Heartland Community College
Humanities and Fine Arts
Course Syllabus for Students
Course Prefix and Number: PHIL 202-01
Course Title: History of Philosophy II
Credit Hours: 3
Lecture Hours: 3
Laboratory Hours: 0
Days and times the course meets: T-R 2:00-3:15, ICB 1705
Catalog Description:
Prerequisites: None. An introduction to the history of philosophy from the
beginning of the seventeenth century to the present. This course will examine key
ideas of various major philosophers from the Western tradition including the
philosophers of the early modern period (Hobbes, Descartes, Locke, Berkeley,
Hume, and Kant), of the nineteenth century (Hegel, Marx, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche,
and the utilitarians), and various movements in twentieth-century philosophy
(pragmatism, logical atomism, logical positivism, ordinary language philosophy, and
phenomenology).
Instructor Information:
Instructor’s Name: Dr. Tim Lord
Phone number to contact instructor: 268-8623
Location of instructor’s office: ICB 2020
Hours and days of instructor’s office hours:
M-W 1:00-2:00, T-R 12:30-2:00
Textbooks:
Melchert, Norman. The Great Conversation: A Historical Introduction to Philosophy
Volume II (Descartes through Derrida and Quine). 4th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill,
2002.
Anne Michaels Edwards. Writing to Learn: An Introduction to Writing Philosophical
Essays. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2000.
Relationship to Academic Development Programs and Transfer:
PHIL 202 fulfills 3 of the required 9 semester hours of credit in the Humanities for
the A.A. or A.S. degrees. It is a General Education course and is included in the
Illinois Articulation Initiative. Therefore, it should transfer to any Illinois college or
university as a general education requirement in the Humanities. Check with an
advisor about transferability to particular institutions.
Beliefs:
Academic discipline:
I believe that coming to knowledge is a historical process that demands that one
reflect on one's history. This is true both for individuals and for disciplines such as
philosophy, although for neither is coming to knowledge merely linear and
progressive (i.e., neither involves a continual and gradual movement toward
"truth"). Consequently, we need to continually assess where we have been and
where we hope to be. Doing so requires understanding that, both as individuals
and as students of philosophy, all of our inherited assumptions about the world and
philosophy are open to criticism and revision.
Student learning and responsibilities:
Student learning in philosophy is based on "the three R's" and a D: reading,
reflection, (w)riting, and dialogue. Because philosophy is a very challenging
discipline, you will need to read the assignments carefully and probably more than
once (two hours of studying for every hour in class is probably about right). You
should think carefully about the reading, formulate a particular question/comment,
write it down, and come to class ready to ask or state it at an opportune time.
Also, you should be prepared to discuss your ideas. Philosophy is a discipline that,
at its inauguration with the Greeks, was grounded on dialogue. Discussion is still
imperative to both learning about and doing philosophy; therefore, participation in
class discussions will be necessary for doing well in this course.
Instructor’s role:
I see myself as a quite fallible expert who will serve as a facilitator of discussions
and resource person.
Course Objectives (Learning outcomes):
After completing this course you should be able to
1. Outline philosophy's historical development, matching important works with the
philosophers who wrote them and important beliefs with the philosophers who held
them.
2. Identify the historically dominant philosophical "problems," which philosophers
dealt with each of them, and why they have become viewed as "problems."
3. Appraise the effectiveness of various solutions that have been proposed to the
main philosophical problems.
4. Contextualize various philosophies and philosophical problems within the
societies and cultures that gave rise to them, identifying the social phenomena that
provided the impetus for solutions to those problems.
5. Analyze critically the extent that a philosopher's identity, assumptions, and social
context influence his or her perspective or beliefs.
6. Improve your ability to aptly interpret difficult philosophical texts and support
those interpretations with reasoned arguments.
7. Reflect on the historical processes and experiences that enable human beings
to come to knowledge.
8. Exhibit responsibility for your learning by participating in critical and creative
dialogues about philosophical issues and concepts.
9. Demonstrate the ability to write critically and analytically about philosophical
issues, supporting opinions with arguments, evidence, and reasoning.
Course/Lab Outline:
1. Descartes
2. Hobbes, Locke, and Berkeley
3. Hume
4. Kant
5. Hegel
6. Marx and Kierkegaard
7. The utilitarians
8. Nietzsche
9. Pragmatism
10. Logical Atomism and Logical Positivism
11. Wittgenstein’s Ordinary Language Philosophy
12. Heidegger’s Phenomenology
Methods of Instruction:
My hope and aim is that the course can be run as a discussion course. I do not
plan to lecture much at all. Obviously, this method of instruction assumes you have
done the reading carefully before coming to class.
Course Policies
Methods of Evaluation (Tests/Exams, Grading System):
There will be 3 examinations composed largely of essay questions, with each
examination worth 15% of your final grade. A short paper will compose 15% of
your final grade, a longer paper will compose 20%, and discussion notes and class
attendance/participation each will compose 10%. The grading system will be as
follows:
A=90%
B=80%
C=70%
D=60%
F=less than 60%
The essay exams will be take-home, open-book exams, in some ways, perhaps,
much more like short papers. I plan on giving students a lot of flexibility and choice
in the kind of topics they choose to write about on these exams. And I will focus
these exams on the kind of writing that Edwards addresses in the early chapters of
her book.
Required writing and reading:
Besides the essay examinations, required writing will take the form of one short
paper (3-5 pages) and one longer paper (5-7 pages). Required reading will be
from the textbooks. Outside reading and research will be required for both of the 2
papers. And I will focus these papers on the kind of writing that Edwards
addresses in the later chapters of her book.
I also will ask each student to occasionally prepare discussion notes for class. On
these occasions you will prepare a list of the most important issues dealt with in the
textbook reading for that class, dividing them into primary and secondary issues.
