean Fitzgerald-McGill
Sections: Wed., 10:00—10:50,
Moore Hall 1121: (PHIL 2000-575; Fitzgerald-McGill)
Wed.,
12:00—12:50, Moore Hall G0121: (PHIL 2000-570; Baldner)
Wed., 1:00—1:50,
Moore Hall G0111: (PHIL 2000-590; Fitzgerald-McGill)
Wed.,
4:00—4:50, Moore Hall 01121: (PHIL 2000-555; Fitzgerald-McGill)
Required
Text: Reason and
Responsibility, 14th edition, edited by Feinberg and
Shafer-Landau.
Class Web Page: http://homepages.wmich.edu/~baldner/introsyl.htm
(This page includes links to PowerPoint presentations outlining daily reading
assignments.)
Class
Objectives: This class
introduces students to some of the major themes in the western philosophical
tradition, including belief in the existence of God, the nature of knowledge,
mind vs. matter, freewill and determinism, and morality. In addition to being inherently interesting,
studying these questions hones one’s reasoning skills. Our focus will be more on understanding the
nature of the questions than memorizing answers to them.
Grading:
Grades
will be based upon multiple-choice tests for the first four chapters, given in
your discussion sections, worth 40 points each (40 questions); a
multiple-choice final exam, given during the scheduled final exam period, Thursday, December 15th,
8:00—10:00 consisting of 40 questions on the fifth chapter, and 5
questions on each of the first four chapters (i.e., a total of 20 questions on
the first four chapters), for a total of 60 points; and the best seven out of
eight short-essay quizzes, given in your sections (dates below), worth 10
points each. (I will drop your lowest quiz
score, counting only your best seven.)
This makes a total of 290 possible points.
Make‑Ups:
To
be eligible for a make‑up test, you must contact me in advance or no
later than the end of the day the test was given. Make‑ups will be given no later than
one week after the missed test. Each
student is eligible for at most one such make‑up.
There will be
no make-ups for missed quizzes.
Grading Scale:
|
267 - 290 (92% - 100%) |
A |
247 – 266 (85% - 91%) |
BA |
|
226 - 246 (78% - 84%) |
B |
206 – 225 (71% - 77%) |
CB |
|
186 - 205 (64% - 70%) |
C |
165 – 185 (57% - 63%) |
DC |
|
145 - 164 (50%
- 56%) |
D |
144 and below (Below 50%) |
E |
General
Education Area II: This course
fulfills Area II (Humanities) of the University’s General Education
Requirement.
Course
Objectives: 1. Students will
acquire knowledge of some of the major questions philosophers have asked in the
last two thousand years about the nature and meaning of human existence. 2. Students will acquire knowledge of
philosophical methodology for pursuing answers to these questions. 3. Students will improve their
critical reasoning skills.
Classroom
Courtesy: This is a large class, so there is a natural
tendency for people to occasionally "chat" with their neighbors
during class. A little of this is to be
expected, but it doesn't take much to create a background "hum" which
interrupts my concentration, and hinders others from hearing what is going
on. So please have consideration for me and your fellow students and remain quiet during
class. Likewise, please turn off any
cell phones, radios, etc. Finally, if
you want to read the paper or catch up on your sleep, please don’t come to
class. There must be more comfortable
places to sleep than in this classroom.
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.
You should consult with me if you are uncertain about an issue of academic
honesty prior to the submission of an assignment or test.
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.
Accommodation
for disabilities: Any student with
a documented disability (e.g., physical, learning, psychiatric, vision,
hearing, etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact
Disability Services for Students at (269) 387-2116 at the beginning of the
semester. A disability determination must be made by
this office before any accommodations are provided by the
instructor. For more information, go to http://www.wmich.edu/disabilityservices.
Introduction to Philosophy
Fall 2011 Tentative Class Schedule
|
Tuesday |
Wed.—D.S. |
Thursday |
|
9/6 Introductory remarks; What
is Philosophy? (Feinberg’s Intro. to Part
1, pp 16-20) |
9/7 NO DS |
9/8 Anselm and Gaunillo;
The Ontological Argument, pp. 20-24 |
|
9/13 Aquinas: “The Five
Ways,” pp. 35-36; Samuel Clark,
“Cosmo. Argument,” p. 37 |
9/14 Quiz 1 on ¬ |
9/15 William Paley: Argument from
Design, pp. 46-51; Blaise Pascal: “The
Wager,” pp. 135-138 |
|
9/20 B.C. Johnson:
Problem of Evil, pp. 113-117; Richard Swinburne:
God and Evil, pp. 105--113; Review for Test 1 |
9/21 |
9/22 Pollock: “A Brain
in a Vat,” pp. 153-154; Descartes: Meditations--
Synopsis, pp. 182-184 |
|
9/27 Descartes: Meditations I
and II, pp. 184-191 |
9/28 Quiz 2 on ¬ |
9/29 Finish Descartes; Locke, pp.215--222:
Causal Theory of Perception |
|
10/4 Locke, (Cont.) Notes on Primary and
Secondary Qualities; Even MORE Locke! |
10/5 Quiz 3 on ¬ |
10/6 Berkeley: pp.
223-230, Principles of Human Knowledge
(Sections 29
– 40) |
|
10/11 Berkeley,
(Cont.); Review
for Test 2 |
10/12 |
10/13 What is mind? (Feinberg’s Intro.
To Part 3, pp. 298-302) |
|
10/18 Gertler: “In Defense
of Mind-Body Dualism”,
pp.
303-314 (Gertler
PDF file) |
10/19 Quiz 4 on ¬ |
10/20 Frank Jackson: “The
Qualia Problem,” pp. 315-318; Extra slides on
“Mental States” |
|
10/25 Alan Turing: “Computing
Machinery and Intelligence,” pp. 335-343 |
10/26 Quiz 5 on ¬ |
10/27 Carruthers:
"The Mind is the Brain," pp. 319-327 |
|
11/1 Review for Test 3 |
11/2 |
11/3 Feinberg: Intro to
Chap. 4, pp. 416-421; Holbach, “Illusion …,”
pp. 451-456 |
|
11/8 A.J. Ayer: “Freedom and Necessity,” pp. 475-480; begin
Chisholm |
11/9 Quiz 6 on ¬ |
11/10 From Ayer to Chisholm: Chisholm:
“Freedom and the Self,” pp. 430-438 |
|
11/15 My Two Cents Worth; |
11/16 |
11/17 Lecture Notes from
Class Discussion; Feinberg: “Psych. Egoism,” pp. 514-525; “James Rachels' Essay on "Ethical Egoism", Slides on Ethical Egoism; |
|
11/22 Immanuel Kant: “The
Categorical Imperative,” pp. 590-597 |
11/23 No Quiz No sections |
11/24 Thanksgiving—No
Classes! |
|
11/29 Immanuel Kant: “The
Categorical Imperative,” pp. 625-640 (Cont.) You OUGHT to Read
This ; More Kant Slides |
11/30 Quiz 7 on ¬ |
12/1 John Stuart Mill:
“Utilitarianism,” pp. 597-610 |
|
12/6 Peter Singer: Famine, Affluence
and Morality, pp. 630-636; Singer: All Animals Are
Equal--THIS IS THE READING ASSIGNMENT!; Singer-Animal Rights
Slides |
12/7 Quiz 8 on ¬ |
12/8 Review on Chapter
5 |
Final
Exam: Thursday, Dec 15, 8:00 –
10:00 am