Appreciation of Philosophy
Philosophy 100
Fall Semester, 2011
Instructor: Joey Tuminello
Office: 230 Eddy
Phone: (337) 692-0450
Email: jat0120@gmail.com
Office Hours: T 2-3:30, R 10:30-12, also available by appointment.
Course Materials: Perry, Bratman and Fisher (eds.), Introduction to Philosophy:
Classical and Contemporary Readings (Oxford, 5th Edition, 2010). Some additional
readings will be made available for download via RamCT.
Course Description: This course will provide grounding in the prevalent ideas and
debates within the main sub-disciplines of Western philosophy, such as normative ethics,
meta-ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology. These ideas and debates will be framed
throughout the semester as a way of analyzing and questioning the functions and goals of
philosophy: Has philosophy remained purely Socratic in its scope? Has the function of
philosophy changed, where it now serves to clarify conceptual issues within the sciences?
Did philosophy ever have a particular function or goal in the first place? These questions
will guide the course through each individual debate, and will be used to demonstrate our
attempt to grasp, collectively, what philosophy is.
Course Goals: A major goal of this course is that it will aid in students’ abilities to
reason clearly and effectively. By confronting and analyzing challenging texts, students
will develop critical thinking abilities that are universally applicable, making them wellrounded thinkers. In addition, students are encouraged to take an interest in the
philosophical topics themselves, not just the skills developed in the course. Many topics
covered involve ideas and debates that have preoccupied the human mind for a very long
time. Students are encouraged not just to understand and analyze the positions that other
people have defended, but to offer their own original arguments and defenses for their
own views.
Course Policies: Attending class and keeping up with class readings is mandatory in
order to perform well in this course. While each class meeting will partially consist of
my lecture, there is also a built-in class participation component. Dialogue is vital to
doing and understanding philosophy, so your class participation grade will rely on your
ability to critically analyze the readings, and to demonstrate some attempt to understand
the material prior to the class discussion. This is a 100-level course, so you are not
expected to come into class as an expert, but to try your best to grasp the material.
This course takes academic integrity extremely seriously; hence, there is a zero tolerance
policy regarding cheating. This course will adhere to the Academic Integrity Policy of
the Colorado State University General Catalog and the Student Conduct Code.
Grading: The components of your grade will be as follows:
a) Three in-class examinations (including final exam). These will consist of
multiple choice and short-answer questions. Each exam will be focused on new
material not encountered in the previous exam, although a small amount of
questions may be cumulative. Each exam will count for 20% of your grade.
b) One “staged” writing assignment. This will simply involve the careful reconstruction in your own words of an argument from our readings, followed by a
critical discussion. The paper will have a 1000-word maximum. Your original
paper will count for 10% of your grade. After grading, papers will be returned
with extensive comments and suggestions. By the last day of class, papers must
be revised based on comments and suggestions, and turned in again. Your revised
paper will count for 20% of your grade. Topics will be provided well in advance
of the original assignment’s due date.
c) Attendance and participation. Attendance sheets will be passed around each
class period. Participation will be evaluated at the end of the semester, based on
each student’s quantity and quality of in-class discussion. Attendance and
participation will count for 10% of your grade.
Schedule of Readings: Because of the difficulty of many of these readings, it is
important to do the reading both before and after class, in order to gain a better
understanding of the key points of debate and discussion. The reading schedule is subject
to change, so please be sure to keep up with class meetings in case changes occur.
August
September
22
Introduction
24
Plato, Euthyphro (available via RamCT)
26
Plato, Apology: Defense of Socrates
29
Descartes, Meditation I (pp. 136-138)
31
Gettier, “Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?”
2
Nozick, “Excerpt from Philosophical Explanations”
5
Labor Day; no class
7
Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, pp. 190199
9
Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, pp. 199213
12
Descartes, Meditation II (pp. 138-141) PAPER #1 DUE
October
14
Ryle, “Descartes’ Myth”
16
Armstrong, “The Nature of Mind”
19
Nagel, “What Is It Like to Be a Bat?”
21
Jackson, “What Mary Didn’t Know” and Lewis, “Knowing What
It’s Like”
23
Dennett, “Where Am I?
26
Catch-up Day; no new reading
28
TEST NUMBER ONE
30
No class; instructor will be out of town
3
Hume, “Of Liberty and Necessity”
5
Chisholm, “Human Freedom and the Self”
7
Frankfurt, “Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility”
10
Frankfurt, “Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person”
12
Nagel, “Moral Luck” – ORIGINAL PAPER DUE DATE
14
Anselm, “The Ontological Argument”
17
Aquinas, “The Existence of God”
19
Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, pp. 60-71
21
Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, pp. 71-84 PAPER
#2 DUE
24
Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, pp. 84-93
26
Perry, “Dialogue on Good, Evil and the Existence of God,” pp. 96108
28
Perry, “Dialogue on Good, Evil and the Existence of God,” pp.
108-119
31
Pascal, “The Wager”
November
2
Clifford, “The Ethics of Belief” (available via RamCT)
4
James, “The Will to Believe” (available via RamCT)
7
Catch-up Day; no new reading
9
TEST NUMBER TWO
11
Mackie, “The Subjectivity of Values”
14
Harman, “Ethics and Observation”
16
Sturgeon, “Moral Explanations”
18
Mill, “Utilitarianism,” pp. 460-469
21-25 Fall Break
December
28
Mill, “Utilitarianism,” pp. 469-476
30
Singer, “Famine, Affluence and Morality”
2
Velleman, “A Brief Introduction to Kantian Ethics”
5
Nagel, “War and Massacre”
7
Wolf, “Moral Saints”
9
Wolf, “The Meanings of Lives”
14
FINAL EXAM from 9:40 to 11:40 p.m.