Introduction to Philosophy
Fall 2015. MWF 9:30 – 10:20. Denny 212
Instructor: Chauncey Maher
maherc@dickinson.edu East College 202
Office Hours: 3-4 TW, or by appointment
Course Description
Philosophy commonly starts in response to the felt hardships of human life. For instance, the
American Civil Rights Movement raised a wide variety of important philosophical questions. How
should we respond to systematic abuse and oppression? What makes a person a person? What is it to trust
the word of someone else? What is it to know oneself? Using the Movement as a touchstone, this course
will introduce you to some of the best answers to these philosophical questions, among others. In the first
part of the course, you will start learning how to do philosophy by learning how to speak the language of
rational argument, learning how to use words such as ‘premise,’ ‘conclusion,’ ‘inference,’ ‘assumption,’
and ‘non sequitur.’ In the rest of the course, you will develop your facility with that language as you
engage with significant work in political philosophy, metaphysics, and epistemology. By the end of the
course, you will have developed an appreciation for the rigor and creativity of philosophy, and for its
place in living a good human life.
Goals
-To develop your ability to engage in rational argument. Specifically, to develop your ability to identify,
regiment, construct, and assess arguments in discussion and writing.
-To understand significant claims and disputes in political philosophy, metaphysics, and epistemology
-To cultivate an appreciation for the place of philosophy in a good human life
Readings
All of the readings will be available on Moodle, either in .pdf format, or as links to webpages. I expect
you to read everything that I assign. While it can be convenient to read on your computer, tablet, or
phone, I expect you to PRINT every reading, so that you have a copy that you can use in class and write
on.
Evaluation
Quiz (10% of Final Grade)
On logic and the American Civil Rights Movement
Sept. 21
YOU CANNOT PASS THE COURSE unless you receive at least a ‘B’ on this quiz.
Short Essays (75% of Final Grade)
You will write four short essays, in which you will hone your capacity for rational argument. In the
first, you reconstruct someone else’s reasoning, explaining how it proceeds. In the second, in addition
to doing that, you will object to that piece of reasoning. In the third and fourth essays, on a specified
philosophical topic, you will devise an argument of your own, devising and replying to the best
objection to it.
1. Reconstruction
2. Reconstruction and Objection
3. Argument, Objection, and Reply
4. Argument, Objection, and Reply
10%
15%
25%
25%
Oct. 5
Oct. 21
Nov. 16
Dec. 17
Participation (15% of Final Grade)
Philosophical issues are often more easily grasped when discussed with others. Our meetings will be
a mix of presentations by me and discussion. Each time you properly participate, you earn 1 point.
You need 12 points to receive an ‘A’ for participation. I will track this on Moodle each week. You are
responsible for checking regularly to be sure that this record is accurate. Please email me
immediately if you notice a mistake.
What counts as proper participation?
A comment or question on a specific remark made by an author, or one of your peers, or
me.
It can focus on meaning or interpretation. You should be prepared to explain what you
think the person means.
Example: ‘What does King mean when he says that justice anywhere is a threat to
justice everywhere?’
Or it can focus on truth and rational support. You should be prepared to say why
you think the person’s claim does not seem true or well supported.
Example: ‘King claims that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, but
he doesn’t seem to have a good reason for it.’
What does not count as proper participation?
-Simply attending class
-Asking what the reading is for next time
-Saying ‘Yea’ in response to someone else
-Saying needlessly obscure things, such as, ‘The central impediment to a transcendental
deduction of the marginalization of the epistemic condition of the proletariat is what the
post-structuralist movement has called ‘the malaise of language.’
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Schedule (tentative)
Date
Topic
Reading (for class on this day)
Logic and Reasoning
8/31
M
9/2
Watch: The Murder of Emmett Till (2003)
Recognizing Arguments
Merrilee Salmon, Ch.1, §§I-III
9/4
Reconstructing Arguments
Salmon, Ch.1, §§IV-VI
Watch: Slavery by Another Name (2012)
[online through library]
Salmon, Ch.1, §§IV-VI
9/7 1. Reconstructing Arguments
M
9/9 2. Deductive Arguments
Salmon, Ch.3, §§I-II
Watch: Freedom Riders (2010) [online
through library]
Salmon, Ch.3, §III
9/113. Inductive Arguments
9/144. Fallacies
M
Salmon, Ch.3, §§IV
Watch: Four Little Girls (1997) [DVD copies
reserved in library]
Review Salmon
9/165. Drilling
9/18
Drilling
9/21
M
QUIZ
Review Salmon
Watch: Neshoba (2008) [DVD copies
reserved in library]
QUIZ
Political Philosophy
9/23
Who should get to vote?
9/25
Can you be governed and judged by laws or
people for which you did not vote?
Why should resistance be non-violent?
9/28
M
9/30
When, if ever, is it permissible to break the law? Is
there a right way to break the law?
