Table of Contents
| Summer 2006 |
| PHIL 1301: Introduction to Philosophy |
| Austin Community College |
| Some info removed from online version |
Most situations can be handled briefly after class; for longer discussions, you are invited to make use of office hours; appointments may also be made as necessary. Some info removed from online version [please note: assignments via email will not be accepted]
Students will be introduced to various significant philosophical issues and thinkers and to the practice of philosophical analysis.
There are no course prerequisites for Introduction to Philosophy. A passing score or the equivalent on the reading and writing portions of the TASP is required.
Frequent writing assignments require computer printing. Some readings require internet access.
Classics of Western Philosophy. 6th Edition. Hackett. 2002.
We will also make use of texts online.
Philosophy is one of the principal forces that have shaped Western civilization and history, so a basic understanding of the methods and subject matter of philosophy affords a deeper understanding of ourselves and an informed grasp of the present. In addition, critical thinking skills are so central to the methods of philosophy that the study of philosophy provides an excellent opportunity to learn and practice those skills in a focused way.
| Students will demonstrate improved critical reading, thinking, and writing skills. |
| Students will be able to reason philosophically about issues of both personal and universal significance. |
| Students will be able to identify major divisions and concepts in philosophy. |
| Students will learn how to identify and approach philosophical materials with increased confidence in their own ability to make the experience meaningful to themselves. |
Typical class activity will involve students bringing to class a one or two page preparation that will serve as a basis for small-group workshops and overall class discussion. Group workshops will usually be followed by short reports. The method is designed to sustain active rehearsal of skills needed for philosophical reflection (ie conceptual choice, creation, clarification, application, re-adjustment, re-creation, re-clarification, and so on). There will be no tests or major papers; however, a final portfolio will require students to collect the semester's short assignments. Frequent group work and presentations place a pedagogical premium on the experience of philosophy as dialogue, education as student activity, and wisdom as deliberation. Occasionally, the instructor will present lectures.
The final portfolio should contain the original papers that bear comments from the instructor. In addition to a complete portfolio of short writing assignments, students are required to attend and participate in class activities.
The final grade will be based on a cumulative review of comments made by the instructor on a portfolio of the student’s work. Students will be invited to perform a self assessment of progress at mid-term.
| A = materials are virtually complete (one or two absences or assignments missing or “late”); and the student has produced work that is frequently noted by the instructor as “excellent” for taking initiatives in further reading, exhibiting proficiency in conceptual development, and an ability to explore theoretical consequences through consideration of vivid and challenging examples. |
| B = materials are nearly complete (three or four absences or assignments missing or “late”); and the student has produced work that has been frequently noted as “good” for reviews of assigned readings (with thorough citations), conceptual clarity (with careful definitions), and appropriate examples (clearly applied). |
| C = materials are fairly complete (five or six absences or assignments missing or “late”), and the work is frequently noted as “helpful”, but comments also indicate that the student has been frequently prompted to present more thorough reviews of readings, more clarity in conceptual development, and more particular specificity in examples. |
| D = materials are incomplete (seven absences or assignments missing or “late”) or materials are frequently marked as insufficient. |
| F = more than seven absences or assignments (three weeks' worth) missing or late. |
For the method of this course to achieve results in student learning, it is essential that students come to class with preparations in hand. Failing to attend or to bring preparations on time will result in loss of grade points as explained above in the grading system. Any absence on a day that an assignment is due, or any failure to present preparation in time for group work will translate into a paper marked “late” for grading purposes. Any excused absence must be documented within one week. Two late marks on the attendance sheet will convert to one absence. In saying that “A” work may include up to two absences, etc., the instructor is acknowledging that things come up, accidents happen, life rhythms ebb, and under many circumstances it is a struggle to make the time for higher education. It is not necessary to have an “excused” absence every time to do very well in this course. Some “flex time” is built in. For this reason, it is “okay” now and then to miss class for other, often praiseworthy priorities. However, students who use up their flex time early in the semester may find that accidents continue to happen, etc., and this will begin to affect grades. In the end, it is only fair that students who attend regularly should be candidates for higher grades on the basis of their participation, especially in a classroom pedagogy that emphasizes dialogue. When students do not show up or arrive late for group conversation, it is experienced as a disruption among those who do; every absence or late arrival decreases possibilities for fruitful discussion all around.
The instructor has no stipulations other than what is allowable by the college, nor does the instructor initiate withdrawals.
It is impossible to do great intellectual work without making some use of work produced by others. Scholastic honesty is simply the practice of stipulating carefully who and what you have been borrowing from. There is no shame in borrowing; in fact, philosophical schools are marked by patterns of borrowing. But if you borrow without carefully noting your source, then we have a problem with scholastic dishonesty.
