Introduction to Philosophy (Spring 2019)
INSTRUCTOR: Jeff Tolly
TEXT: What Does it all Mean? by Thomas Nagel (TN)
All other readings will be supplied on Sakai or accessible through a link below.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Philosophers ask and seek answers to important questions about the fundamental nature of reality. Some of these include
• What is Friendship?
• What is Love?
• How do you make an argument that is good, reasonable, and convincing?
• What is free will, and do we have it?
• What is knowledge, and do we know anything?
• Is it ever reasonable to believe something even if we know other intelligent people disagree with us?
• Does God exist?
• Can one reasonably believe God exists?
• What is morality?
• How do we know what the right thing to do is?
• How hard is it to be a moral person? What is required of me in order to be a moral person?
• What is the relationship between happiness and a meaningful life?
• What is our personal identity? What is our nature as human persons?
In this course, students will investigate these central questions in philosophy. We will focus on the key arguments on both sides of these debates, with an aim to equip students to form their own considered judgments on these philosophical questions. Along the way, we will work as a class to develop the following philosophical skills: critical and careful reading, understanding and reconstructing arguments, philosophical discussion with one’s peers, and philosophical writing.
SCHEDULE
Unit 1: Social Philosophy
Wed. 1/16 What is Friendship? (day 1)
Reading:
(1) “Introduction” (TN) pgs 3-7
(2) Video: “Aristotle’s Timeless Advice on What Real Friendship is and Why it Matters”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F18kSA8OxqY
(3) Excerpt from “The 4 Loves”—C.S. Lewis
Fri. 1/18 What is Friendship? (day 2)
Reading:
(1) “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?”—Stephen Marche
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/05/is-facebook-making-us-lonely/308930/
Mon. 1/21 -NO CLASS- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday
Wed. 1/23 Love and Rationality: The Responsive Theory of Love
Readings
(1) Video: How to Argue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKEhdsnKKHs&t=
(2) “A Love Story”—Radio Documentary, This American Life. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/247/what-is-this-thing/act-three
Fri. 1/25 Love and Rationality: The Bestowing Theory of Love (day 2)
Reading:
(1) “The Rise of Dating App Fatigue”—Julie Beck
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/10/the-unbearable-exhaustion-of-dating-apps/505184/
Unit 2: Epistemology
Mon. 1/28 Can we Know Anything? (day 1)
Readings
(1) “How Can We Know Anything?” (TN, pgs 8-18)
(2) Video: “The Matrix—the real world.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKwq7b2i-vc
(3) Video “What is the Matrix?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUrZgHQ6t14
Wed. 1/30 Can We Know Anything? (day 2)
Reading:
(1) “Proof of an External World”--Moore
Fri. 2/1 Is it wrong to form beliefs without sufficient evidence?
Due: Check-in Question
Reading:
(1) “Ethics of Belief”—W.K. Clifford
Mon. 2/4 Belief without Sufficient Evidence can be morally justified.
Reading:
(1) “Will to Believe”—William James
Unit 3: Philosophy of Religion
Wed. 2/6 The Problem of Evil
Reading:
(1) “Rebellion,” from The Brothers Karamazov—Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fri. 2/8 Responses to the Problem of Evil
Due: Conversation Group Assignment 1
Reading:
(1) Video: “The Existential Problem of Evil and The Brothers Karamazov”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj-sxNNDuNU
(2) Video: “Philosophy: Problem of Evil Part 3”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L67dlpMgDa4
Mon. 2/11 Problem of Evil—Wrap up
(no new reading)
Wed. 2/13 -No CLASS-
Fri. 2/15 The Fine Tuning Argument for God’s Existence
Reading:
(1) The Fine Tuning Design Argument (pgs 1-8)—Robin Collins
Mon. 2/18 Responses to the Fine Tuning Argument for God’s Existence
(2) The Fine Tuning Design Argument (pgs 8-14)—Robin Collins
Wed. 2/20 The Fine Tuning Argument—Wrap up
(no new reading)
Fri. 2/22 Can Belief in God be rational even without good arguments? (day 1)
Reading
(1) “Rational Religious Belief Without Arguments”—Michael Bergmann (310-315)
Optional Reading –Finish the article.
Mon. 2/25 Can belief in God be rational even without good arguments? (day 2)
-no new reading
Wed. 2/27 Religious Disagreement—Pluralism and Exclusivism (day 1)
Reading:
“Religious Pluralism and Ultimate Reality”—John Hick
Fri. 3/1 Religious Disagreement—Pluralism and Exclusivism (day 2)
(1) “A Defense of Religious Exclusivism”—Alvin Plantinga (172-179)
Mon. 3/4 Religious Disagreement (wrap up)
-no new reading
Unit 4: Metaphysics
Wed. 3/6 “What makes you you?” Personal Identity Day 1—You are whatever has your mental states and memories?
Reading:
(1) Trailer: “Freaky Friday”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ8KJ4MzzOw
Fri. 3/8 “What makes you you?” Personal Identity Day 2—You are your Body? You are an immaterial soul?
Reading:
(1) Video “Fission and Personal Identity”—Shelley Kagan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRicA5zuFF0
(2) “Mind Body Problem (TN)” pgs 27-37.
3/11-3/15 -NO CLASS-Spring Break
Mon. 3/18 “What makes you you?” The Narrative View of Self.
(1) Personal Identity (The Narrative Self)—Elisabeth Camp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcIqoN9oRgo
Wed. 3/20 Personal Identity (wrap up day)
-no new reading
Fri. 3/22 Final Paper Prospectus Workshop
Mon. 3/25 Moral Responsibility and Free Will
-Philosophy Writing Workshop-
Reading:
(1) “Free Will”—TN (pgs 47-58)
Wed. 3/27 Free Will and Determinism
-no new reading-
Fri. 3/29 Free Will, the Luck argument, and Compatibilism
Unit 5: Ethics
Mon. 4/1 Is all morality just relative? (day 1)
Reading:
“Right and Wrong”—TN (pgs. 59-75)
Wed. 4/3 Are there objective moral truths?
Reading:
“Letter From a Birmingham Jail”—Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
Fri. 4/5 The Trolley Problem and Moral Theorizing
Rough Draft Due
(1) video: “Bystander at the switch and Loop Trolley problem” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtKjuHfjXFc
(2) video: “Kant and Categorical Imperatives” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bIys6JoEDw
Mon. 4/8 The Demands of Morality
Reading:
(1) “Famine, Affluence, and Morality”—Peter Singer
Wed. 4/10 Aristotle and Moral Theory
Readings
(1) Video: “Aristotle and Virtue Theory”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrvtOWEXDIQ
Fri. 4/12 Moral theories wrap up
(no new reading)
Mon. 4/15 Ethics of self-driving cars (day 1)
(1) “Punch the Accelerator on Self Driving Cars”—Don Howard and Mark Mills.
Wed. 4/17 Ethics of self-driving cars (day 2)
Reading:
“Hackers are the Real Obstacle for Self-Driving Vehicles—MIT Tech. Review.
Fri. 4/19 -No Class-Good Friday
Mon. 4/22 Rough Draft Writing Workshop
Wed. 4/ 24 Is Happiness all there is to a meaningful life?
(1) “The Experience Machine”—Robert Nozick
Fri. 4/26 -Last Class