Course: Introduction to Philosophy (PHIL 201/F09) — Instructor: Steve Naragon
Assignments Schedule
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Due dates for journal entries, discussion forum postings/comments, and online quizzes are listed below; in-class quizzes are unannounced, and there should be between ten and fifteen of these during the semester.
You may submit your materials as early as you like; the dates in the schedule below are the last possible day for submitting the work without penalty (these days end at midnight; anything submitted after midnight is penalized). I encourage you to submit your work early.
The journal assignments consist of a set of readings (in red), followed by the prompt (in black). Be sure to submit your entries to the appropriate drop box in ANGEL. The Discussion Forums also take place in ANGEL.
All journal entries written for extra credit should be dropped into the “EC” drop box.
Philosophy Study Table
Monday/Tuesday, 6:30-8:30 PM, at the Success Center [Ben Harvey, tutor]
Tue, Sep 8 [modules]
Online quiz #1 ("Meet your syllabus!"). Complete on ANGEL.
Journal-1 (module 2) [rubric]
• Plato, “The Allegory of the Cave” (from The Republic; early 4th century BCE)
Summarize the reading and then discuss the following: In what sense does this selection from Plato’s Republic involve an allegory? (If you aren’t sure what ‘allegory’ means, then look it up.) What are the key elements in the allegory? What do they symbolize? Describe an event in your life when you seemed to be leaving or re-entering Plato’s Cave.
Thu, Sep 10 [modules]
Online quiz #2 ("Analyzing Arguments"). Complete on ANGEL.
Tue, Sept 15 [modules]
Online quiz #3 ("Deductive Logic"). Complete on ANGEL.
Thu, Sep 17 [modules]
Online logic quiz #4 ("Inductive Logic"). Complete on Angel.
Journal-2 (module 5) [rubric]
• C. S. Peirce, “Fixation of Belief” (1877)
• W. K. Clifford, “The Ethics of Belief” (1877)
Write a summary of each of the readings (be careful to say only what is essential here), and then discuss the following, in two separate parts: (1) Would Clifford agree with Peirce that fixing a belief, and keeping it fixed, is our primary concern? How might a discussion go between these two men? (2) Explain why you agree or disagree with Clifford’s thesis.
Tue, Sep 22 [modules]
Journal-3 (module 6) [rubric]
• Plato, Apology (early 4th century BCE)
Briefly summarize the reading, and then respond to the following: Why did a democracy like Athens execute a man like Socrates? What did Socrates claim that he wanted to do with his life? What conception of the good life does Socrates seem to hold in this reading?
Thu, Sep 24 [modules]
Discussion Forum #1: posting due today [rubric]
Make one posting (responding to the prompt below).
A cause for a belief explains why you hold that belief, while a reason for a belief explains why you should hold that belief; in other words, a reason for a belief helps justify that belief. Should all of our beliefs have reasons (or be justified)? Why or why not?
Thu, Oct 1 [modules]
Discussion Forum #1: comments due today
Please comment on at least two other postings in this forum.
Tue, Oct 6 [modules]
First Exam
Thu, Oct 8 [modules]
Journal-4 (modules 10-11) [rubric]
• Plato, “Ring of Gyges” (from The Republic; early 4th century BCE)
• Peter Singer, “The Prisoner’s Dilemma” (1981)
• Natalie Angier, “Why We’re So Nice” (2002)
• Mark Twain, selection from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885)
Drawing on these four selections, tell me what you think about egoism. Are all human actions ultimately selfish? Explain your answer, and be sure that you make use of the ideas and arguments in the readings. (For instance, if something in the reading speaks against your position, then you need to acknowledge this and respond to it.
Tue, Oct 20 [modules]
Journal-5 (module 12) [rubric]
• Ruth Benedict, “Anthropology and the Abnormal” (1934)
After summarizing the above essay, discuss the following: If morality is simply a reflection of one’s culture, and the truth of moral judgments is always dependent on this culture, then does it ever make sense to morally criticize another culture? For instance, does it make sense for a 20th century American to criticize the Samurai practice of 18th century Japan of cutting innocent bystanders in half so as to test their sword's strength? (This practice was called 辻斬 — tsuji-giri — literally ‘crossroads killing’.) Explain why you believe or disbelieve that this claim of ethical relativism is true.
