PHI 165: The Examined Life
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Friday 9:00-9:50
Oddfellows Building, Room 105C
Instructor: Katharine Wolfe
Office Hours: MWF 12:00-2:00 P.M.
Course Description
Philosophy has long been understood as the love of wisdom, although the expressions of this love have
vastly differed. This course journeys through some of philosophy’s most poignant expressions,
considering each in turn for its flashes of wisdom as well as for its transgressions of conventional beliefs.
Beginning in the contemporary era with Simone de Beauvoir’s groundbreaking work, The Second Sex,
known for having made sex and gender philosophical problems, the course moves backwards in time to
finally arrive in the ancient world as Socrates, facing death, contemplates the immortality of the soul.
Along our journey, we will encounter Friedrich Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, the pages of which
reverberate with a love of life that endures and even celebrates life’s propensity to entail suffering, as well
as Descartes’ Meditations, a series of reflections that begin with dispelling belief in the external world
only to rebuild knowledge on the foundation of thought itself.
Week 1
Wednesday, Aug. 26th: Introduction
Friday, Aug. 28th: Simone de Beauvoir – Introduction to The Second Sex, pg. 3-10
Week 2
Monday, Aug. 31st: Beauvoir – Introduction to The Second Sex, pg. 10-17
Wednesday, Sept. 2nd: Beauvoir – The Second Sex, “Biological Data”, pg. 21-31
Friday, Sept. 4th: Beauvoir – The Second Sex, “Biological Data”, pg. 31-48
Week 3
Monday, Sept. 7th: Beauvoir – The Second Sex, “Myths”, pg. 266-274
Wednesday, Sept. 9th: Beauvoir – The Second Sex, “Woman’s Situation and Character”, pg. 638-649
Friday, Sept. 11th: Beauvoir – The Second Sex, “Woman’s Situation and Character”, pg. 649-664
Week 4
Mon., Sept. 14th: Beauvoir – Conclusion to The Second Sex, pg. 753-766
Wed., Sept. 16th: Judith Butler – “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution”, pg. 519-524
Friday, Sept. 18th: Butler – “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution”, pg. 524-531
Week 5
Monday, Sept. 21st: First Essay Due
Wednesday, Sept. 23rd: Friedrich Nietzsche – Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Book 1, Prologue, pg. 39-53
Friday, Sept. 25th: Nietzsche – Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Book 1, pg. 54-56; 58-63; 67-71
Week 6
Monday, Sept. 28th: Nietzsche – Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Book 1, pg. 82-93; 97-104
Wednesday, Sept. 30th: Nietzsche – Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Book 2, pg. 107-120; 123-128
Friday, Oct. 2nd: Nietzsche – Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Book 2, pg. 130-139; 142-147
Week 7
Monday, Oct. 5th: Nietzsche – Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Book 2, pg. 152-169
Wednesday, Oct. 7th: Nietzsche – Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Book 3, pg. 173-192; 195-198
Friday, Oct. 9th: Nietzsche – Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Book 3, pg. 202-205; 210-232
Week 8
Monday, Oct. 12th: No Class – Fall Break
Wednesday, Oct. 14th: Friedrich Nietzsche – Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Book 3, pg. 232-238; 241-247
Friday, Oct. 16th: Alphonso Lingis’ “Nietzsche and Animals”
Week 9
Monday, Oct. 19th: Second Essay Due
Wednesday, Oct. 21st: Descartes’ Meditations – First Meditation, pg. 12-16
Friday, Oct. 23rd: Descartes’ Meditations – Second Meditation, pg. 16-23
Week 10
Monday, Oct. 25th: Descartes’ Meditations – Third Meditation, pg. 24-36
Wednesday, Oct. 27th: Descartes’ Meditations – Third Meditation, continued discussion
Friday, Oct. 29th: Descartes’ Meditations – Fourth Meditation, pg. 37-43
Week 11
Monday, Nov. 2nd: Descartes’ Meditations – Fifth Meditation, pg. 44-49