Anytime a student borrows (for example, copies and pastes from a web site) exact words, phrases, or sentences, the material should be placed into quote marks with clear references. Likewise, anytime a student borrows ideas or inspiration, but not the exact words, the source materials should be acknowledged and cited. Citations should be provided in MLA format, including all information needed for a reader to locate the exact passage cited: author, title, date, page number (or exact page URL – a root directory is not sufficient.)
If the instructor determines that an assignment includes evidence of scholastic dishonesty, the student will be asked to withdraw from class.
Cases of scholastic dishonesty will be pursued according to the procedure set forth in the Student Handbook, “Student Rights and Responsibilities,” Section J, “Academic Dishonesty": "Acts prohibited by the college for which discipline may be administered include scholastic dishonesty, including but not limited to cheating on an exam or quiz, plagiarizing, and unauthorized collaboration with another in preparing outside work. Academic work submitted by students shall be the result of their thought, research, or self-expression. Academic work is defined as, but not limited to tests, quizzes, whether taken electronically or on paper; projects, either individual or group; classroom presentations, and homework." (Student Handbook, 2002-2003, p. 32)
Students have the right to believe whatever they happen to believe and, within the appropriate constraints that follow from the organization of a course and its class meetings, to express those beliefs. Grades will never be based on the beliefs that a student maintains, but only on the quality of the philosophical work performed by a student in conjunction with the course.
Students at the College have the rights accorded to all persons under the Constitution to Freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, petition, and association. These rights carry with them the responsibility for each individual to accord the same rights to others in the College community and not to interfere with or disrupt the educational process. As willing partners in learning, it is expected that students will comply with College rules and procedures. ACC students are recognized as responsible persons who neither lose the rights nor escape the responsibilities of citizenship. Enrollment in the College indicates acceptance of the rules set forth in this policy, administered through the office of the Campus Dean of Student Services. Due process, through an investigation and appeal process, is assured to any student involved in disciplinary action. (See the "Student Discipline Policy" in the Student Handbook, http://www.austincc.edu/handbook/policies4.htm for details.)
"Each ACC campus offers support services for students with documented physical or psychological disabilities. Students with disabilities must request reasonable accommodations through the Office for Students with Disabilities on the campus where they expect to take the majority of their classes. Students are encouraged to do this three weeks before the start of the semester." (Student Handbook, 2002-2003, p. 14)
| WED, May 31 |
| WELCOME: Introducing the syllabus; Descartes, where to begin? |
| MON, June 5 |
| READ: Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy, One through Three (Cahn, pp. 454-473). |
| DUE: Three paragraphs: (1) What is the purpose that Descartes has in mind for this text and how does he go about it? (provide direct quotes from each meditation to support your claim). (2) For you, which claim seems most reasonable and why (with careful quotation)? (3) For you, which claim seems most questionable and why (with careful quotation)? |
| GROUPS: Discuss preps, nominate a rep to present. |
| SCHEDULE: First hour we will introduce the reading overall. Second hour we will review claims and questions. |
| WED, June 7 |
| READ: Descartes Meditations Four through Six (Cahn 473-486.) |
| DUE: Three paragraphs: (1) What is the purpose that Descartes has in mind for this text and how does he go about it? (provide direct quotes from each meditation to support your claim). (2) For you, which claim seems most reasonable and why (with careful quotation)? (3) For you, which claim seems most questionable and why (with careful quotation)? |
| GROUPS: Discuss preps, nominate a rep to present. |
| SCHEDULE: First hour we will introduce the reading overall. Second hour we will review claims and questions. |
| MON, June 12 |
| FOCUS: Concept review of Descartes' Meditations. |
| DUE: Three paragraphs: (1) From the text of the Meditations, present one concept that you find interesting (with direct quotes.) (2) How would thinking be affected by employing the concept in some issue or example? (3) Do you find the concept helpful for your own thinking? Why or why not? |
| GROUPS: Discuss preps, nominate a rep to present. |
| SCHEDULE: First hour we discuss concepts in Descartes. Second hour the instructor will introduce Dussel. |
| WED, June 14 |
| READ: Dussel online: Europe, Modernity, and Eurocentrism (a Google search for Enrique Dussel usually yields as top find the main index of Dussel's works on the web; here is a direct URL to the 14-page text: http://168.96.200.17/ar/libros/dussel/artics/europe.pdf) |
