Philosophy 101
Introduction to Philosophy
Spring 2012
Daily 11:30 AM – 12:20 PM, Room 104
Required text: Questions that Matter: An Invitation to Philosophy (McGraw Hill 2006),
Ed. L. Miller and Jon Jenson
Instructor: Paul E. Zimmerman, M.A.
“I drank what?!” – Socrates
Course Description: This is an introductory course on philosophy. As such, there is a lot
of material that can be covered, drawing upon the works of a multitude of individuals
stretching back in time over thousands of years. In the space of ten weeks, it would be
impossible to cover all of them in-depth. At the same time, it would be a shame to simply
skim through all of the available material in an attempt to at least name “one dead guy
per day.” Therefore, this course will spend more time on fewer individuals and their
ideas, but still only to such an extent that a wide range of their works can be explored.
To further aid in this sorting process, the course is broken down into four distinct units,
each one a major sub-discipline within the realm of philosophy, and it will be within
these slightly arbitrarily drawn boundaries that individual philosophers and their ideas
will be studied. These four units are: Ethics, Metaphysics, Epistemology, and
Aesthetics.
Course Structure: Each unit will last approximately two weeks; one short written
response essay will be assigned each week; each unit will end with a test of the material
covered; and the course will culminate in a comprehensive final exam.

Written response essays: due Friday of each week, these are two to three
paragraph typed, double-spaced responses to the material we have covered during
the week, the specific topic of which is your choice. The essays will be graded on
five points: Identification of the main ideas of your selected topic; attribution of
the ideas of your selected topic to a specific philosopher (page citations from the
course text required); relation of these ideas to current events/issues; your thought
out, reasoned explanation of your agreement or disagreement with the ideas
you’ve selected for discussion. The fifth point is awarded for turning the
assignment in on time. If you are not sure what topic to write on, refer to the study
questions at the end of each chapter in the course text. They can help you find
your starting point.
Grading: Course grades will be based upon all essays, tests, and the final exam. Each
weekly essay is worth 5 points for a total of 50, each unit test is worth 10 points for a
total of 40, and the final exam is worth 10 points. Note that HALF of your grade is based
on the weekly essays – that is because philosophy is about doing, not regurgitating. Thus,
final grades will be based on a simple, straightforward total of 100 points. Letter grades
break down as follows:
A 94 to 100
A- 90 to 93
B+ 87 to 89
B 84 to 86
B- 80 to 83
C+ 77 to 79
C 74 to 76
C- 70 to 73
D+ 66 to 69
D 60 to 65
F 59 and below
Important things for your success










Attend every class session and take notes! The class sessions are your
opportunity to gain a better understanding of the reading material, which at times
can be quite challenging. The class hour is the ONLY guaranteed time you get
with me.
If you are ill during the quarter, it is your responsibility to contact other students
for lecture notes or other material you missed. Trade contact info with at least two
of your peers.
If you know that you will be absent on a particular day, make an arrangement
with the instructor to turn in your work in a timely manner, before it is due.
Do not request “extensions” for any written assignments; turn in written work on
time.
I do not like it when cell phones go off in class. If your cell phone goes off during
class, and in particular if it plays music, you will be required to honor the
contribution that music makes to our lives by performing an interpretive dance for
the class. If you think this would be too embarrassing, then please be sure that
your cell phone is turned off before entering the class room.
You are responsible for keeping original copies of graded work returned to you
during the quarter until final grades are received.
Turning in any work that is not your own will result in either failing or dropping
the entire course. Cheaters are thieves and will be treated as such.
Grades will not be announced in advance of any essay or test being returned, and I
will not answer any questions about grades before then either. All emails
requesting grades will be ignored.
For assistance with concerns about disability support, contact Claudia Angus
Coordinator of Disability Support Services, Office 133D (509) 527-4543
This course will at some point present you with ideas that you disagree with, be it
in the text, something that I say, or something that your classmates say. At no
time will you belittle ideas or people – no personal attacks (ad hominems). If you
feel moved to respond to someone or something, you must respond with reason. If
you cannot, you should remain silent or leave.
