Philosophy 102 Syllabus Page 1 of 3
Philosophy 102, Fall 2005
Introduction to Philosophy: Knowledge and Reality
Wednesdays 6 pm – 9 pm
Instructor: Vladan Djordjevic e-mail: intrphi102@yahoo.ca
Office hours: Mondays 4:45 – 5:45 pm in HC 4-104, or by appointment
Course web site: http://www.ualberta.ca/~vladan/Phil102.html
This course is an introduction to some of the basic methods and topics in philosophy.
Additionally, this course is meant to help students acquire the ability to critically read
philosophical texts, understand and analyze arguments, and generate arguments of their
own.
Required texts: The coursepack available in the bookstore, plus some texts available for
free on the Internet or handed in the class. You are also supposed to read the material I
will post on the course web site under the links ‘Week1’, ‘Week 2’ , ... ‘Week 13’.
Your mark will depend on the following:
Presentation in class 20%
First essay
25%
Second essay
25%
Final exam
30%
Here is the approximate schedule:
September
Week 1.
Week 2.
Week 3.
Week 4.
Introduction: Arguments
Infinity: Hilbert’s Hotel
Text: David Stacy: “The story of the Hotel Ad Infinitum”
Infinity: Cantor
Text: Stephen Barker: “Transfinite numbers” from “Philosophy
of mathematics”
Infinity: Zeno’s paradoxes
Text: Nick Huggett: “Zeno”, Chapter 3 from “Space from Zeno
to Einstein”
Infinity: Zeno’s paradoxes
Text: Nick Huggett: “Zeno”
Philosophy of Science: Scientific Hypotheses
Text: Morris Cohen and Ernest Nagel: An introduction to logic
and scientific method, chapter 11 and excerpt of chapter 12
Philosophy of Science: Scientific Hypotheses
Text: Morris Cohen and Ernest Nagel: An introduction to logic
and scientific method, chapter 11 and excerpt of chapter 12
Philosophy 102 Syllabus Page 2 of 3
Text: Karl Popper: “Conjectures and Refutations”
Text: Philip Kitcher: “Believing where we cannot prove”
October
Week 5.
Week 6.
Week 7.
Week 8.
Philosophy of Science: Science and Pseudoscience
Text: Philip Kitcher: “Believing where we cannot prove”
How (not) to write a philosophical paper
Themes for the first essay assigned
Philosophy of Religion: Theodicy (the problem of evil)
Text: J. L. Mackie: “Evil and Omnipotence”
Philosophy of Religion: Proofs of God’s existence
Text: Anselm of Canterbury: “The ontological argument” from
“Proslogion”
William L. Rowe: “The ontological argument”
Philosophy of Religion: Proofs of God’s existence
Text: William L. Rowe: “The cosmological argument”
William Paley: “The argument from design”
FIRST ESSAY DUE
Epistemology: The notion of knowledge
Text: Plato: Theaetetus
Plato: Meno (excerpt)
Edmund Gettier: “Is true justified belief knowledge?”
November
Week 9.
Week 10.
Week 11.
Week 12.
Week 13.
Epistemology: Skepticism
Text: Rene Descartes: Meditations on First Philosophy I-II
Roderick Chisholm: “The Problem of the Criterion”
THE CORRECTION OF THE FIRST ESSAY DUE
Philosophy of Mind
Text: Paul Churchland: “Behaviorism, Materialism, and
Functionalism”
Frank Jackson: “The Qualia Problem”
Themes for the second essay assigned
Philosophy of Mind
Text: John Searle: “Minds, Brains, and Programs”
William Lycan: “Robots and Minds”
Free Will
Text: Paul Holbach: “The Illusion of free will”
W.T. Stace, “The Problem of Free Will”
SECOND ESSAY DUE
Free Will
Text: Roderick Chisholm, “Human Freedom and the Self”
December
Week 14. Final exam
Philosophy 102 Syllabus Page 3 of 3
University policies about Plagiarism (two addition pages on the policies are attached to
this syllabus)
“Policy about course outlines can be found in ' 23.4(2) of the University Calendar.”
“The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity
and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding
academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students
are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of
Student Behaviour (online at www.ualberta.ca/secretariat/appeals.htm) and avoid any
behaviour which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism,
misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a
serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University.”
The Code of Student Behaviour is published in the Calendar (pages 652-675)
In particular, please note:
No student shall represent another’s substantial editorial or compositional assistance
on an assignment as their own.
No student shall submit in any course or program of study, without the written
approval of the course instructor, all or a substantial portion of any academic writing,
essay, thesis, research report, project assignment, presentation or poster for which
credit has been obtained by the Student or which has been or is being submitted by the
Student in another course or program of student in the University or elsewhere.