LIST OF ASSIGNMENTS, PHILOSOPHY SPRING 2012
Unit 1: What is Philosophy?
1. What is Philosophy?—Cover page and write up, Jan.
4
2. LOGIC: Philosophical Health Check—test and write
up, Jan. 5
3. Bertrand Russell Article and questions, Jan. 6
4. How is Philosophy Organized—worksheet, Jan. 6
5. Immanuel Kant reading and questions, Jan. 9
6. Socrates Video—notes and questions *, Jan. 9
7. LOGIC: What’s Possible? Philosophy and Logic
worksheet, Jan. 11
8. Reading Dialogue—worksheet, Jan. 11
9. Plato, Ch. 9. The Republic (Allegory of the Cave), Jan.
11
10. Activity—Classic reading (allegory of the cave), Jan.
11
11. Who is a Philosopher in your Life (1/2 page write up
+ visual), Jan. 11
Key Terms and Concepts:
Plato, Socrates, allegory, logical and causal possibility, logical
consistency, contradiction
Assessments:
 Notebook, due Tuesday Jan. 24 Tuesday, January 31
 Plato’s Cave Assignment, due Monday, Jan. 23
Unit 2: What is a Person? What does it mean to have an
identity? Who am I?
12. Unit 2 Cover Page: Who am I? What is a person, an
identity, a self? , Jan. 23
13. Beam Me Up, Theseus--+responses, Jan. 23
14. The Problem of Personal Identity, Jan. 23
15. Lock and Hume Selections on Self and Identity, Jan.
23—assigned for HW
16. Reading Activity #1, Jan. 24
17. Ontology and Identity, Jan. 26
18. Philosophy Film Shorts-theme on Identity, Jan. 26
19. Identity, Clones, and You, Jan. 27
20. Reading Activity #2, Jan. 27
21. Identity Problems—Reid, Leibniz, etc, 1/31
22. Video: Brainspotting—Derek Parfit 1/31
23. LOGIC: Putting an Argument into Standard Form 2/2
24. LOGIC: Monty Python and the Witch Scene 2/3 2
25. Film: The Matrix 2/10
26. Self –Identity Project Presentation notes 2/16-17
Key Terms and Concepts:
Identity theories, mind-body problem, ontology, physicalism,
idealism, dualism, monism,
Assessments:
Notebook, due Tuesday Jan. 31
Project: Popular Culture and the Philosophy of Self, Mind,
and Body
Unit 3: What is Virtue?
27. Cover page, 2/27
28. Lecture notes, 2/27
29. Laches—Reading—Annotate + Questions, 2/28
30. Aristotle, On Virtue—Selections—Annotate +
Questions, 3/2
31. Virtue Exercise, 3/6
32. Aristotle and the Office, 3/8-9
33. Virtues Presentation Notes, 3/9
Key Terms and concepts
Elenchus, Socratic method, Aristotle’s Mean
Assessments:
Virtue-Elenchus Skits
Notebook, due Friday, March 16
Unit 4: What is Knowledge? How is it related to truth?
34. Cover Page, 3/13
35. What is Knowledge Exercise, 3/13
36. Knowledge Packet, Notes, 3/15
37. 3 Thought Experiments, 3/15/12
38. Derek Paravicini 60 Minutes—Does Derek’s talent
count as knowledge? 3/15
39. Reading Activity #4—COLLECTED AND GRADED
40. Empirical and Logical Necessity 3/16
41. Epistemology Fun! 3/16
42. Bacon’s Idols 3/16
43. Harry Frankfurt –On B.S. 3/20
44. Rashomon Effect 3/20-23
45. TED talk—3/26-7-magician
46. Rationalism and Empiricism Lec. 3/28
47. Syllogisms-Fun 3/30
48. Deduction, Induction, and Abduction 4/2
49. Philosophically Deconstructing Monk 4/3-4
Unit 5: What’s moral? How should ethics guide our
decisions?
50. Cover Page
51. Life Raft
52. Ethics: Introductory Exercise
53. Test: Are You Officially Ethical?
54. ETHICS ppt lecture
55. Video response: 60 minutes—is bullfighting morally
justifiable
56. Reading Activity #5 (collected)
57. TED Conference—de Waal—moral behavior in
animals
58. Ethics as Duty—Deontological Ethics
59. John Stuart Mill—Utiliarianism
60. Two Very Famous Dilemmas
61. 60 Minutes—CIA/Torture
62. Kant Exercises
63. Utilitarian Exercises
64. Ethics Debate Preparation Notes
65. Ethics Debate Notes
Assessments:
Moral Dilemma Project
Ethics Debate
Unit 6: Do We Have Free Will? For What are We
Responsible?
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.
Sartre—Existentialism Reading +Questions
How Free Are You?
Free Will notes and exercises
Nietzsche—film
Philosophy and DEVO
Turek vs. Hitchens debate—existence of God
Battleground God
Understanding religious terms
Back to the Future
Unit 7: What is the good, happy life? How should one live?
75. Video—Epicurus on Happiness
76. Marked up, annotated readings—An Epicurean Ideal and Stoicism—Heroic acceptance
77. Video—Seneca on Anger
78. Epicurean, Stoic, Hedonist notes and quotes
Assessments:
What is the good life project?
Last notebook