Introduction to Philosophy
Denny 304, MWF 9:30 – 10:20
Professor Chauncey Maher
maherc@dickinson.edu East College 201
Office Hours: 4-5 TW, or by appointment
Course Description
Philosophy considers such questions as: What is justice? How should a proper civil society
and government work? What can I know? What is a mind? Are our morals sound? Should we
have the values we have? In what sense does science make progress?
This course is an introduction to philosophy by way of four widely and rightly influential
texts that address these questions (and more). In addition, through these texts you will be made
familiar with different modes of philosophical thinking. The Republic is a dialogue; Descartes’s
Meditations is a set of first-personal reflections; Nietzsche’s Genealogy is a polemic; and Kuhn’s
Structure is a piece of history and sociology. Philosophical inquiry can take various forms.
Goals
-Develop skills of reasoning through reading, discussion and writing
-Become familiar with some central philosophical claims and arguments
-Become familiar with different forms of philosophical inquiry
Texts
Republic, Plato, trans. Griffith, ISBN: 978-0521484435
Meditations on First Philosophy, Rene Descartes, ISBN: 0521558182
On the Genealogy of Morality, Friedrich Nietzsche, ISBN: 0521406102
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Thomas Kuhn, ISBN: 0226458083
A Rule Book for Arguments, 4 edition, Anthony Weston, ISBN: 978-0872209541
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Evaluation
As you will see, philosophical issues are often more easily grasped when discussed with
others. For that reason, in this class, I expect all of you to ask questions of me and one another. I
also expect you to do all of the reading and attend class regularly. Almost every week, we will
dedicate time solely to discussing the issues and questions raised by the reading for that week. Your
participation in these discussions is worth 10% of your final grade. Please see my comments on
participation at the end of the syllabus for more details.
There are 4 three-page essays for this course, one for each of the books we will read. These
assignments are deliberately short: part of the challenge is to write concisely and effectively. Each
essay is worth 22.5% of your final grade. You will have roughly one week to write each essay. See the
schedule for the due dates.
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Schedule (tentative)
Date
1/25
M
Topic
Introduction. What will we be doing in this
course?
Reading (for class on this day)
None
1/27
What is justice?
Republic, Book I
1/29
Discussion
Republic, Book I
2/1
M
Why be just?
Republic, Book II
2/3
Identifying and Evaluating Arguments
None
[Read ahead!]
2/5
NO CLASS
NO CLASS
2/8
M
What makes for a good education?
Republic, Book III
2/10
What is justice in a well-formed state?
Republic, Book IV
2/12
Discussion
Republic, Book IV
2/15
M
How to Write a Philosophy Paper
**Rulebook, Chapters I-III, VIIVIII**
2/17
Family and property
Republic, Book V - VI
2/19
Should we seek advice from philosophers?
Discussion
Republic, Books V - VI
2/22
M
The myth of the cave
Republic, Books VII
2/24
What is an unjust state?
What is tyranny?
Republic, Books VIII - X
2/26
Discussion
Republic, Books VII - X
3/1
M
What is knowledge?
What can I know for certain?
Meditations, Dedicatory Letter and 1
3/3
1 PAPER DUE
What am I?
1 PAPER DUE
Meditations, 2 Meditation
3/5
Discussion
Meditations, Dedicatory Letter, 1
ST
st
Meditation
ST
ND
st
nd
and 2 Meditations
3/8
M
Is there a god?
Meditations, 3 Meditation
3/10
What is god?
Meditations, 4 and 5 Meditations
3/12
Discussion
Meditations, 3 , 4 and 5 Meditations
rd
th
rd
th
th
th
2
3/15
M
SPRING BREAK
SPRING BREAK
3/17
SPRING BREAK
SPRING BREAK
3/19
SPRING BREAK
SPRING BREAK
3/22
M
What is a mind?
Meditations, 6 Meditation
3/24
How are mind and body related?
Meditations, 6 Meditation
3/26
View: The Remains of the Day
Genealogy, Preface
3/29
M
View: The Remains of the Day
2 PAPER DUE
Genealogy, Preface
4/2
View: The Remains of the Day
Genealogy, Preface
4/4
Discussion
Genealogy, Preface
ND
th
th
ND
2 PAPER DUE
The Remains of the Day
4/6
M
Why a genealogy?
Genealogy, Preface and First Essay
4/8
Are we free?
Genealogy, Preface and First Essay
4/10
The right to make promises
What is the will to power?
Genealogy, Second Essay
4/13
M
The ascetic ideal
Genealogy, Third Essay
4/15
The will to truth
Is there an alternative to the ascetic ideal?
Genealogy, Third Essay
4/17
Discussion
Genealogy
4/19
M
What is the place of history in understanding
scientific inquiry?
Structure, I
(focus on §13)
(focus on §1)
(focus on §§1-22)
(focus on §§23-25)
Gay Science, excerpts
4/23
View: Cosmic Voyage
What is normal science?
What is a paradigm?
Anomaly and Discovery
3 PAPER DUE
Discussion
4/26
M
Seeing Things
Crisis and Response
Structure, Chapter VII-VIII
4/28
What is a revolution?
“Different worlds”
Structure, Chapters IX-XII
4/30
Discussion
Structure, Chapter IX-XII
5/3
M
Theory-laden perception
Structure, Chapter XIII
4/21
rd
Structure, Chapters II-VI
rd
3 PAPER DUE
Structure, Chapter I-VI
3
5/5
Different worlds?
How rational are revolutions?
Structure, Postscript
5/7
Discussion
Concluding remarks
Structure, Chapter XIII-Postscript
5/11
9 am
4 PAPER DUE
9 am
4 PAPER DUE
th
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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
In compliance with the Dickinson College policy and equal access laws, I am available to
discuss requests made by students with disabilities for academic accommodations. Such requests
must be verified in advance by the Coordinator of Disability Services who will provide a signed copy
of an accommodation letter, which must be presented to me prior to any accommodations being
offered. Requests for academic accommodations should be made during the first three weeks of the
semester (except for unusual circumstances) so that timely and appropriate arrangements can be
made.
Students requesting accommodations are required to register with Disability Services,
located in Academic Advising, first floor of Biddle House. Please contact Marni Jones, Coordinator
of Disability Services (at ext. 1080 or jonesmar@dickinson.edu) to verify their eligibility for
reasonable and appropriate accommodations.
Participation
What it is:
1.
2.
A comment or question on a specific claim or argument made by the author. This
requires pointing to the specific passage.
a. This can be interpretive. E.g. ‘What does Socrates mean when he says S on
page P?’ Here you have the burden of saying what you think S means.
b. Or it can be critical. E.g. ‘Socrates claims S, but he doesn’t seem to have a
good reason for it.’ Here you have the burden of saying why you think the
person has a bad reason.
A comment or question on a specific claim made by me or someone else.
a. As above, this can be interpretive or critical.
What it is not:
1. Asking what the assignment is for next time.
2. Saying ‘yea’ to what someone else says.
3. Sitting in your chair and saying nothing.
4. Saying things like, “The central impediment to a transcendental deduction of the
systematic marginalization of the epistemic condition of the proletariat is what the poststructuralist movement has called the malaise of language.” Aim to speak plainly and
to the issues at hand. One way to achieve this is by rooting your comments in specific
claims in the text.
By participating in one of the acceptable ways, you will get credit. To get full credit (to get the full
10%), you will need to participate 5 times over the course of the semester. We have 11 discussions
scheduled, so you will have ample opportunity to do so.
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