Philosophy 231 SyllabusInstructor: Chris DeMarcoOffice: JM 211Office Hours: 8:30 am – 9:30 am, Monday thru Thursday11:00 am – 1:30 pm, Tuesday and Thursday5:00 pm – 6:00 pm, Mondayand by appointmentTelephone and Fax Numbers: 796-8583 (office); 796-8637 (fax)E-mail: [email protected]: Louis P. Pojman, ed., Philosophy: The Quest for Truth, 5th ed.General SummaryOver the course of the semester, we will be examining a variety of philosophical questions. You will be graded on the basis of: (1) your familiarity with the positions taken on these questions and the arguments supporting those positions; (2) your ability to critically examine those arguments; (3) classroom participation in discussions concerning these arguments in class.GradingExams: We will have three exams, each containing a variety of short answer and mini-essay questions (around a page each). You will be given the essay questions prior to each exam. The exams make up 80% of your grade.Quizzes: You will be given short quizzes throughout the semester, usually over topics that will be announced in advance. These will be graded on a pass/fail basis, and will make up 20% of your grade. Quizzes can not be made up, but you can drop one-fifth of your quiz scores.Grading scale: 90% – 4.0 82% – 3.5 74% – 3.0 66% – 2.558% – 2.0 50% – 1.5 42% – 1.0 34% – 0.5Attendance PolicyYou are expected to attend class regularly. Quizzes will be given frequently throughout the semester, and they cannot be made up. Tests will be held at the dates shown below, and cannot be made up except in extreme circumstances.Test Dates:Test I – Thursday, February 16Test II – Thursday, March 30Test III – Tuesday, May 9TENTATIVE READING LISTETHICSSocrates as a role modelPlato, “Socratic Wisdom” (pp. 6-18)Are There Absolute Moral Standards?Ruth Benedict, “Morality Is Relative” (pp. 364-369)James Rachels, “Morality Is Not Relative” (pp. 369-378)Why Be Moral?Plato, “Why Should I Be Moral?” (pp. 379-384)Ethical TheoriesImmanuel Kant, “The Moral Law” (pp. 414-427)John Stuart Mill, “Utilitarianism” (pp. 427-434)Jean-Paul Sartre, “Existentialist Ethics” (pp. 434-442)KNOWLEDGECan We Know Anything?René Descartes, “Cartesian Doubt and the Search for Foundational Knowledge” (pp. 143-149)Is Science Rational?David Hume, “The Origin of Our Ideas and Skepticism about Causal Reasoning” (pp. 171-180)Can We Avoid Skepticism?John Hospers, “An Argument Against Skepticism” (pp. 180-188)FREE WILL AND DETERMINISMDo We Have Free Will?W.T. Stace, “Compatibilism” (pp. 342-348)Richard Taylor, “Fate” (pp. 348-357)PERSONAL IDENTITYWhat, if Anything, Makes You the Same Person over Time?Louis Pojman, “Who Am I? Do We Have Personal Identity?” (pp. 285-289)John Locke, “Our Psychological Properties Define the Self” (pp. 289-293)David Hume, “We Have No Substantial Self with Which We Are Identical” (pp. 293-296)Derek Parfit and Godfrey Vesey, “Brain Transplants and Personal Identity: A Dialogue” (pp. 296-301)Gilbert Ryle, “Exorcising Descartes’ ‘Ghost in the Machine’” (pp. 236-242)WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE?We Should Seek PleasureEpicurus, “Moderate Hedonism” (pp. 499-504)We Should Accept What Life BringsEpictetus, “Stoicism” (pp. 505-514)PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGIONArguments for the Existence of GodPaul Edwards, “A Critique of the Cosmological Argument” (pp. 59-73)David Hume, “A Critique of the Teleological Argument” (pp. 73-80)St. Anselm and Gaunilo, “The Ontological Argument” (pp. 81-84)The Problem of EvilB.C. Johnson, “Why Doesn’t God Intervene to Prevent Evil?” (pp. 90-95)John Hick, “There is a Reason Why God Allows Evil” (pp.