Course: Introduction to Philosophy (PHIL 201/F09) — Instructor: Steve Naragon
Readings
|
|
Required Texts
• Naragon, “A Book is a Machine to Help One Think”: An Introduction to Philosophy (Fall 2009)
• Plato, Five Dialogues, 2nd ed. (Hackett)
• René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (Hackett)
The readings are divided into twenty-five modules. Most of these readings are found in the latter half of the textbook (Naragon, “A Book is a Machine” ...), and are indicated by author and title. Readings marked as “Naragon, §§” refer to sections in the first half of the textbook. The readings for the first week or so are available online, for those still waiting on their textbooks (see “Course Materials/Texts” on the Angel site). Individual readings are also available online by clicking on the relevant links in the relevant modules (found in the [show] menus). The additional readings, videos, audio files, and films listed under “Other Resources” are not required, but they are related material that will profit the interested student. Many of these items are marked with an “[EC]” — in which case they can serve as the basis for an extra credit journal.
The four dialogues by Plato, and Descartes’s Meditations, need to be purchased separately, although translations in the public domain can also be found online:
[Plato: Apology / Meno / Euthyphro / Crito]
[Descartes (with numbered paragraphs, and links to the Latin and French versions)].
With all of these texts, I strongly encourage you to either purchase the books, or else print out the texts from online (the main textbook is sold “at cost” at the Campus Store). These reading materials are not like the Sunday cartoons or some easy-reading blogsite. You will need to read and re-read this material, making notes in the margins to help you follow the line of thought. Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to understand the material!
Learning Objectives (or learning competencies) are listed with each of the twenty-five modules (click on [show] links). These objectives are normally prefaced with some verb: identify, describe, distinguish, diagram, define, use, construct, explain, evaluate, compare, discuss. You may click on these terms for a brief description and example of what I have in mind.
Manchester College // Registrar // Department of Religion and Philosophy // Last updated: 5 Aug 2009