Introduction to Philosophy, Spring 2012

Welcome!

Please see below for announcements and miscellaneous course materials, including the syllabus.

If a reading is not in the course text (Reason and Responsibility), then you will find it attached below (in alphabetical order). In such a case, I strongly encourage you to print the reading prior to reading it. Then (1) you don't have to read it on a screen, (2) you can underline what's important and jot down your reactions (questions/comments, for now and as reminders later when studying), and (3) you can bring it with you to class (to ask questions/raise comments). More generally, it's not implausible that you'll get more out of the article if you read a paper-copy -- which means in the end, by reading a paper-copy of the assigned material, you may well learn more and do better in the course.

Recall the tips and hints on reading philosophy on the syllabus. Several more useful guidelines can be found here.

Adam Pham is the teaching assistant for this course; please contact him with questions about discussion sections, grading, absences, and the like -- his email address is on the syllabus. My email address is also listed on the syllabus.

Announcements

>> The study guide for the final exam is now posted below (look for 'Exam2 Study Guide.pdf'). <<

5/8 - There are two readings for Thursday's (5/1o) discussion of philosophy of religion:

  • Nietzsche, selections from The Gay Science [posted below]
  • Russell, "The Value of Philosophy" [R&R]

5/5 - There are two readings for Tuesday's (5/8) discussion of philosophy of religion:

  • Pascal, "The Wager" [R&R]
  • Kaufman, "Pascal's Wager" [posted below]

4/27 - There are three readings (plus one optional reading) for Tuesday's and Thursday's (5/1 and 5/3) discussion of philosophy of religion:

  • Dostoevsky, "Rebellion" from The Brothers Karamazov [R&R]
  • Mackie, "Evil and Omnipotence" [R&R]
  • Swinburne, "Why God Allows Evil" [R&R]
  • Optional: Johnson, "God and the Problem of Evil" [R&R]

4/25 - There are three readings for Thursday's (4/26) discussion of philosophy of religion:

  • Anselm, "The Ontological Argument" [R&R]
  • Guanilo, "On Behalf of the Fool" [R&R]
  • Rowe, "The Ontological Argument" [R&R]

4/20 - There are two readings for Tuesday's (4/24) discussion of philosophy of religion:

  • Paley, "The Design Argument" [R&R]
  • Hume, "Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion" [R&R]

4/17 - There are two readings (plus one optional reading) for Thursday's (4/19) discussion of philosophy of religion:

  • Aquinas, "The Five Ways" [R&R]
  • Martin, Atheism: A Philosophical Justification (selections) [posted below]
  • Optional: Rowe, "The Cosmological Argument" [R&R]

4/16 - There is one reading for Tuesday's (4/17) discussion of philosophy of religion:

  • Johnston, "Is Your God Really God?" [posted below]

4/10 - There are six readings (plus two additional, optional readings) for the section on epistemology (theory of knowledge):

  • Feldman, Epistemology (selections) [posted below]
  • Plato, "Knowledge as Justified True Belief" [R&R]
  • Plato, Meno [posted below]
  • Descartes, "Meditations on First Philosophy" [R&R]
  • Pollock, "A Brain in a Vat" [R&R]
  • Moore, "Proof of an External World" [R&R]
  • Optional: Gettier, "Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?" [R&R and posted below]
  • Optional: Kitcher, "Believing Where We Cannot Prove" [R&R]

Here is an item relevant to the discussion of epistemology:

3/28 - There are four readings (plus an optional reading) on the metaphysics of personal identity:

  • Locke, "The Prince and the Cobbler" [R&R]
  • Reid, "Of Mr. Locke's Account of Identity" [R&R]
  • Parfit, "Divided Minds and the Nature of Persons" [R&R]
  • Optional: Dennett, "Where am I?" [R&R]

Here is an item relevant to the discussion of personal identity and surviving death:

3/18 - There are two readings on the metaphysics of being and substance:

  • Aristotle, Metaphysics [posted below]
  • Heidegger, "The Fundamental Question of Metaphysics" [posted below]

Here is an item relevant to the discussion of being and substance:

>> The first exam (on the material below) was on Thursday, March 22. Congratulations! <<

3/9 - There are five readings on the meaning of life:

  • Epicurus, "Letter to Menoeceus", especially paragraphs 3-6 [R&R]
  • Plato, Philebus [posted below]
  • Nozick, "The Experience Machine" [posted below]
  • Metz, "Religion and the Meaning of Life" [posted below]
  • H. H. the Dalai Lama, How to Practice [posted below]

3/5 - There is one reading on existentialist ethics:

  • Sartre, "Existentialist Ethics" [posted below]

2/28 - There is one reading on Kantianism (deontology):

  • Kant, "The Good Will and the Categorical Imperative" [R&R]

Here are some items relevant to our discussion of morality thus far:

2/26 - There is one reading on utilitarianism:

  • Mill, "Utilitarianism" [R&R]

2/19 - There are two readings on God and morality (divine command theory):

  • Craig and Sinnott-Armstrong, “God and Objective Morality” [R&R]
  • Rachels, “Must God’s Commands Conform to Moral Standards?” [posted below]

2/15 - There are two readings (plus an optional reading) on moral truth:

  • Benedict, "The Case for Moral Relativism" [posted below]
  • Shafer-Landau, "Ethical Subjectivism" [R&R]
  • Optional: Nussbaum, "Judging Other Cultures: The Case of Genital Mutilation" [R&R]

2/9 - There are two readings on the moral status of abortion:

  • Thomson, "A Defense of Abortion" [R&R]
  • Marquis, "Why Abortion is Immoral" [R&R]

2/2 - There are two readings on the moral status of aid.

  • Singer, "Famine, Affluence, and Morality" [R&R]
  • Hardin, "Living on a Lifeboat" [posted below]
  • Optional: Singer, "Postscript to 'Famine, Affluence, and Morality'" [posted below]

Here are some items relevant to the discussion of Singer and Hardin:

1/30 - There is an optional reading on logic.

  • Priest, Logic: A Very Short Introduction (in particular, chapter 1; chapters 2 and 7 are somewhat advanced and go beyond what will be discussed in this class) [posted below]

Here is an item relevant to the discussion of arguments:

1/25 - There has been a room change: lectures (TR 9:30-10:45) will be held in SOCIAL SCIENCES 5206.

Course Materials

You can access the documents below by clicking on 'download' or on the down arrow on the right-hand side (it depends on your browser).