Unit 1: Welcome to the Argument Clinic...
Foundations of Philosophy, Logic and the Argument
Essential Questions: Is philosophy ‘dead’? How do we make a judge arguments? What is the
role of language in argument? Where do we see reasoning and logic in everyday life? What are
the psychological aspects behind human reasoning? How do we determine the logical soundness
of an argument?
Focus Topic: Stephen Hawking’s claim in The Grand Design that “philosophy is dead.”
Topic
Is philosophy
dead?
Content
History of philosophy
in Ancient Greece
(Socrates and the
Symposium)
Media
- Cornel West’s introduction to Examined Life
- Guardian and Philosophy Now articles
responding to Stephen Hawking’s claim
(Philosophy Fridays)
Philosophy as an
orientation towards
death, and the question
of whether Philosophy
itself is dead as a
discipline
What is the
value of
philosophy in
everyday life?
Exploring the value of
philosophy in modern
life
- David Foster Wallace’s “This is Water” clip
- Slavoj Zizek’s “We Need Thinking” clip
Key approaches to
philosophy and
thought (rationalism
v.s. empiricism,
absolutism v.s.
relativism, continental
v.s. analytic)
How do we
argue?
Role of language, key
aspects of reasoning,
lingual conditions of
argument
(Wittgenstein)
- Monty Python’s “Welcome to the Argument
Clinic” clip
What is the
reasoning
behind political
policies?
Cognitive Dissonance,
Confirmation Bias;
Propositions, Premises,
and other aspects of
argument
- Steve Robbins’ and Ash Donaldson’s clips
about cognitive dissonance
- Confirmation Bias clip
- Maurice Williamson speech arguing for gay
marriage clip
- Obama/Romney debate over role of government
clip
Explore the premises,
suppositions, biases,
etc. in a short speech
and debate segment;
explore other aspects of
reasoning (cognitive
dissonance, bias, etc.)
in modern political life
The eternal
debate: does
god exist?
Aspects of
formal/informal logic:
implicit premises,
fallacies, sound
arguments,
propositional logic,
modus ponens/tollens
- Christopher Hitchens vs. William Craig debate
(segue into Epistemology and types of
knowledge)
What are the
tensions/biases
and logical
aspects of my
own opinions?
Explore aspects of logic - Philosophy Health-Check online test (shows
and reasoning through
contradictions/tensions in thought an online test of one’s
http://www.philosophyexperiments.com/health/)
personal philosophical
values
Culminating Activity:
Tackle opinion of particular topic, using the philosophy health-check to tease out
tensions/contradictions, then analyze opinion by detailing the premises, argument types, possible
fallacies, hidden premises, with a final evaluation of the soundness of the opinion/argument.
Ministry Expectations:
Overall:
- identify the main questions in formal and informal logic
- apply logical and critical thinking skills in practical contexts, and in detecting logical fallacies;
- demonstrate an understanding of how philosophical questions apply to other disciplines
Specific:
- correctly use the terminology of logic;
- distinguish valid from invalid arguments, and sound from unsound arguments;
- explain the relevance of logic to mathematics, computer science, and artificial intelligence.
Unit 2: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Epistemology, Philosophy of Science and Aesthetics
Essential Questions: What constitutes ‘knowledge,’ and how do we acquire it? How should we
evaluate certainty? What does it mean to have a ‘mind’ or ‘intelligence’? Is it possible for
artificial ‘minds’ to ‘know’? To what degree is knowledge ‘discovered’ or ‘made’? What types
of knowledge should we value? What is the intellectual history behind the scientific method?
What are the values, aspects and limits of scientific epistemology? Are scientific theories ‘true’?
How should our theories of knowledge inform how we experience and evaluate art? What is the
role of perspective in science and aesthetics?
Focus Topic: Artificial intelligence as a means of exploring the nature of intelligence and
knowledge.
Topic
Does artificial
intelligence constitute
a ‘mind’?
Content
Concepts of the mind and intelligence
(embodied intelligence, Locke’s ‘blank’
slate model vs. Kant’s structured slate
model of mind)
Cartesian dualism of mind/body (if we
can create ‘minds,’ are they wholly
material?), functionalism, cognitive
science
How does being
human affect how we
perceive the physical
world?
