INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY I
PHIL 200
July 04 – 28, 2005
Class Time: MTWR: 01:25 PM to 03:55PM
Class Location: ENGTR 1080
Instructor: Pierre Chételat
Office: Leacock 920
Office Hours: TBA
Email: jchete@po-box.mcgill.ca
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to some of the great works from the
history of philosophy, and to familiarize them with some of the topics that have long been
and continue to be addressed by philosophers.
The course is divided into four sections. In the first three sections, we will be reading
works by three important Western philosophers: Plato, René Descartes and David Hume.
These particular texts were chosen for a number of reasons: (a) they are texts that played
a significant role in the development of Western thought; (b) taken together they
introduce students to philosophical themes from a variety of areas, including
metaphysics, epistemology, meta-philosophy, ethics, philosophy of religion and political
philosophy; (c) they are all relatively short, which is required if we are to cover the
complete texts of several philosophers in one course; (d) they are all written clearly,
which means that the ideas they present are more readily accessible to new students of
philosophy.
In the final section of the course we will study Who’s to Say?, a dialogue that presents
several opposing views on the topic of relativism. This dialogue will give students a taste
of more contemporary work in philosophy and will allow them to explore an issue that is
still strongly debated.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Plato, The Trial and Death of Socrates: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, death scene from
Phaedo. (trans. G.M.A. Grube) Hackett, 2001.
Plato, Gorgias. (trans. by Donald J. Zeyl) Hackett, 1987.
René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy. (trans. Donald Cress) Hackett, 1993.
David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. Hackett, 1993.
Norman Melchert, Who’s to Say?: A Dialogue on Relativism. Hackett, 1994.
The texts are for sale at The Word bookstore, 469 Milton (845-5640).
COURSE SCHEDULE
Week 1:
Monday 4 July
Tuesday 5 July
Wednesday 6 July
Thursday 7 July
Introduction
Plato’s Apology
Plato’s Euthyphro
Plato’s Gorgias
Week 2:
Monday 11 July
Tuesday 12 July
Wednesday 13 July
Thursday 14 July
Plato’s Gorgias
Plato’s Gorgias
Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy
Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy
Week 3:
Monday 18 July
Tuesday 19 July
Wednesday 20 July
Thursday 21 July
Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy
Hume’s Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
Hume’s Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
Hume’s Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
Week 4:
Monday 25 July
Tuesday 26 July
Wednesday 27 July
Thursday 28 July
Melchert’s Who’s to Say?
Melchert’s Who’s to Say?
Melchert’s Who’s to Say?
Final Exam
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES
Each student will be required to submit 2 essays (each one 750 words in length and worth
30% of the final mark) and to write a final exam (40% of final mark).
McGill values academic integrity. Therefore all students must understand the meaning
and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the Code of
Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures. See www.mcgill.ca/integrity for more
information.
Essay #1:
Topic: Plato material covered in class
Essay topic distributed in class: Thursday 7 July
Essay due date: Thursday 14 July
Essay #2:
Topic: Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy
Essay topic distributed in class: Thursday 14 July
Essay topic due date: Thursday 21 July