| DUE: Three paragraphs: (1) What is the purpose that Dussel has in mind for this text and how does he go about it? (provide direct quotes). (2) For you, which claim seems most reasonable and why (with careful quotation)? (3) For you, which claim seems most questionable and why (with careful quotation)? |
| GROUPS: Discuss preps, nominate a rep to present. |
| SCHEDULE: First hour we will introduce the reading overall. Second hour we will review claims and questions. |
| MON, June 19 |
| FOCUS: Modernity and Justice |
| LECTURE: King's Letter from Birmingham City Jail |
| WED, June 21 |
| READ: King's Letter from Birmingham Jail (online, for example at: http://www.nobelprizes.com/nobel/peace/MLK-jail.html) |
| DUE: Three paragraphs: (1) What is the purpose that King has in mind for this text and how does he go about it? (provide direct quotes). (2) For you, which claim seems most reasonable and why (with careful quotation)? (3) For you, which claim seems most questionable and why (with careful quotation)? |
| GROUPS: Discuss preps, nominate a (rotating) rep to present. |
| SCHEDULE: First hour we will introduce the reading overall. Second hour we will review claims and questions. |
| MON, June 26 |
| DUE: One paragraph. As you reflect on your response to the first three figures of study for this course (Descartes, Dussel, King) what is one concept that you find useful for organizing your thoughts? Please define the concept. And briefly indicate how it begins to work for you. |
| GROUPS: Discuss preps, nominate a (rotating) rep to present. |
| SCHEDULE: First hour we discuss concepts. Second hour the instructor will introduce Augustine and the problem of evil. |
| WED, June 28 |
| READ: Augustine, On Free Choice of the Will (Cahn 338-352) |
| DUE: Three paragraphs: (1) What is the purpose that Augustine has in mind for this text and how does he go about it? (provide direct quotes). (2) For you, which claim seems most reasonable and why (with careful quotation)? (3) For you, which claim seems most questionable and why (with careful quotation)? |
| GROUPS: Discuss preps, nominate a (rotating) rep to present. |
| SCHEDULE: First hour we will introduce the reading overall. Second hour we will review claims and questions. |
Supplementary Discussion A
On the Status of "The Bible" in Augustine's Time
Augustine's life coincides with a period in which the books of what we call "The Bible" were being sifted and sorted into something very close to modern-day form. The Catholic Encyclopedia calls this the "The Period of Fixation (367-405)" and it culminated in Jerome's Latin translation of "The Vulgate".
It appears that Augustine played an important historical role in the selection of "the canon" of books that we today call "The Bible." Two African conventions or synods at Hippo (393) and Carthage (397) drew up a list that survives as "the Catholic canon."
On the question of a Jewish canon, Steve
Brandt points to the Council of Jamnia in 90 AD which closed the canon
for most of the Hebrew tradition (Ethiopia being the notable exception).
A Greek
translation called the Septuagint (supposedly the work of seventy scholars)
was popular among Christians, but Jerome disputed the authenticity of
this collection based on his knowledge of Hebrew and his discussion with
Hebrew scholars. Therefore, he marked some of the texts of his Vulgate as Apocryphal.
How do these texts compare with today's English versions of "The Bible". There
are three grand traditions. A Catholic tradition privileges a translation
of Jerome's Vulgate, known as the Douay-Rheims
Bible. A Protestant tradition develops out of a Greek edition collected
by Erasmus, translated by Tyndale,
and put into classical form by the King James edition of 1611. Both of
these traditions converge in the Revised
Standard Versions. A distinctly Protestant community has produced the best-selling
New
International Version. For a more comprehensive look at recent English
versions, see Wayne Leman's Recent
English Bible Versions Compared (2005). Finally, there is the Masoretic text
of the Jewish tradition which privileges Hebrew over Latin and Greek.
Supplemental Discussion B
Affirming the Consequent
Whenever you have a hypothetical statement in the form of modus ponens, "if
p then q" (if there is smoke there is fire; or in Augustine's case, evil doers
will suffer) and if you can soundly affirm
the antecedent "p" (smoke or evil) then on the basis of hypothetical
validity you may logically deduce the truth of "q" (fire or suffering).
However, there are two fallacies associated with this hypothetical logic. the first is the fallacy of "affirming the consequent" or taking the truth of the consequent to validly indicate the truth of the antecedent (there is fire, therefore there must be smoke; or there is suffering, therefore there must be evil; both invalid conclusions to draw from the original hypothetical structure). The second fallacy associated with this structure is "denying the antecedent" (no smoke, therefore no fire; no evil, therefore no suffering; again these are invalid conclusions to draw from the logical structure.)
