Instructor: Dr. Steve Naragon, Office: Ad Bldg., #231c (Phone —  office: 982-5041; home: 982-6033)

Web Syllabus: http://users.manchester.edu/Facstaff/SSNaragon/Online/201-F10/Welcome.html
	You will need to consult the web syllabus for every class session.

Required Texts: (1) Naragon, “A Book is a Machine to Help One Think”: An Introduction to Philosophy (Fall 2010); (2) Plato, Five Dialogues, 2nd ed. (Hackett); (3) René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (Hackett).

Course Objectives.  Philosophy is a discipline in the humanities; as such it is interested in goals rather distinct from those of the natural and social sciences — although philosophy also pays close attention to the findings of these other areas of human inquiry. 
	
	Philosophy is concerned less with the accumulation of facts, than with the education of the individual.  My primary goal — and the goal of the humanities in general — is to help each individual increase their level of self-understanding.  This is not a small matter, and it lies at the heart of any human existence that is worth living.
	
	So here’s the deal: After a semester of hard work, deep confusion, and more hard work, you should be able to …

(1) 	demonstrate a basic understanding of the areas of Western philosophy and some of its perennial concerns;
(2) 	demonstrate a basic command of logical reasoning and conceptual analysis;
(3) 	critically evaluate arguments and beliefs — in particular, you will be able to think more critically about your own assumptions and beliefs;
(4) 	discuss with more depth, and with greater appreciation of different perspectives, some of the most pressing questions confronting each of us as human beings, such as: Is there an objective difference between right and wrong, and true and false?  If there is, can we come to know it? How might we best get on with each other?  Are there better and worse ways for organizing our communal existence? Can we prove or disprove the existence of God?  Is knowledge of the divine possible? What is it to be human?
	
	After this semester, most of you will never again be asked to explain Descartes’s argument against skepticism or Kant’s moral theory, but each of you will be required to live your life — and this you can do either intelligently or not, either well or not.  You can aim to live a life filled with wonder and beauty, and seeking truth — or not.  What shape such a life takes is up to you, of course, but philosophy can provide you with some useful tools for shaping it.
		
	You will be asked in this course to learn and understand various concepts and theories and arguments.  In doing this, you will also develop your ability to think critically and creatively about the world around you, and about the role you see yourself playing in it.

Course Requirements

Attendance.  If you do not plan to attend class and participate constructively, then you should withdraw from this class.  A course on philosophy is by its nature aimed at self-examination and discussion; consequently, doing well in this class requires being there.  Missing class does not directly affect your grade, although students with poor attendance typically do quite poorly in the class.  On the average, students missing more than two classes during the semester receive grades below the class average.

Exams.  There will be three non-cumulative exams over the readings and lectures.  [Makeup: Exams missed due to an excused absence are to be taken as soon as possible or else will be forfeited.  It is your responsibility to see me about this.]

Discussion Forum.  There are eight discussion forums, each of which will require one post and two comments from you.  The posts have a 500 word minimum, and comments a 100 word minimum.  These will be completed on ANGEL.

Quizzes.  There will be a quiz nearly every day at the beginning of class on the readings for that day and material discussed the previous class day.  These exercises help keep us both informed of your grasp of the material.  [Makeup: Missed quizzes can be made up in my office, but this has to occur before the next class meeting.  It is entirely your responsibility to make this arrangement.]

Extra credit Journals.  These are opportunities for exploring additional texts, films, videos, podcasts, etc. — see the web syllabus for details.

Grading.  The set of three exams is worth 51% (17% each); the set of discussion forums is worth 40%; and the set of quizzes is worth 9%.  I use the following letter grade conversion scale: A (94-100), A- (90-93), B+ (87-89), B (83-86), B- (80-82), C+ (77-79), C (73-76), C- (70-72), D+ (67-69), D (63-66), D-(60-62), F (0-59).

Cell Phones.  Please don’t bring these to class.  If you bring a cell phone, it needs to be turned off and put away, preferably at the bottom of a very deep pocket or book bag.  If you are unable to part company with your cell phone, or are unable to keep it turned off and stowed, then please find another class to attend.  Thank you.

Students with Disabilities.  See the web syllabus.