You may want to include questions, comments, or criticisms concerning some of the
concepts. You will not be graded on these discussion notes, but you will get credit
for doing them (You will want to do a good job, though, to avoid looking silly in
front of your classmates). Each student probably will be responsible for discussion
notes two times during the semester.
Participation:
Your student handbook states, "All students are expected to attend classes
regularly and promptly." It is my view that students enrolled in a class that meets
twice per week should miss no more than two classes.
The following requirements should be met:
1.
Attendance at and participation in each class
2.
Up-to-date progress in the reading
3.
Completion of all tests, papers, and discussion notes
Students are expected to have read all class assignments before attending class,
and regular attendance is expected. Given the difficulty of the material, irregular
attendance will significantly lower your grade. Students not attending class (i.e.,
students who miss at least three weeks of class in a row or five weeks of class
altogether) may be dropped from the class. If extraordinary circumstances
necessitate that you miss class for an extended period, see me in advance. Don't
wait to call me until you've missed two weeks of class. And remember, I have
voice mail.
To encourage you to get to class, there will be 50 possible points (5% of your final
grade) for participation by attendance. If you miss one class or less, you will
receive all 50 points. If you miss only two classes, you will receive 45 points;
three classes, 40 points; four classes, 35 points; etc. You need to attend the
whole class to receive credit for attendance. Students who miss more than 12
classes, for any reason, will fail the course.
Every student has a responsibility both to be actively involved in the course and to
contribute to it in ways that enhance the learning of all students. There will thus be
50 points (5% of your final grade) allotted to your class participation by discussion
as well. Asking interesting, insightful, and pertinent questions that you have written
down before class; encouraging others to explain and clarify their views; making
comments about concepts that are interesting or confusing; and answering questions
raised by the instructor will help your participation grade.
Extra Credit:
No extra credit will be given.
Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
Academic Integrity:
“Academic integrity is a fundamental principle of collegial life at Heartland
Community College and is essential to the credibility of the College’s educational
programs. Moreover, because grading may be competitive, students who
misrepresent their academic work violate the rights of their fellow students. The
College, therefore, views any act of academic dishonesty as a serious offense
requiring disciplinary measures, including course failure, suspension, and even
expulsion from the College. In addition, an act of academic dishonesty may have
unforseen effects far beyond any officially imposed penalties.”
“Violations of academic integrity include, but are not limited to the following acts:
cheating, aiding or suborning cheating or other acts of academic dishonesty,
plagiarism, misrepresentation of data, falsification of academic records or
documents, and unauthorized access to computerized academic or administrative
records or systems” (Student Handbook). Definitions of these violations may be
found in the college catalog.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is the presenting of others’ ideas as if they were your own. When you
write a paper, create a project, do a presentation or create anything original, it is
assumed that all the work, except for that which is attributed to another author or
creator, is your own. Plagiarism is considered a serious academic offense and
may take the following forms:
1.
Copying word-for-word from another source and not giving that source credit.
2.
Paraphrasing the work of another and not giving that source credit.
3.
Adopting a particularly apt phrase as your own
4.
Using an image or a copy of an image without crediting its source
5.
Paraphrasing someone else’s line of thinking in the development of a topic
as if it were your own.
6.
Receiving excessive help from a friend or elsewhere, or using another
project as if it were your own. Note that word-for-word copying is not the
only form of plagiarism.
The penalties for plagiarism may be severe, ranging from failure on the particular
piece of work, failure in the course, or expulsion from school in extreme cases.
Real or pretended ignorance of what constitutes plagiarism will not excuse students
from the penalties of such conduct. [Adapted from the Modern Language
Association’s MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. New York: MLA,
1995: 26]
Support Services:
Heartland Library Information: www.heartland.edu/library
For information about the Heartland library, see College Catalog.
Tutoring and Academic Support:
For information about tutoring and the Academic Support Center, see College
Catalog.
Course Calendar:
Date
Topic
Assignment
Jan. 17
Course Overview
Syllabus
Jan. 19
“A Word to Students”
viii-x, 299-311
“Moving from Medieval to Modern”
Jan. 24
Jan. 26
311-21
Descartes
322-33, 339-44
Jan. 31
333-36, 344-52
Feb. 2
336-39, 352-63
Feb. 7
Hobbes
364-75
Feb. 9
Locke
375-89
Feb. 14
Berkeley and Exam #1
389-400
Feb. 16
Hume
401-414
Feb. 21
Feb. 23
414-30
Kant
Feb. 28
Mar.
2
431-44
444-56
Hegel
468-82
Mar.
7
482-96
Mar. 9
Kierkegaard and Exam #2
Mar. 14-16
Spring Break (No Classes)
Mar. 21
Marx
Mar. 23
Wollstonecraft
Mar. 28
Nietzsche
Mar. 30
497-515
515-23
534-41
542-56
556-76
Apr.
4
Dewey
Apr.
6
Early Wittgenstein
605-18
Apr. 11
Paper #1 Due
618-31
Apr. 13
Later Wittgenstein
632-44
Apr. 18
Apr. 20
577, 592-604
644-54
Heidegger
655-71
Apr. 25
671-86
Apr. 27
686-701
May
2
Derrida
702-11
May
4
Rorty
712-23
May
9
Quine
723-35
May 11 Dennett and Paper #2 Due
735-44
Examination #3 will be due during the final examination period at 2:00 P.M. on
Tuesday, May 16
I will schedule reading in Edwards’ book as we go, but you will probably need to read
the following pages at the latest by the following dates:
Jan. 26: 1-11
Feb. 2: 12-27
Apr. 4: 41-51, 70-90, and 95-7
Mar. 2: 28-40
May 4: 52-69