Harriet Taylor Mill, “The Enfranchisement
of Women” (1851)
Susan B. Anthony, “Speech before the
Court” (1873)
Mohandas Gandhi, “Letter to Lord Irwin”
(1930), “On Ahimsa” (1916), “Nonviolence” (1922), “‘On the Verge of It’”
(1925), “Civility” (1921), “The Need for
Humility” (1921), “Doctrine of the Sword”
(1920), “Was it Coercive?” (1933, 1924)
Martin Luther King, “Letter from a
Birmingham Jail” (April 16, 1963)
Is armed resistance better than non-violent
resistance?
Robbie Williams, excerpts from Negroes
with Guns (1962)
3
10/2
Could rage be good?
bell hooks, “Killing Rage: Militant
Resistance” (1995)
10/5
M
Is separation better than integration?
Malcolm X, “Ballot or the Bullet” (April 12,
1964)
10/7
*Essay #1 Due*
Is separation better than integration?
*Essay #1 Due*
Stokely Carmichael, “Towards Black
Liberation” (1966)
10/9
What is oppression?
Iris Young, “Five Faces of Oppression”
(2009)
10/12
M
10/14
Are prisons obsolete?
Angela Davis, excerpts from Are Prisons
Obsolete? (2003)
Should we abolish the state?
Emma Goldman, "Anarchism, What it
Really Stands For" (1910)
10/16
Breathing Room
Breathing Room
10/19
M
FALL PAUSE
FALL PAUSE
Metaphysics
10/21
What is a woman?
Sojourner Truth, “Ain’t I a Woman?” (1851)
10/23
*Essay #2 Due*
What is a woman?
*Essay #2 Due*
Iris Young, “Throwing Like A Girl” (1980)
10/26
M
10/28
What is race?
Anthony Appiah, “But Would That Still Be
Me?” (1990)
What is race?
Charles Mills, “But What are you really?
The Metaphysics of Race” (2000)
10/30
What is gender?
Dean Spade, “Mutilating Gender” (2000)
11/2
M
11/4
What is a man?
Patrick Califia, “Manliness” (2006)
What is a person?
11/6
What is a person?
11/9
M
11/11
What is a person?
Christine Korsgaard, “Fellow Creatures”
(2004); “Introduction to Kant’s Ethical,
Political, Religious, Thought…” pp.3-18
Simone de Beauvoir, “An Existentialist
Looks at Americans” (1944); “What is
Existentialism?” (1944)
Vasubandhu, “Critique of the Soul” (~440)
Breathing Room
Breathing Room
Epistemology
4
11/13
Is your testimony treated justly?
Miranda Fricker, “Testimonial Injustice”
(2007)
11/16
M
Do you suffer injustice in your ability to make
sense of your experiences?
Fricker, “Hermeneutical Injustice” (2007)
*Essay #3 Due*
Does your ignorance—your lack of knowledge—
depend on your race? Is your ignorance a mark of
privilege?
Are you culpable for your ignorance?
*Essay #3 Due*
Charles Mills, “White Ignorance” (2007)
11/18
11/20
Jose Medina, “Active Ignorance, Epistemic
Others, and Epistemic Friction” (2010)
Medina, “Resistance as Epistemic Vice and
as Epistemic Virtue” (2010)
11/23
M
11/25
Does ignorance beget ignorance?
THANKSGIVING BREAK
THANKSGIVING BREAK
11/27
THANKSGIVING BREAK
THANKSGIVING BREAK
11/30
M
12/3
Breathing Room
Breathing Room
How might someone else’s perception of you
affect your perception of yourself?
W.E.B. Du Bois, “Of Our Spiritual
Strivings” (Ch.1, Souls of Black Folk) (1903)
12/5
How might someone else’s perception of you
affect your perception of yourself?
Ralph Ellison, “Prologue” and “Chapter
One,” The Invisible Man (1952)
12/7
M
12/9
What does ‘I’ refer to?
Elizabeth Anscombe, “The First Person”
(1975)
What is self-knowledge?
Qassim Cassam, “Know Thyself – Really”
(2014)
[+Qassim Cassam, excerpt from SelfKnowledge for Humans]
12/11
The risk of philosophy
Plato, “Apology”
12/17
Th
*Essay #4 Due*
12pm
*Essay #4 Due*
12pm
5
Academic Honesty
Any case of suspected academic dishonesty must be reported. Note: “To plagiarize is to use without
proper citation or acknowledgment the words, ideas, or work of another. Plagiarism is a form of cheating
that refers to several types of unacknowledged borrowing.” When in doubt, cite it. For more information,
please see the handbook on Community Standards here:
http://www.dickinson.edu/student/files/commstand0809.pdf
Disabilities
I will make reasonable academic accommodations for students with documented disabilities. If you think
you are eligible for such accommodation, please first register with Disability Services in Biddle House,
specifically Stephanie Anderberg (717-245-1734; disabilityservices@dickinson.edu). If you are eligible,
Marni Jones, Director of Learning Skills and Disability Services, will provide you with a letter attesting to
that. Once you have that letter, we can meet to discuss what we need to do. All of that must happen in the
first three weeks of the semester.
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