How our brains construct our ‘reality,’ the
(possible) gaps in the explanatory power
of biology
Role of perception, structure of mind,
essence v.s. existence, epistemological
realism, Locke’s indirect realism
How should we value Empiricism vs. rationalism, inductive v.s.
our senses in searching deductive reasoning, a priori v.s. a
for knowledge?
posteriori, relationship between senses
and ideas
Descartes’ radical doubt, Hume’s
synthetic/analytic distinction, Kant’s
fusion
Media
- “BBC: The Hunt For
A.I.” Clip
- Mass Effect 2 clip of
Legion (robot)
explaining machine
intelligence of the Geth
robot species
- Richard Dawkins:
“Why the Universe
Seems So Strange” clip
- Optical illusions clips
- “Biological
Contingencies” picture
- “Choose your own
sixth sense” article
- selected stories from
The Man Who Mistook
His Wife For a Hat (pdf
file)
Is there a difference
between how we
perceive time and
what time actually is?
Theories of causality (from Descartes to
Hume)
- “What is time” clip
- “Time Documentary”
clip
How do cultural
differences manifest
themselves in
epistemology?
Similarities and deviations between
Eurocentric model of science and First
Nations means of ‘knowing,’ role of
holism, relational knowledge, and
spirituality
- “Indigenous
Epistemology”
document
- “Human Planet”
documentary series
(many examples of
different cultures and
epistemes)
Constructivist theories of knowledge and
the epistemological evolution of unique
cultures
What does ‘scientific’
knowledge value?
Values of philosophy of science
(falsifiability, deduction, observation,
verification, measurability, scientific
method)
Approaches to science (are we innately
scientific as a species, is science a
- “Karl Popper and the
Scientific Method”
article
- Neil deGrasse Tyson
“Science is in our DNA”
clip
Western paradigm, etc.)
How do we determine
what is scientific?
Examine claims of knowledge
scientifically (religious claims,
pseudoscientific claims, alternative
medicine, etc.)
Explore ‘limits’ of science, terms of
science (theory, uncertainty principle,
etc.), and the application of a scientific
epistemology to modern living (sociopolitical implications, etc.)
How do we experience Science’s explanatory power for our
art, beauty and
aesthetic tendencies and experiences
aesthetics?
Dialectical relationship between tensions
between spheres of ‘knowledge’
(objectivity v.s. subjectivity, subject v.s.
object, logic/reason v.s. emotion/desire,
dream v.s. reality, senses v.s. imagination,
etc.)
- Edward Wilson’s
Consilience (science as
meta-epistemology)
- “The Enemies of
Reason” documentary
series clips
- TEDx talk “The
Science of Art and the
Art of Science” clip
- “What the Brain Can
Tell Us About Art” NY
Times article
Biological experience of food, visual art,
music, etc. and the evolutionary
imperatives behind them
Can we develop a
‘knowledge’ system of
aesthetics? What is
artistic ‘truth’?
Forms, hierarchies, and classification
systems (i.e. epistemologies) of art
(Platonic formalism v.s. Aristotelian
representationalism), evolution of taste
(Hume), etc.
‘Value’ of forms of art (are videogames
and abstract paintings art?)
What do our aesthetic
experiences, tastes and
judgements reflect
about us as a species?
Explore how different cultures value art,
how modern examples of art serve to
elucidate social, political or cultural
truths, how we consume art as a product
- Graffiti as art art (see
pictures)
- “Danger of a Single
Story” TED talk clip
(cultural impact of
stories)
- Benjamin’s “Work of
Art in Age of
Mechanical
Reproduction” essay
Culminating Activity:
Choose a film, videogame, novel or other substantive piece of fiction through which students can
analyze and extract theories of knowledge and aesthetics.
Ministry Expectations:
Overall:
- identify the main questions, concepts, and theories of epistemology, the philosophy of science,
and aesthetics;
- evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of responses to some of the main questions of
epistemology, natural and social sciences, and aesthetics defended by some major philosophers
and schools of philosophy, and defend their own responses;
- demonstrate the relevance of philosophical theories of epistemology, science, and aesthetics to
concrete problems in everyday life;
- explain how different epistemological theories apply to subject areas such as psychology.
- illustrate the relevance of epistemology, the philosophy of science, and aesthetics to other
subjects.
Specific:
- formulate their own ideas about some of the main questions of epistemology, science and
aesthetics, and explain and defend those ideas in philosophical exchanges with others;
- describe instances in which philosophical problems of knowledge occur in everyday contexts,
and can be clarified and analysed using philosophical theories of epistemology, science and
aesthetics;
- explain how theories of knowledge are adopted and applied in subject areas such as
psychology.
- explain how philosophical theories have influenced the development of the natural and social
sciences.
Unit 3: Are Zombies People, Too?
