Philosophy 231: Introduction to Philosophy Instructor: Chris DeMarco Office: McDivitt Hall, Room 211A Office Hours: 8:30 am – 9:30 am, Monday thru Thursday 11:00 am – 1:30 pm, Tuesday and Thursday and by appointment Telephone and Fax Numbers: 796-8583 (office); 784-0354 (home); 796-8637 (fax) E-mail: [email protected] Text: Louis P. Pojman, ed., Philosophy: The Quest for Truth, 7th ed. General Summary Over the course of the semester, we will be examining a variety of philosophical questions. You will be graded on the basis of your familiarity with the positions taken on these questions and the arguments supporting those positions, and on your ability to critically examine those arguments. Grading Exams: 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% – 2.5 58% – 2.0 50% – 1.5 42% – 1.0 34% – 0.5 Attendance Policy You 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 10 Test II – Thursday, March 24 Test III – Thursday, April 28TENTATIVE READING LIST ETHICS Socrates as a role model Plato, “Socratic Wisdom” (pp. 6-18) Are There Absolute Moral Standards? Ruth Benedict, “Morality Is Relative” (pp. 446-451) James Rachels, “Morality Is Not Relative” (pp. 451-460) Ethical Theories Immanuel Kant, “The Moral Law” (pp. 495-508) John Stuart Mill, “Utilitarianism” (pp. 508-514) Jean-Paul Sartre, “Existentialist Ethics” (pp. 515-521) KNOWLEDGE Can We Know Anything? René Descartes, “Cartesian Doubt and the Search for Foundational Knowledge” (pp. 183-189) Is Science Rational? David Hume, “The Origin of Our Ideas and Skepticism about Causal Reasoning” (pp. 210-219) Can We Avoid Skepticism? John Hospers, “An Argument Against Skepticism” (pp. 219-227) FREE WILL AND DETERMINISM Do We Have Free Will? W.T. Stace, “Compatibilism” (pp. 411-416) Richard Taylor, “Fate” (pp. 430-439) PERSONAL IDENTITY What, if Anything, Makes You the Same Person over Time? Louis Pojman, “Who Am I? Do We Have Personal Identity?” (pp. 334-338) John Locke, “Our Psychological Properties Define the Self” (pp. 339-342) David Hume, “We Have No Substantial Self with Which We Are Identical” (pp. 343-345) Derek Parfit and Godfrey Vesey, “Brain Transplants and Personal Identity: A Dialogue” (pp. 346-351) Gilbert Ryle, “Exorcising Descartes’ ‘Ghost in the Machine’” (pp. 272-278)WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE? We Should Seek Pleasure Epicurus, “Moderate Hedonism” (pp. 571-576) We Should Accept What Life Brings Epictetus, “Stoicism” (pp. 577-586) PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION The Cosmological Argument Thomas Aquinas, “The Five Ways” (pp. 52-55) Paul Edwards, “A Critique of the Cosmological Argument” (pp. 74-83) The Teleological Argument William Paley, “The Watch and the Watchmaker” (pp. 85-87) David Hume, “A Critique of the Teleological Argument” (pp. 88-95) The Ontological Argument St. Anselm and Gaunilo, “The Ontological Argument” (pp. 96-99) William Rowe, “An Analysis of the Ontological Argument” (pp. 99-110) The Problem of Evil B.C. Johnson, “Why Doesn’t God Intervene to Prevent Evil?” (pp. 116-121) John Hick, “There is a Reason Why God Allows Evil” (pp. 121-126) Faith and Reason Blaise Pascal, “Yes, Faith is a Logical Bet” (pp. 127-130) W.K. Clifford, “The Ethics of Belief” (pp. 130-135) William James, “The Will to Believe” (pp.