SYLLABUS
PHIL 125 The Good Life
Fall 2015
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:30-11:45am
Arts and Sciences Building 234
Dr. Philip Woodward
Office: Arts and Sciences Building 324
Office phone: x6488
Email: philip.woodward@valpo.edu
Office Hours: 1-3pm, MWF
Course Description
What is “the good life”? Philosophers have been pressing this most important of
questions for thousands of years. Their answers have agreed in many ways and disagreed
in many ways; indeed, disagreements about how to understand the question are as vexing
and important as disagreements about how to understand its answer. Here are a few
facets to the question that we will be exploring:
How is the good life related to pleasure or happiness?
How is the good life related to moral character or behavior?
How is the good life related to religious faith or practice?
Does living well differ person to person (or cultural to culture), or is there a
common shape to every good life?
Is it up to an individual to determine what sort of life is good for him or her?
We will approach these questions by reading old and difficult philosophical texts. We
will spend most of our time and attention on five philosophers: Plato and Aristotle (4th c.
BC Greece), Thomas Aquinas (13th c. Paris), Immanuel Kant (18th c. Prussia), and Soren
Kierkegaard (19th c. Denmark).
We will move through these tests at a modest pace (roughly 10-15 pages of reading per
class session). Thorough understanding is not likely to come on the first reading.
Consulting secondary sources—even just skimming a Wikipedia article—usually helps
more than hurts. But under no circumstances should such consultation be taken as a
substitute for carefully reading the assigned text.
Diligent students will find the course manageable, challenging, and interesting.
Negligent students will find the course overwhelming, confusing, and dull.
Course Objectives
 Becoming acquainted with the most important streams of thought in the Western
intellectual tradition with respect to the human good
 Learning to read, understand, reconstruct and critically evaluate philosophical
views and arguments
 Producing clear, organized, cogent philosophical writing
 Developing for oneself a reflective, historically-informed understanding of the
good for one’s life—as a piece of the broader formation of worldview and identity
that a Valpo education affords
Course Requirements / Grading
Regular attendance
First Exam
Second Exam
Final Exam
Final Paper
Worldview Summaries (x5)
15%
15%
20%
25%
25%
Worldview Summaries are about two pages long. Each will focus on the thought of one
philosopher, answering the following questions: (1) What is this philosopher’s central
conception of the good human life? (2) What reasons does he give (or hint at giving) in
defense of his position? (3) What objections do you have to either his position, or to the
reasons he gives for it? You should be taking careful notes on the readings and the class
discussions in preparation for these writing assignments. More detailed instructions to
follow.
Worldview Summaries earn one of three grades: 5 points (for excellent work), 4 points
(for adequate work), or 0pts (for inadequate work). Inadequate work may be resubmitted,
with the potential of earning 2-4 points. Resubmissions are due one week after initial
submissions have been returned to students.
Final Papers will be 4-6 pages long. You will explain and defend a conception of the
human good, whether that of one of the philosophers we have studied, or some
alternative. You will trace arguments for/against your position through at least 3 of the
thinkers in the class. Final papers are to be submitted electronically on Blackboard by
11:59pm, Friday Dec. 11 (the final day of classes for the fall term). More detailed
instructions to follow.
You are strongly encouraged to meet with the VU Writing Center
(http://www.valpo.edu/writingcenter/) to discuss drafts of your Final Papers. I am happy
to discuss paper ideas with you at any time, but I will only read through a draft after you
have met with the Writing Center.
Exams will include multiple-choice, short-answer, and essay questions.
Required Texts


Cahn & Markie, Ethics: History, Theory, and Contemporary Issues, Fifth Edition.
Oxford University Press, 2011. ISBN: 9780199797264
Other readings available on Blackboard
Course Policies
Attendance:
It is expected that you will be in attendance, on time, and prepared for every scheduled
class session.
While there are no excused absences in this class*, you are entitled to two “free”
absences. Each additional absence will result in a 2% deduction from your final grade.
Chronic tardiness will result in grade penalties as well.
*Absences owing to participation in VU athletic events, religious observances, or grave
medical emergencies do not count toward your “free” absences, if these absences are
properly documented.
Late work:
Exams cannot be taken late, apart from an emergency circumstance, later documented. If
you have a schedule conflict, you may take an exam earlier than scheduled. However,
you must notify me at least ten days in advance to arrange for an alternate day/time.
Worldview Summaries will not be accepted late (either in the form of an initial
submission or a resubmission).
Final Papers may be submitted late at the cost of one letter grade per day.
Electronic devices:
Laptops, tablets, and phones, and suchlike are not permitted in this class.
Honor Code:
The Honor Code must be written and signed on every assignment and exam. In accord
with the Code, all students must pledge not to give or receive unauthorized aid.
