Dr. John Tomarchio
Department of Philosophy
INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
32655 PHI 1050-017, Spring 2001.
Prof. John Tomarchio, Department of Philosophy, SAC 173, (610) 519-4719,
john.tomarchio@villanova.edu • www.villanova.edu/homepage/john.tomarchio.
Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday, 1:00-2:00 p.m. (and by appointment).
The aim of this course is to acquaint you with the history of Western philosophy and to develop
your skills for philosophical interpretation: the ability to analyze a philosopher’s position,
determine its implications, and discuss the fundamental questions from which it arises. We will
survey ancient, medieval, and modern texts of Western philosophy with a view in particular to the
moral and political ramifications of divergent views of the human being. All the authors to be
read have emerged in the history of Western thought as powerful thinkers who have shaped the
language and categories that we use to shape our society—for better or for worse. In mastering
their thought, you begin to master your world.
My ways of assessing your work accord with these goals. I evaluate your textual comments and
reaction papers for your personal engagement with the texts. I solicit your comments on the text
in class to evaluate your preparedness to enter into philosophical discussion with your peers. I
use the exam to assess your ability to recapitulate the dialectic we generate among the texts in
class. The group projects demonstrate your ability to understand the enduring influence of these
texts in contemporary society.
We will approach the texts of this course on the model of a serious conversation with a friend.
Like a good conversation, a good reading is an engaged response. It allows the text to speak to us
in its own terms, responds to it in kind, and follows its lead as far as possible. You can safely
assume that our authors were as interested in what is true as we are and as capable of examining
and questioning themselves and their times. The point of this course is not to judge these books
and their times by our standards, but rather to use them to examine our standards, our times, and
ourselves. It is what Socrates calls “leading the examined life.”
Texts
Four Texts on Socrates, Tr. Thomas & Grace Starry West (Cornell University Press, 1984).
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Tr. Terence Irwin (Hackett Publishing, 1985).
Thomas Aquinas, Treatise on Happiness, Ed. John Oesterle (University of Notre Dame, 1964).
René Descartes, Discourse on Method, Tr. Donald A Cress, 4th ed. (Hackett Publishing, 1993).
Immanuel Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, Tr. James. W. Ellington, 2nd ed.
(Hackett Publishing, 1981).
Friedrich Nietzsche, "On the Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense," in Philosophy and Truth, Tr.
Daniel Breazeale (Humanity Books, 1999).
Requirements
1. Participation (10%): You receive credits for each class you attend, for each comment you
post on an E-learning Discussions Forum, and for each textual comment you offer for class
discussion. Six absences merits a 0 for Participation. Before every class session on an
assigned text, you are to post on the E-learning Discussions Fora a comment, a personal
reaction to a quotation from the text (to be cited in the comment). You must state what you
Dr. John Tomarchio
Department of Philosophy
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think about the author’s argument and why. After each group presentation, you are to post a
comment on the E-learning Discussions Forum giving your personal reaction to one of the
positions presented, likewise stating why you agree or disagree with the argument.
Writing (30%). Three reaction papers to three of the five main texts. The papers are to state
an argument of the author’s and reply to it, giving reasons for agreeing or disagreeing. Use
parenthetical citation format for the primary text and no secondary texts or assistance of any
kind. The Villanova Policy on Academic Integrity will be strictly enforced.
Exam (20%). A comprehensive essay exam on all course texts and all class discussions.
Group Project (30%). You will select a contemporary issue of interest to you to research in
a group of five classmates. Each member of the group will draw up a one-page statement on
the issue from the viewpoint of one of the authors read this semester. The group will present
a three-stage presentation to the class: 1) a general overview of the issue; 2) a roundtable
discussion “in character” based on the five statements together with prepared rebuttals; and 3)
a general class discussion, with everyone representing their own view.
Final (10%). For your final project, you will submit a log of the comments you had posted
during the semester, prefaced with a one-page self-assessment, reflecting on your experience
and progress in the course.
Schedule
JAN 16 General Introduction
18 Plato, Apology
MAR 13 Kant, Grounding 3
15 Kant, Grounding 3
23 Aristotle, Ethics 1-3
25 Aristotle, Ethics 1-3
FEB
20 Nietzsche, Truth & Lie
Kant Paper Due
22 Nietzsche, Truth & Lie
30 Aristotle, Ethics 6-7
1 Aristotle, Ethics 10
6 Aquinas, Treatise 1-3
Aristotle Paper Due
8 Aquinas, Treatise 1-3
27 Exam Review/Group Meetings
Nietzsche Paper Due
29 EXAM
APR
13 Aquinas, Treatise 4-5
15 Descartes, Discourse 1-3
Oct.
3 Group Meetings
5 Abortion Presentation *
10 Addictions Presentation *
12 Holy Thursday
20 Descartes, Discourse 4-6
Aquinas Paper Due
22 Descartes Recap.
17 Affirmative Action Presentation *
19 Death Penalty Presentation *
Oct. 27 Kant, Grounding 1
Descartes Paper Due
MAR 1 Kant, Grounding 1
24 Euthanasia Presentation (in CHM ENG 204)
26 Genetics Presentation *
MAY
1 Semester Recap.
* In Falvey Basesment, Viewing Room 2.