There is a valid form of denial related to the hypothetical structure
and that is to soundly deny
the consequent or modus tollens (no fire, therefore no smoke; no suffering,
therefore no evil).
| WED, July 5 |
| PORTFOLIO DAY: Gather materials and review syllabus grading criteria. Formulate a judgment about how the materials match up to grading criteria to date. Assess your strengths and challenges. The instructor will be available for individual conferences during scheduled class time as requestd by students. In the event that you do elect to show up for a conference, please email gmosesx@prodigy.net by noon. |
| MON, July 10 |
| READ: Nietzsche Twilight of the Idols (Cahn 1080-1094) |
| DUE: Three paragraphs: (1) What is the purpose that Nietzsche has in mind for this text and how does he go about it? (provide direct quotes). (2) For you, which claim seems most reasonable and why (with careful quotation)? (3) For you, which claim seems most questionable and why (with careful quotation)? |
| GROUPS: Discuss preps, nominate a (rotating) rep to present. |
| SCHEDULE: First hour we will introduce the reading overall. Second hour we will review claims and questions. |
| WED, July 12 |
| LECTURE: Jung's Zarathustra Seminars |
| MON, July 17 |
| DUE: Three paragraphs: (1) What is the purpose that the instructor has in mind for the lecture on Jung's Zarathustra Seminars and how does he go about it? (provide direct quotes). (2) For you, which claim seems most reasonable and why (with careful quotation)? (3) For you, which claim seems most questionable and why (with careful quotation)? |
| GROUPS: Discuss preps, nominate a (rotating) rep to present. |
| SCHEDULE: First hour we will discuss the lecture from last time. Second hour the instructor will introduce three methods in the theory of knowledge: empiricism, rationalism, and dialectic. |
| WED, July 19 |
| READ: Locke, Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Book IV, Chs. IX – XI (Cahn pp. 662-670) |
| DUE: Three paragraphs: (1) What is the purpose that Locke has in mind for this text and how does he go about it? (provide direct quotes for each of the three kinds of knowledge). (2) For you, which claim seems most reasonable and why (with careful quotation)? (3) For you, which claim seems most questionable and why (with careful quotation)? |
| GROUPS: Discuss preps, nominate a (rotating) rep to present. |
| SCHEDULE: First hour we will introduce the reading overall. Second hour we will review claims and questions. |
| MON, July 24 |
| READ: Kant, Transcendental Doctrine of Elements, Space and Time (Cahn pp. 901 - 907) |
| DUE: Three paragraphs: (1) What is the purpose that Kant has in mind for this text and how does he go about it? (provide direct quotes for each of the two problems, space and time). (2) For you, which claim seems most reasonable and why (with careful quotation)? (3) For you, which claim seems most questionable and why (with careful quotation)? |
| GROUPS: Discuss preps, nominate a (rotating) rep to present. |
| SCHEDULE: First hour we will introduce the reading overall. Second hour we will review claims and questions. |
| WED, July 26 |
| READ: Hegel, Phenomenology of Mind (Cahn 996-1006) |
| DUE: Three paragraphs: (1) What is the purpose that Hegel has in mind for this text and how does he go about it? (provide direct quotes) (2) For you, which claim seems most reasonable and why (with careful quotation)? (3) For you, which claim seems most questionable and why (with careful quotation)? |
| GROUPS: Discuss preps, nominate a (rotating) rep to present. |
| SCHEDULE: First hour we will introduce the reading overall. Second hour we will review claims and questions. |
| MON, July 31 |
| FOCUS: Reviewing Empiricism, Rationalism, and Dialectic |
| DUE: Three paragraphs: (1) Summarize the distinctive claims of empiricism, rationalism, and dialectic (provide direct quotes from each text) (2) For you, which claim seems most reasonable and why (with careful quotation)? (3) For you, which claim seems most questionable and why (with careful quotation)? |
| GROUPS: Discuss preps, nominate a (rotating) rep to present. |
| SCHEDULE: First hour we will introduce the reading overall. Second hour we will review claims and questions. |
| WED, Aug 2 |
| LECTURE: Theses on Feuerbach |
| MON, Aug 7 |
| DUE: Three paragraphs: (1) What is the purpose that the instructor has in mind for the lecture on the Theses on Feuerbach and how does he go about it? (provide direct quotes). (2) For you, which claim seems most reasonable and why (with careful quotation)? (3) For you, which claim seems most questionable and why (with careful quotation)? |
| GROUPS: Discuss preps, nominate a (rotating) rep to present. |
| SCHEDULE: First hour we will discuss the Theses on Feuerbach. Second hour will be devoted to research. |
| WED, Aug 9 |
| READ: Any philosophy selection of your choice (from Cahn, a journal article, or chapter from another book) |
| DUE: Three paragraphs: (1) What is the purpose that your author has in mind for this text and how does he go about it? (provide direct quotes) (2) For you, which claim seems most reasonable and why (with careful quotation)? (3) For you, which claim seems most questionable and why (with careful quotation)? |
| GROUPS: Discuss preps, nominate a (rotating) rep to present. |
| SCHEDULE: First hour we will introduce the reading overall. Second hour we will review claims and questions. |
| MON, Aug. 14 |
| FINAL |
| DUE: Portfolio and two-page reflection on the course. |
| GROUPS: Discuss preps, nominate a (rotating) rep to present. |
Note: syllabus xml formatted with Docbook tags and transformations using oXygen xml editor; spellchecking with openoffice writer.