Metaphysics, Morality and Ethics
Essential Questions: What is the fundamental nature of being and reality? What does it mean to
be, and (more specifically) to be human? How are we constituted, and how do we constitute
ourselves? Do we have a fundamental nature? How does our conception of being translate into
our perspective of reality? What are the explanations for the underlying fabric of reality? How
does (or should) our conceptions of being and reality inform our ethical principles? What
underlying principles should ethics be based on, and how should we justify those principles?
What does it mean to behave ethically?
Focus Topic: Facing the zombie version of your loved one in popular fiction, Frankenstein-like
organ growing and the implications for the nature of ‘being.’
Topics
Content
Media
What are the
markers of
sentient, human
life? Is there an
essence?
Examine how human
life is distinguished
between other forms of
life (from the undead to
animals)
- Warm Bodies (first 10 minutes) clip
Tie epistemological
investigation into the
structure of the mind to
the experience of being
(i.e. where to locate
- PBS “Evolution: The Mind’s Big Bang” clip
- BBC: Visions of the Future “Biotech
Revolution” clip (growing organs outside of
bodies)
- “What’s so Bad about Being a Zombie” article
from Philosophy Now
and/or explain
consciousness and its
role in being)
Can we escape
our ‘humanity’?
What are the
bases, limits and
extensions of
our identities?
Explore the tension
between different bases
for being: idealism and
materialism/realism,
monism and dualism,
change and constancy,
essence and existence
Explore the idea of the
‘trans/post human’ and
what the modification of
the human body entails
about its fundamental
nature
- TEDx talk Gene Robinson “Nature v.s.
Nurture” clip
- “Biohackers” clip
- Nick Bostrom “Transhumanism” clip
- Examples of transformations in fiction
(Frankenstein, The Fly, X-Men, etc.)
What can we
know about
consciousness,
and how should
this knowledge
inform our
conception of
ourselves?
Reiterate the exploration - Daniel Dennett “Dangerous Memes” and
of intelligences and
“Illusion of Consciousness” clips
models of different
forms of minds, and
extrapolate the
metaphysical
consequences of these
models (i.e. if we are
complex biological
machines, is our sense of
being utterly
contingent?)
Is the reality we
perceive reality
in actuality?
Incorporate investigation
into epistemology
concerning time and the
physical world into a
consideration of the
underlying fabric of
reality itself; the manner
in which things are
intelligible, approaches
to reality (from Plato to
Lao Tse)
- Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” text
Explore the
metaphysical
consequences of
theological, naturalistic,
atheistic, determinist,
etc. approaches to
construing reality
- Christopher Hitchens v.s. Frank Turek debate:
“What Best Explains Reality” clip
How can we
determine the
validity of
different
conceptions of
reality?
- The Matrix blue pill v.s. red pill scene
- The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema reworking of
the red/blue pill scene
- Slavoj Zizek in Examined Life (ecology and
the non-existence of nature) clip
- William Lane Craig clips defending different
arguments for God
- A.C. Grayling and “What’s Next” for Atheism
clip
Examine the arguments
for/against god and the
philosophical problems
raised therein
(ontological argument,
fine tuning, problem of
evil, etc.)
What would be
the ethical
implications for
different
metaphysical
theories?
Investigate the tension
between absolutism and
relativism in ethical
thought (i.e. what
metaphysical theories
lend themselves to
either, and what basis
should ethics have?)
- Design your own god activity
(http://www.philosophersnet.com/games/whatisgod.php)
- excerpts from Sam Harris’ The Moral
Landscape and video clip “Science can Answer
Moral Questions”
- Text from “Morality Without God” debate
- “Is it Possible to Be Moral Without God”
article
Enumerate on the
normative ethical
systems that arise in
philosophy
(deontology,
consequentialism,
evolutionary
imperatives, altruism,
rationalism, naturalism)
What are the
key aspects of
ethical
reasoning? How
do we determine
what approach
to a problem is
ethical?
Outline a history of
ethical thought by
approaching ethical
dilemmas in different
ways
- Ethics of cloning (BBC: Visions of the Future,
“Biotech Revolution”)
- “Canadian Euthanasia Debate” article
- “Just War Theory” clip
Examine modern ethical
presuppositions,
standards and systems
- Examined Life clip with Peter Singer (animal
rights, ethics of what we eat)
- Food, Inc. interview
Where does
ethics intersect
with behavior?
What are the
social
contingencies of
ethical systems?