Thu, Oct 22 [modules]
Discussion Forum #2: posting due today [rubric]
Make one posting (responding to the prompt below).
Read and respond to this recent article by Peter Singer concerning the current debate on health care reform.
Tue, Oct 27 [modules]
Discussion Forum #2: comments due today
Please comment on at least two other postings in this forum.
Thu, Oct 29 [modules]
Journal-6 (modules 14-15) [rubric]
• Immanuel Kant, Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785) (selection)
• John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism (1863) (selection)
• Ursula Le Guin, “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” (1973)
Summarize Le Guin’s short story, and then discuss how Kant and Mill would evaluate the situation in Omelas. Would they find it to be morally acceptable? Explain.
Tue, Nov 10 [modules]
Journal-7 (module 18) [rubric]
• John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690) (selection)
Dogs can hear sounds that are too high for people to hear. Bees can see colors that are invisible to humans. Could there be sounds too high for any animal to hear, or colors that no animal can see? Before discussing this question, be sure to note (in your summary) the relevant points that John Locke makes in the reading.
Thu, Nov 12 [modules]
Second Exam
Tue, Nov 17 [modules]
Discussion Forum #3: posting due today [rubric]
Make one posting (responding to the prompt below).
Descartes believed that the human body was an intricately built machine, and that the human mind, while connected with this body, was itself non-physical and ultimately separable from the mechanical body. How do you think the evidence stacks up here? Is something non-physical required to explain the mind? An alternative approach to considering this: Do you think that computers might some day be constructed that have minds?
Thu, Nov 19 [modules]
Journal-8 (modules 19-20) [rubric]
• John Searle, “The Myth of the Computer” (1982)
• Stephen Law, “Could a Machine Think?” (2003)
Watch one of the films listed in the “Other Resources” of Module 20. Summarize the film, and then discuss whether you think the robot (Hal in 2001, the Replicants in Blade Runner, Andrew in Bicentennial Man, David in A.I.) can think. Be sure to draw on the arguments and examples provided in the readings.
Tue, Nov 24 [modules]
Discussion Forum #3: comments due today
Please comment on at least two other postings in this forum.
Tue, Dec 1 [modules]
Journal-9 (module 22) [rubric]
• Raymond Smullyan, “Conversation with God” (1977)
Find someone whose religious beliefs are different from your own. In your journal entry, discuss the following questions, as each of you would answer or respond to them: “Are your religious beliefs justified? If so, how? If not, why not? (And: If they aren’t justified, then why do you believe them?) How might one go about justifying one's religious beliefs to another person?”
[Write this up as a single narrative, discussing these two perspectives and bringing them into conversation with each other.]
Thu, Dec 3 [modules]
Discussion Forum #4: posting due today [rubric]
Make one posting (responding to the prompt below).
It is not uncommon to hear the claim that “life would have no meaning if God did not exist.” Do you agree with this or not? What reasons support this view, and what reasons speak against it? What do you think? Finally, suppose that this claim (that life has no meaning without God) is correct; is that reason enough to believe that God exists?
Tue, Dec 8 [modules]
Journal-10 (modules 23-24) [rubric]
• William Paley, Natural Theology (1802) (selection)
• Sharon Begley, “Science finds Religion” (1998)
• Jim Holt, “Supernatural Selection” (2002)
Briefly summarize each of the readings, and then based on these readings and other things that you might know, discuss the following: What features of the physical (natural) universe — if any — do you think are most in need of a supernatural explanation? How might a skeptic reply?
Thu, Dec 10 [modules]
Discussion Forum #4: comments due today
Please comment on at least two other postings in this forum.
Finals Week
Third Exam
Manchester College // Registrar // Department of Religion and Philosophy // Last updated: 18 Aug 2009