And now, on to the meat and potatoes…
Course Schedule
THIS SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE! Listed readings are to be completed
before the class period with which they are associated (trust me, the discussions will
make a lot more sense if you do the reading first!).
Week 1, March 26th-30th
Mon: Introduction, syllabus review
Tue: What is this philosophy stuff? Read Miller, Ch. 1
Wed: What is… continued
Thur: A wee bit of logic Read Miller, Ch. 2
Fri: Wee bit… continued, essay #1 due
Unit 1: Ethics
Week 2, April 2nd – 6th
Mon: What is this ethics stuff? What is morality, and is morality relative? Read Miller,
335-342
Tue: Are we deserving of praise or blame? Read Miller, 342-357
Wed: Got angst? Read Miller, 357-369
Thur: Utilitarianism. Read Miller, 374-400
Fri: Utilitarianism… continued, essay #2 due
Week 3, April 9th – 13th
Mon: Morality as Duty. Read Miller 401-411
Tue: I Kant Do Wrong. Read Miller, 411-422
Wed: The Virtue Ethics of Aristotle. Read Miller 423-435
Thur: Aristotle… continued
Fri: Unit review, Ethics unit test, essay #3 due
Unit 2: Metaphysics
Week 4, April 16th-20th
Mon: What is this metaphysics stuff? (Lecture)
Tue: Reality According to Plato. Read Miller 39-53
Wed: Plato’s reality…continued
Thur: Reality According to Aristotle – Student Bites Teacher. Read Miller 65-76
Fri: Matters of Mind – Descartes. Read Miller, 77-88, essay #4 due.
Week 5, April 23rd-27th
Mon: Descartes…continued
Tue: Down to Earth: Materialism. Read Miller, 105-115
Wed: Modern Materialism: Rolling On. Read Miller, 115-123
Thur: Behaviorism and Determinism. Read Miller, 123-135
Fri: Unit review, Metaphysics unit test, essay #5 due.
Unit 3: Epistemology
Week 6, April 30th-May 4th
Mon: What is this Epistemology stuff? Read Miller, 139-142
Tues: The Rationalists: Plato. Read Miller, 142-151
Wed: The Rationalists: Descartes. Read Miller, 151-159
Thur: The Rationalists: Chomsky. Read Miller, 159-166
Fri: The Empiricists: Aristotle and St. Thomas. Read Miller, 168-173, essay #6 due
Week 7, May 7th-11th
Mon: The Empiricists: John Locke. Read Miller, 173-184
Tue: The Empiricists: David Hume. Read Miller, 184-196
Wed: Are you sure? The Problem of Certainty. Read Miller, Ch. 8
Thur: Certainty…continued
Fri: Unit review, Epistemology unit test, essay #7 due
Unit 4: Aesthetics
*Note: readings for this unit are from another book and will be made available when we
are nearing this part of the quarter. They total 43 pages; I did not want to make you all
buy another book just for so few pages.
Week 8, May 14th-18th
Mon: What is this Aesthetics stuff?
Tue: Plato does not like Play-Doh. Read Solomon, 669-678
Wed: Play-Doh…continued
Thu:…But Aristotle Might. Read Solomon, 678-682
Fri: David Hume: The Dispute About Tastes. Read Solomon, 682-686, essay #8 due
Week 9, May 21st-25th
Mon: Kant: Disputes About Taste Resolved. Read Solomon, 686-689
Tue: Other views on art. Read Solomon, 689-700
Wed: Other views…continued
Thur: Art imitating life? Read Solomon, 705-711
Fri: Unit review, Aesthetics unit test, essay #9 due
Week 10, May 28th-June 1st
Mon: Philosophy in Film #1
Tue: #1…continued
Wed: Philosophy in Film #2
Thur: #2…continued
Fri: Philosophy in Film wrap-up, course review if we’re done
Finals Week
Mon: last chance review, any topic
Tue – Thur: Final exam, date and time tba, essay #10 due at time of final