Texts:

The following texts are required for this class:

Plato: The Trial and Death of Socrates
Descartes: Meditations
Hume: An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, 2nd ed.
Mill: On Liberty

- The aforementioned books are available at the college bookstore.
- Later on in the semester you will be required to read some articles that will be on reserve at the library.

Course Objectives:

This class is intended to (1) promote an understanding of some of the major issues in Western philosophy, (2) help you understand and think critically about philosophical arguments, and (3) facilitate the development of your own philosophical positions.

Academic Honesty:

All work submitted for this class is expected to be your own original work. Any idea that is not your own must be documented (i.e. the source must be cited). Any cheating or plagiarizing will result in an F.

Paper Requirement:

In order to pass this class you will need to write a satisfactory philosophy paper of about 5-7 pages in length. Your paper may be on any philosophical topic that interests you. If the topic is not one we are covering in the course, then you should discuss it with me before you begin to write your paper in earnest. I will collect a first version of your paper on Thursday March 29th and return it to you with constructive feedback on Thursday April 5th. The final version of your paper is due at the beginning of class on Thursday April 26th.

Grading Policy:

Work submitted late will be graded harder than work submitted on time. Provided that you write a satisfactory (passing) philosophy paper, grades will be calculated as follows:

Quizzes 35%
Midterm Exam 20%
Final Exam 25%
Paper 20%

100-98 A+
-93 A
-90 A-
-88 B+
-83 B
-80 B-
-78 C+
-73 C
-70 C-
-68 D+
-63 D
-60 D-
below 60 F

Tentative Schedule:

Tuesday, January 16th: Roster, Course Syllabus, & Modus Operandi.

Thursday, January 18th: What is Philosophy?

Tuesday, January 23rd: Philosophical Argumentation & Introduction to Plato.

Thursday, January 25th: What is Wisdom? (Plato's Apology).

Tuesday, January 30th: Plato's Apology (continued).

Thursday, February 1st: Plato's Crito & Phaedo.

Tuesday, February 6th: Quiz on Plato & Introduction to Descartes.

Thursday, February 8th: Scepticism & Doubt (Descartes' Meditation 1).

Tuesday, February 13th: Knowing That You Exist (Descartes' Meditation 2).

Thursday, February 15th: Human Mistakes (Descartes' Meditation 4).

Tuesday, February 20th: Is Existence a Perfection? (Descartes' Meditation 5).

Thursday, February 22nd: The Existence of Corporeal Things (Descartes' Meditation 6).

Tuesday, February 27th: Quiz on Descartes & Introduction to Natural Theology.

Thursday, March 1st: Arguments from Natural Theology for the Existence of God (St Thomas Aquinas, from his Summa Theologica).

Tuesday, March 6th: Midterm Exam.

Thursday, March 8th: The Nature of Mystical Experience (William James' "Are Men Ever Directly Aware of God?").

Tuesday, March 20th: Is Revelation a Source of Knowledge? (Bertrand Russell's "A Skeptical View of Mysticism").

Thursday, March 22nd: Quiz on James & Russell, The Problem of Evil, & Leibniz's Theodicy.

Tuesday, March 27th: Is there Gratuitous Evil? (John Hick's "Evil and Soulmaking").

Thursday, March 29th: Introduction to the Philosophy of David Hume. First Version of Paper Due.

Tuesday, April 3rd: Can the Occurrence of Miracles be Proven? (David Hume's Enquiry, Sec. X, "Of Miracles").

Thursday, April 5th: Review of Natural Theology & Quiz.

Tuesday, April 10th: Hume's Empiricism (Hume's Enquiry, Sec I-III).

Thursday, April 12th: The Problem of Induction (Hume's Enquiry, Sec. IV).

Tuesday, April 17th: Finish Hume & Quiz on Hume (Hume's Enquiry, Sec. V, part 1).

Thursday, April 19th: Introduction to John Stuart Mill (Mill's On Liberty, Chapter 1).

Tuesday, April 24th: Liberty & Harm (Mill's On Liberty, Chapter 2).

Thursday, April 26th: Should Individuals Be Allowed to Act in Ways Considered Offensive by the
Majority? (Mill's On Liberty, Chapter 3). Final version of paper due.

Tuesday, May 1st: Finish Mill & Quiz on Mill (Mill's On Liberty, Chapter 4).

Thursday, May 3rd: Review for Final Exam (Final Draft of Paper Due).

Final Exam: To Be Announced.