Additionally, students are obligated to report violations of the Honor Code to the Honor
Council. Violations may result in failing this course or in being suspended or expelled
from the University. For details see:
http://www.valpo.edu/student/honorcouncil/honorcode.php.
You are encouraged to discuss course materials with fellow students on a regular basis;
this is the best way to uncover gaps in your understanding and to cement what you do
understand. Study groups for exams are encouraged. It is fine to discuss the content of
writing assignments with other students, but every step of the writing process—
conception, organization, composition—must be executed by you alone.
Email and class cancelation:
The best way to get in touch with me is to email me. Expect a reply within 24 hours on
weekdays, and inconsistent replies on the weekends. I do not answer student questions
about exams in the 24 hours preceding the exam.
If I need to get in touch with you, I will use your Valpo email address. This is also how I
will alert the class in the event of an unscheduled class cancelation. I expect that you are
checking your Valpo email at least once per day.
Academic support services
If you find that you are struggling or feeling confused or frustrated, come to office hours
or email me requesting an appointment. The next step is to use the Academic Success
Center (ASC) online directory (valpo.edu/academicsuccess) or contact the ASC
(academic.success@valpo.edu) to help point you in the right direction for academic
support resources for this course. Valpo’s learning centers (Writing Center, Language
Resource Center, and Academic Success Center) offer excellent support services free of
charge.
Library support services
For recommendations regarding research resources for your Final Paper, talk to me or
click the link to Library Guides within the Blackboard table of contents. Judy Miller
(http://library.valpo.edu/faculty/miller.html) is the librarian assigned to supporting
philosophical research.
Disability support:
Please contact Mr. Zebadiah Hall at Disability Support Services
(zebadiah.hall@valpo.edu), if you believe you have a disability that might require a
reasonable accommodation in order for you to perform as expected in this class. Mr. Hall
will work with you and me directly to make sure you receive any reasonable
accommodation needed as the result of a disability.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
8/25
8/27
Plato, “Euthyphro” (pp. 5-16)
9/1
9/3
Plato, “Defense of Socrates,” 17a-28b (pp. 16-24)
Plato, “Defense of Socrates,” 28b-42a (pp. 24-33)
9/8
9/10
Plato, “Phaedo,” (pp. 42-44); Republic, Book I: 327a-336a (pp. 44-51)
Plato, Republic, Book I: 336b-354c (pp. 51-64)
9/15
9/17
Plato, Republic, Books II & III (pp. 65-82)
Plato, Republic, Book IV (pp. 82-96)
9/22 Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book I, sections 1-5, 7 (pp. 124-26, 128-29);
Physics *Blackboard
*Plato Worldview Summary due
9/24 Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book II, sections 1-2, 4-7 (pp. 134-40)
9/29
10/1
10/6
10/8
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book VIII, sections 1-3, 9; Book IX, section 4, 8,
9, 12 (161-64, 166-69)
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book X, sections 4-8 (169-75)
FIRST EXAM
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Contra Gentiles *Blackboard
*Aristotle Worldview Summary due
10/13 Thomas Aquinas, “Treatise on Law” *Blackboard
10/15 Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan Chapters VI, XI & XIII (pp. 236-41)
10/20 Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan Chapters XIV and XV (pp. 241-47)
*Aquinas Worldview Summary due
10/22 FALL BREAK
10/27 Immanuel Kant, Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, Preface & Chapter I
(pp. 313-22)
10/29 Immanuel Kant, Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, Chapters II & III
(pp. 325 [right column]-334)
11/3
11/5
SECOND EXAM
11/10 Friedrich Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals, Preface & First Essay (pp. 397405) & Jean-Paul Sartre, Existentialism is a Humanism (pp. 441-47)
*Kant Worldview Summary due
11/12 Soren Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling, pp. 116-34 [Blackboard]
11/17 Soren Kierkegaard, The Sickness Unto Death, pp. 339-51 [Blackboard]
11/19 Soren Kierkegaard, The Sickness Unto Death, pp. 351-71 [Blackboard]
11/24 THANKSGIVING BREAK
11/26 THANKSGIVING BREAK
12/1
12/3
Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue, Chapter 5: “Why The Enlightenment Project of
Justifying Morality Had to Fail” [Blackboard]
*Kierkegaard Worldview Summary due
Martha Nussbaum, “Non-Relative Virtues: An Aristotelian Approach”, Sections
1-4 (pp. 755-64)
Martha Nussbaum, “Non-Relative Virtues: An Aristotelian Approach”, Sections
5-8 (pp. 764-72)
12/10 Richard Taylor, “The Meaning of Life” (pp. 976-82)
12/8
Friday, 12/11: Final Paper due by 11:59pm on Blackboard
Monday, 12/14: FINAL EXAM, 10:30-12:30