Cheating and Plagiarism.  See the web syllabus.

SCHEDULE OF DISCUSSION AND READINGS

Logic and Belief
Thu, Sep 2
(1) What is Philosophy? (N, §§1-3)
Tue, Sep 7
(2)  Analyzing Arguments (N, §§4-5)
•	Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” (early 4th century BCE)
•	Neil Postman, “Darkness and the Light” (1995)
Thu, Sep 9
(3) Deductive Logic (N, §6)
•	Bertrand Russell, “The Value of Philosophy” (1912)  
Tue, Sep 14
(4) Inductive Logic (N, §7)
Thu, Feb 16
(5) On Belief
•	C. S. Peirce, “Fixation of Belief” (1877)
•	W. K. Clifford, “The Ethics of Belief” (1877)
Socrates and Plato
Tue, Sep 21
(6)  The Role of the Philosopher (N, §§9-10)
•	Plato, Apology (early 4th c. bce)
•	Jean-Paul Sartre, “The Wall” (1939)
Thu, Sep 23
(7) The Benefits of Philosophy (N, §11)
•	Plato, Meno (early 4th c. bce)
Tue, Sep 28
(8) The Nature of Definitions (N, §12)
•	Plato, Euthyphro (early 4th c. bce)
Thu, Sep 30
(9) The Citizen and the State (N, §13)
•	Plato, Crito (early 4th c. bce)
•	M. L. King, Jr., “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” (1963)
Tue, Oct 5	Exam #1
Epistemology
Thu, Oct 7
(10) What Can I Know? (N, §§14-16)
•	René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy, “First Meditation” (1641)
Tue, Oct 12
(11) Cartesian Dualism (N, §§17-19)
•	René Descartes, “Second Meditation” 
•	J. Borges, “The Circular Ruins” (1940)
Thu, Oct 14
(12) Locke’s Empiricism (N, §§20-21)
•	John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690) (sel)
— Fall Break —
Philosophy of Religion
Thu, Oct 21
(13) Believing in God (N, §§36-37)
•	Raymond Smullyan, “Conversation with God” (1977)
•	Albert Einstein, “Religion and Science” (1930)
Tue, Oct 26
(14) Faith and Reason (N, §38)
•	Jean-Jacques Rousseau, “Creed of the Priest of Savoy” (1762)
Thu, Oct 28
(15) The Argument from Design (N, §41)
•	Paley, Natural Theology (1802) (sel)
•	Begley, “Science finds Religion” (1998)
Tue, Nov 2
(16) The Problem of Evil (N, §§42, 44)
•	Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Brothers Karamazov (1880) (sel)
Thu, Nov 4	Exam #2

Ethics
Tue, Nov 9
(17) Why Be Moral? (N, §45)
•	Plato, “Ring of Gyges” (from The Republic; early 4th c. bce)
•	Peter Singer, “The Prisoner’s Dilemma” (1981)
Thu, Nov 11
(18) From Moral Intuition to Moral Theory (N, §46)
•	Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885) (sel)
Tue, Nov 16
(19) Ethical Subjectivism (N, §47) 
•	Ruth Benedict, “Anthropology and the Abnormal” (1934)
Thu, Nov 18
(20) Aristotle’s Virtue Ethic (N, §50)
•	Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Bks. 1-2
Tue, Nov 23
(21) Mill’s Utilitarianism (N, §51-52)
•	J.S. Mill, Utilitarianism (1863) (sel)
•	Ursula Le Guin, “Walk Away From Omelas” (1973)
•	Peter Singer, “Famine, Affluence, and Morality” (1972)
— Thanksgiving Break —
Tue, Nov 30
(22) Kant’s Deontologism (N, §§53-55)
•	Immanuel Kant, Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785) (sel)
— Thu, Dec 2  — No Class —
The Metaphysics of Being Human
Tue, Dec 7
(23) Minds, Brains, Selves (N, §§25-27)
•	René Descartes, Discourse on Method (1637) (sel)
•	Stephen Law, “Could a Machine Think?” (2003)
•	YouTube videos (see the web syllabus)
Thu, Dec 9
(24) Minds and Machines (N, §28)
•	John Searle, “The Myth of the Computer” (1982)
Finals Week	Third Exam