Examine moral
- TED talk “The Psychology of Evil” clip
psychology through case
studies like the Milgram - “Milgram Experiment” clip
experiment
- “Neurophilosophy of Morality” clip
Investigate the
relationship between
- Inside Job documentary, ethics of economics
ethics, psychology,
and the housing crisis
sociology and politics
Culminating Activity:
Formal debates will be conducted by students who choose their own topics in pairs or groups.
Ministry Expectations:
Overall:
- summarize the main questions, concepts, and theories of metaphysics and ethics;
- evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of responses to some of the main questions of
metaphysics and ethics defended by some major philosophers and schools of philosophy, and
defend their own responses;
- demonstrate the relevance of metaphysical and ethical questions and theories to everyday life
and concrete metaphysical and moral problems;
- illustrate how metaphysical and ethical theories are presupposed in other subjects.
Specific:
- use critical and logical thinking skills to defend their own ideas about metaphysical and ethical
issues with reference to some classic texts, and to anticipate counter-arguments to their ideas;
- demonstrate how the moral problems and dilemmas that occur in everyday contexts can be
effectively analysed using a variety of different philosophical theories;
- describe how problems in ethics and the theories that address them may be illustrated in novels
and drama, and in religious stories and parables
- demonstrate an understanding of the influence that some metaphysical ideas about topics such
as causality, space and time, and the infinite have on other disciplines, such as physics and
astronomy.
Unit 4: Civilization and its Discontents
Sociocultural Philosophy - Identity and Ideology
Essential Questions: What determines our behavior towards one another? How do we
constitute, and/or become constituted by, our social contexts? What role does culture have in our
individual growth? How do we form and maintain monikers of identity and belonging? In what
ways are social borders erected, maintained, and decomposed? In what ways do our social
contexts determine our realities? How do we as individuals move through social settings? What
is the processes of sociocultural change? What are the roots of sociocultural differences?
Focus Topic: Baby Storm and the evolution and validity of gender as a marker of social identity.
Topic
How is gender produced
and maintained?
Content
Media
Explore the automatic ticket-solidarities
(primarily gender) and the social
contexts of those identities (i.e. the
history and development of these
monikers)
- “Gender-Free Child”
clip
- “Gender Identity”
clip
Articulate the notion of gender
- “Your Behavior
performance and performativity and the Creates Your Gender”
social placing of performance
Judith Butler clip
Explore the intersection of sex and
gender and the role of biology in social
customs
How are terms of social
identity and belonging
maintained and
challenged?
Explore other solidarities (particularly
race) and the social circumstances of
their meanings
- Judith Butler’s “Sex
Reassignment” article
What does our language
reveal about our social
realities?
Investigate the role of psychology and
psychoanalysis (i.e. Lacan) in
articulating and revealing aspects of
social behavior
- “Language as a
Window into Human
Nature” clip
How do social standards
form and affect us as
individuals?
Interrogate the tension between the
individual and the culture as a whole
- “Evolution of
Beauty” and “Real
Beauty Sketches”
Dove clips
Explore the role of media in
sociocultural settings
- Excerpts from
Freud’s Civilization
and its Discontents
In what ways do our own
Examine other possible sociocultural
social contexts inform how systems and the concept of the ‘other’
we experience other
and the process of ‘othering’
sociocultural systems?
- Human Planet
documentary series
How has ideology
traditionally intersected
with society?
Elucidate Marx’s theory of ideology as
false consciousness
- “Banned Disney Nazi
Cartoon” clip
Where does ideology
manifest itself in modern
society?
Explore the role of ideology in
everyday life; how ideology is at work
in the social routines/patterns
- “Culture and
Ideology” clip
How do political and
economic realities affect
social systems?
Examine the social repercussions of
material, political and economic
realities
- “Capitalism and
Ideology” clip
- Inside Job
documentary clip
Culminating Activity:
Students will choose some aspect of society through which they will examine a social practice,
which they will have to tie to a thinker other than themselves.
Ministry Expectations:
Overall:
- demonstrate an understanding of the main questions, concepts, and theories of social and
cultural philosophy;
- evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the responses to the main questions of sociocultural
philosophy defended by some major philosophers and schools of philosophy, and defend their
own responses;
- identify instances of theories of sociocultural philosophy that are presuppositions in everyday
life;
- demonstrate the relevance of sociocultural philosophy to other subjects (e.g. politics).
Specific:
- use critical and logical thinking skills to develop and defend their own ideas about some of the
major questions of sociocultural philosophy, and to anticipate counter-arguments to them;
- analyse how sociocultural theories are adopted and realized in contemporary societies/cultures,
and how the adoption of a particular theory makes a difference to social practices;
- demonstrate an understanding of how particular philosophical theories have influenced the
development of subjects such as political science, economics, or law.
