Heartland Community College
Master Course Syllabus
Division Name: LAHS
Course Prefix & Number: PHIL 101
Course Title: Introduction to Philosophy
DATE PREPARED: July 27, 1992
DATE REVISED:
PCS/CIP/ID NO.:
IAI NO. (if available): H4 900
EFFECTIVE DATE OF FIRST CLASS:
CREDIT HOURS: 3
CONTACT HOURS:
LECTURE HOURS:
3
LABORATORY HOURS:
CATALOG DESCRIPTION (include specific prerequisites):
Prerequisite: None.
An introduction to philosophical questioning, to some of the recurrent themes and concerns in the
development of human thought and civilization, and to some of the alternative views concerning the
nature of reality, of human knowledge, and of moral and esthetic choice.
TEXTBOOK(S):
Brooke Noel Moore and Kenneth Bruder. Philosophy: The Power of Ideas. Mountain View, CA:
Mayfield, 1990.
RELATIONSHIP TO ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AND
TRANSFERABILITY:
PHIL 101 fulfills 3 of the required 12 semester hours of credit in Humanities for the A.A. degree,
or 3 of the required 6 semester hours of credit in Humanities for the A.S. degree.
COURSE OBJECTIVES (Learning Outcomes):
After completing this course you should be able to
1.
Distinguish the various subdisciplines of philosophy and recognize the subdiscipline of
particular philosophical works and concepts.
2. Outline philosophy’s historical development, matching important works with the
philosophers who wrote them and important beliefs with the philosophers who held them.
(D5)
3. Identify the historically dominant philosophical “problems,” what philosophers dealt with
each of them, and why they have become viewed as “problems.” (P1)
4. Appraise the effectiveness of various solutions that have been proposed to the main
philosophical problems. (P3, 5)
5. Distinguish the beliefs of philosophers working in the mainstream western philosophical
tradition from the marginalized and diverse voices that either are outside of that tradition or
compose the counter-tradition. (D2, 3)
6. Demonstrate tolerance and appreciation for a diversity of philosophical perspectives and
problems from various cultures. (D1)
7. Analyze critically the extent that a philosopher’s identity and assumptions influence his or
her perspective or beliefs. (D4)
8. Improve your ability to aptly interpret difficult philosophical texts and support those
interpretations with reasoned arguments. (C7)
9. Reflect in an engaged manner on the processes and experiences that enable you to come to
knowledge.
10. Exhibit responsibility for your learning by participating in critical and creative dialogues
about philosophical issues and concepts. (D6, C8)
11. Demonstrate the ability to write critically and analytically about philosophical issues,
supporting opinions with arguments, evidence, and reasoning. (C3)
COURSE/LAB OUTLINE:
I.
II.
Introduction: The Nature of Philosophical Questioning
Metaphysics
A. Classical Metaphysics
1. The Pre-Socratics
2. Plato and Aristotle
3. Plotinus and Augustine
4. The Middle Ages: Aquinas and others
B. Modern Metaphysicians
1. Descartes and Dualism
2. Hobbes and Materialism
3. Spinoza and Neutralism
4. Berkeley and Idealism
5. Hegel and Absolute Idealism
III.
IV.
6. Reactions to Absolute Idealism
a. Logical Atomism and Logical Positivism
b. Continental philosophy
Epistemology
A. Early Skepticism
1. Sextus Empiricus
2. Augustine
B. Descartes vs. the British Empiricists
C. Epistemology after Hume
1. Kant
2. Russell and Phenomenalism
3. Post-Phenomenalist Epistemology
Ethics
A. Classical Moral Philosophy
1. Plato and Aristotle
2. Epicureanism and Stoicism
B. Christian Moral Philosophy
1. Augustine
2. Aquinas
C. Early Modern Moral Philosophy: Hobbes and Hume
D. Ethics after Hume
1. Kant
2. The Utilitarians: Bentham and Mill
3. Early Analytic Ethics: Moore and Ross
4. Emotivism and Existentialism
METHOD OF EVALUATION
Your course grade will be a compilation of scores on in- and out-of-class exercises (12), quizzes
(4), and a final exam. The twelve exercises as a group will comprise one-third of your grade; the
four quizzes as a group, one-third; and the final exam, one-third.
Final grades will be determined according to the following scale:
92-100%
83-91%
74-82%
65-73%
Below 65%
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B
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D
F