Wednesday, Nov. 4th: Descartes’ Meditations – Sixth Meditation, pg. 50-62
Friday, Nov. 6th: Descartes’ Correspondence with Princess Elisabeth
Week 12
Monday, Nov. 9th: Third Essay Due
Wednesday, Nov. 11th: Plato’s The Apology, pg. 23-39
Friday, Nov. 13th: Final Essay Research Session
Week 13
Monday, Nov. 16th: Plato’s The Apology, pg. 39-44
Wednesday, Nov. 18th: Plato’s Crito
Friday, Nov. 20th: Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
Week 14
Monday, Nov. 23rd: Plato’s Phaedo, pg. 93-109
Wednesday, Nov. 25th: No class – Thanksgiving Break
Friday, Nov. 27th: No class – Thanksgiving Break
Week 15
Monday, Nov. 30th: Plato’s Phaedo, pg. 109-126
Wednesday, Dec. 2nd: Plato’s Phaedo, pg.126-140
Friday, Dec. 4th: Plato’s Phaedo, pg. 140-155
Week 16
Monday, Dec. 7th: Concluding Discussion
Final Essay Due Thursday, December 10th at 9:00 am.
Course Assignments
1. Reading Responses
Students will submit a short piece of writing (approx. 1 page) at the end of each Friday’s class session.
This writing should demonstrate active, interpretative reading and critical thinking pertaining to the day’s
reading material. Initially, these responses will be asked to follow prompts given by the instructor and
may later be developed wholly independently. Students can elect any two weeks on which to skip this
assignment with no penalty to their grade. Reading responses will be graded credit/no credit.
2. Short Essay Assignments
Students will be required to write 4 short essays (approximately 4 pages long) in this course, one for each
of the author’s covered. These essays should offer both an interpretative exposition as well as a critical
reflection on the author’s work. Detailed instructions will be handed out in class.
3. Participation
Student engagement and open discussion is highly valued in this course. Students are encouraged to share
their interests, concerns, and questions on a daily basis, and class discussion will readily follow ideas and
issues introduced by students. Good listening is also a valued part of participation, and students will be
expected to demonstrate thoughtful attention to the voices of their peers as well as an investment in
democratic dialogue in the classroom, ensuring that all students’ voices are equally heard.
Evaluation
Reading Responses: 10%
Short Essay 1 & 2: 20%
Short Essay 3 & 4: 25%
Participation: Any student who misses 4 days of class will have their final grade reduced by a fraction of
a grade (e.g. from B to B-), and any student who misses 7 or more days of class will have their final grade
reduced by a full letter grade (e.g. from B to C). Conversely, students who make exceptional contributions
to a flourishing learning community within the classroom will have their final grades adjusted upwards by
a fraction of a grade (e.g. from B to B+).
Late Policy:
Late essays received within one week of the assignment deadline will receive a fractional grade
deduction. Late essays received more than one week late but less than two weeks late will receive a full
grade deduction. Essays will not be accepted for credit after two weeks from the deadline. Final essays
and reading responses will not be accepted late.
Required Texts
De Beauvoir, Simone. (2011). The Second Sex. (Constance Borde & Sheila Malovany-Chevallier, Trans.)
New York: Vintage. ISBN: 978-0307277787
Nietzsche, Friedrich. (1961). Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for Everyone and No One. (R.J.
Hollingdale, Trans.) London & New York: Penguin Books.
ISBN: 978-0140441185
Descartes, Rene. (1996). Meditations on First Philosophy. (John Cottingham, Trans. and Ed.) Cambridge
& New York: Cambridge, U.P. ISBN: 978-0521558181
Plato. (2002). Five Dialogues. (John M. Cooper, Ed.; G.M.A. Grube, Trans.). Indianapolis, IN: Hackett
Publishing Company. ISBN: 978-0872206335