Unit 5: Blood and Iron
Political Philosophy - The Evolution and Reproduction of Political Power
Essential Questions: What are the major government systems? How is power created,
maintained and diffused within different political systems? In what ways has the evolution of
state power coincided with the evolution of the citizen? How should we conceive of civic
responsibility in the 21st century? How has the institutionalization of political power changed
over time? To what degree is state sovereignty legitimate? For what reasons should state power
be limited? How does politics relate to other disciplines?
Focus Topic: The gun control debate.
Topic
How does political power
come to bear upon the
individual?
Content
Explore the political policies and
concerns of modern states (i.e. how
policies affect the lives of citizens)
Media
- “Gun Control
Debate” clip
- Sicko documentary
Examine the history of the relationship
between the individual and the state
(feudalism, monarchism and
consumerism)
- V for Vendetta
speech clip
contrasted with The
Great Dictator
speech clip
What are the different
manifestations of political
power?
Explore the historical and modern
varieties of ‘states’ (from democracy to
totalitarianism)
- Human Planet clips
(of different human
cultures and political
systems)
How have states exacted
power outside of their
borders?
Investigate postcolonialism and the
aftermath of imperial rule in particular
contexts (Pan-Africanism, independence
movements)
- excerpts from Franz
Fanon’s The
Wretched of the
Earth
- excerpts from
Edward Said’s
Orientalism
What is the role of state
institutions in the creation
and maintenance of
political power?
Explore and evaluate the role of
particular state institutions and the
politics (education systems, healthcare
systems, penal systems, etc.)
- Excerpts from
Foucault’s Madness
and Civilization and
other works
- “Changing
Education
Paradigms” clip
What ideologies are used
Examine the ‘isms’ of political
to justify systems of power philosophy (Marxism, Utilitarianism,
relations?
Libertarianism, etc.) and elucidate the
power relationships (particularly between
the individual and the state)
- Excerpts from the
Frankfurt School
(Adorno, Benjamin,
etc.)
-
Where are relations of
power evident in modern
political dilemmas/issues?
Explore concepts of surveillance,
biopolitics, protest, economic trends, etc.
- “Cornel West
Speaks About the
Occupy Movement”
- The Corporation
documentary
- “Crises of
Capitalism” clip
How might systems of
state power change in the
future?
Utilizing all branches of philosophy
explored throughout the course, examine
ways in which society may possibly
change; this will be the natural extension
of the philosophical inquiry undertaken
thus far
- Minority Report
- BBC Visions of the
Future “The
Quantum
Revolution” clip
Culminating Activity:
Mock election (groups are different parties, come up with solution to one central problem), using
lens of political philosopher to solve a problem, problem-based learning opportunity.
Ministry Expectations:
Overall:
- demonstrate an understanding of the main questions, concepts, and theories of political
philosophy;
- evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the responses to the main questions of political
philosophy defended by some major philosophers and schools of philosophy, and defend their
own responses;
- identify instances of theories of political philosophy that are presuppositions in everyday life;
- demonstrate the relevance of political philosophy to other subjects.
Specific:
- use critical and logical thinking skills to develop and defend their own ideas about some of the
major questions of political philosophy, and to anticipate counter-arguments to them;
- analyse how theories of political philosophy are adopted and realized in contemporary political
policy making, and how the adoption of a particular theory makes a difference to political
practices;
- demonstrate an understanding of how particular philosophical theories have influenced the
development of subjects such as political science, economics, or law.
Expectations Fulfilled Concerning Research and Inquiry Skills:
In completing the course (and Philosophy Fridays in particular), students will...
- correctly use the terminology of philosophy;
- identify the main areas of philosophy, and analyse philosophical arguments within them;
- demonstrate an understanding of the unique character of philosophical questions;
- effectively use a variety of print and electronic sources and telecommunications tools in
research;
- effectively communicate the results of their inquiries.
- classify philosophical conclusions and arguments;
- apply logical and critical thinking skills to evaluate or defend positions in philosophical
writings;
- apply logical and critical thinking skills to problems that arise in jobs and occupations.
- summarize main philosophical concepts and theories from information gathered from
encyclopaedias or surveys;
- compare the problems, principles, methods, and conclusions of different philosophers;
- describe the ways in which the ideas of philosophers have influenced subsequent philosophers.
- clearly explain their own views in philosophical discussions in class and in other types of
exchanges with peers;
- clearly explain their views and display their use of philosophical reasoning skills in written
papers, using accepted forms of documentation as required.