PHI 165: The Examined Life
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Friday 8:00-8:50 and 9:00-9:50
Oddfellows Building, Room 105A
Instructor: Katharine Wolfe
Office Hours: MWF 12:00-2:00 P.M.
Course Description
Philosophy has long been understood as the love of wisdom, although the expressions of this love have
vastly differed. This course journeys through some of philosophy’s most poignant expressions,
considering each in turn for its flashes of wisdom as well as its transgressions of conventional beliefs.
Beginning in the ancient era, we meet Socrates as he contemplates the immortality of the soul while
facing death due to his pursuit of philosophy. Next, we journey through the pages of Descartes’
Meditations, a series of reflections that begin with dispelling belief in the external world only to rebuild
knowledge on the foundation of thought itself, and encounter Friedrich Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke
Zarathustra, the pages of which reverberate with a love of life that endures and even celebrates life’s
propensity to entail suffering. The course ends in a study of Simone de Beauvoir’s groundbreaking work,
The Second Sex, a twentieth century text that changed the face of philosophy by recognizing sex and
gender as philosophical problems.
Learning Objectives
1.
2.
3.
4.
Read and comprehend arguments in their primary sources (in translation, as necessary).
Develop an understanding of some of the methodologies employed in philosophical inquiry.
Articulate unique thoughts and ideas relevant to philosophical inquiry orally and write essays that are clear
and well structured, exhibiting command of the preceding abilities.
Engage in the art of critical self-examination, demonstrating narrative, contextual thinking about one’s own
life and values, while making connections between this self-explorative journey and primary works in the
philosophical tradition.
Reading Schedule
Week 1
Wednesday, Jan. 20th: Introduction
Friday, Jan. 22nd: Plato’s Apology, pg. 23-39
Week 2
Monday, Jan. 25th: Plato’s Apology, pg. 39-44
Wednesday, Jan. 27th: Plato’s Crito
Friday, Jan. 29th: Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (Sakai)
Week 3
Monday, Feb. 1st: Plato’s Phaedo, pg. 93-114
Wednesday, Feb. 3rd: Plato’s Phaedo, pg. 115-135
Friday, Feb. 5th: Plato’s Phaedo, pg.136-155
Week 4
Mon., Feb. 8th: T.B.A.
Wed., Feb. 10th: Complete Essay Drafts Due; Peer Review Workshop
Friday, Feb. 12th: First Essay Due; Descartes’ Discourse on Method, Part One (Sakai)
Week 5
Monday, Feb. 15th: Descartes’ Meditations – First Meditation, pg. 12-16
Wednesday, Feb. 17th: Descartes’ Meditations – Second Meditation, pg. 16-23 & Selected Letters (Sakai)
Friday, Feb. 19th: Descartes’ Meditations – Third Meditation, pg. 24-36
Week 6
Monday, Feb. 22nd: Descartes’ Meditations – Fourth Meditation, pg. 37-43
Wednesday, Feb. 24th: Descartes’ Meditations – Fifth Meditation, pg. 44-49
Friday, Feb. 26th: Descartes’ Meditations – Sixth Meditation, pg. 50-62
Week 7
Monday, Feb. 29th: Descartes’ Correspondence with Princess Elisabeth (Sakai)
Wednesday, Mar. 2nd: Class Replaced by Film Screening: Waking Life
Friday, Mar. 4th: Complete Essay Drafts Due; Peer Review Workshop
Week 8
Monday, Mar. 7th: Second Essay Due; Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Prologue, pg. 39-53
Wednesday, Mar. 9th: Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Book 1, pg. 54-56; 58-63; 67-69
Friday, Mar. 11th: Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Book 1, pg. 84-88; 91-93; 99-104
Week 9
Monday, Mar. 14th: Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Book 2, pg. 107-112; 123-129
Wednesday, Mar. 16th: Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Book 2, pg. 129-139
Friday, Mar. 18th: Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Book 2, pg. 152-164; 166-169
Week 10
Spring Break – No Classes
Week 11
Monday, Mar. 28th: Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Book 3, pg. 173-181
Wednesday, Mar. 30th: Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Book 3, pg. 210-232
Friday, Apr. 1st: Friedrich Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Book 3, pg. 232-247
Week 12
Monday, Apr. 4th: Alphonso Lingis’s “Nietzsche and Animals” (Sakai)
Wednesday, Apr. 6th: Complete Essay Drafts Due; Peer Review Workshop
Friday, Apr. 8th: Third Essay Due; Simone de Beauvoir’s Introduction to The Second Sex, pg. 3-10
Week 13
Monday, Apr. 11th: Beauvoir’s Introduction to The Second Sex, pg. 10-17
Wednesday, Apr. 13th: Beauvoir’s The Second Sex, “Biological Data”, pg. 21-36
Friday, Apr. 15th: Beauvoir’s The Second Sex, “Biological Data”, pg. 36-48
Week 14
Monday, Apr. 18th: Beauvoir’s The Second Sex, “Myths”, pg. 266-274
Wednesday, Apr. 20th: Beauvoir’s The Second Sex, “Woman’s Situation and Character,” pg. 638-664
Friday, Apr. 22nd: Beauvoir’s Conclusion to The Second Sex, pg. 753-766
Week 15
Monday, Apr. 25th: Judith Butler’s “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution”, pg. 519-524 (Sakai)
Wednesday, Apr. 27th: Butler’s “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution”, pg. 524-531 (Sakai)
Friday, Apr. 29th: Julia Serano’s “Blind Spots” (Sakai)
Week 16
Monday, May 2nd: Concluding Discussion
Final Essay Due Monday, May 9th at 5:00 pm.
*Please note that this schedule may change subject to our pace and interests.
Course Assignments
1. Reading Responses and Additional Short Assignments
Students will submit a short piece of writing (approx. 1 page) at the end of each Friday’s class session.
This writing should demonstrate active, interpretative reading and critical thinking pertaining to the day’s
reading material. Initially, these responses will be asked to follow prompts given by the instructor and
may later be developed wholly independently. Students can elect any two weeks on which to skip this
assignment with no penalty to their grade. Reading responses will be graded credit/no credit. Students
will also be asked to undertake short writing assignments and other in-class work that will factor into their
final grade, making attendance and good preparation each day crucial to success in the course.
2. Essay Assignments
Students will be required to write 4 short essays (4-6 pages long) in this course, one for each of the main
author’s covered. These essays should offer both an interpretative exposition as well as a critical
reflection on the author’s work. Each essay must be revised in light of peer review prior to submission,
and each student’s commitments to revising their work will factor into their final grade. Detailed
instructions will be handed out in class.
3. Participation
Student engagement and open discussion is highly valued in this course. Students are encouraged to share
their interests, concerns, and questions on a daily basis, and class discussion will readily follow ideas and
issues introduced by students. Good listening is also a valued part of participation, and students will be
expected to demonstrate thoughtful attention to the voices of their peers as well as an investment in
democratic dialogue in the classroom, ensuring that all students’ voices are equally heard.
Evaluation
Reading Responses and Additional Short Assignments: 15%
Essay 1, 2 & 3: 20%
Final Essay: 25%
Participation: This is a discussion-based, seminar-style course in which student engagement is key.
Accordingly, any student who misses 4 days of class will have their final grade reduced by a fraction of a
grade (e.g. from B to B-), and any student who misses 7 or more days of class will have their final grade
reduced by a full letter grade (e.g. from B to C). The same grade reductions will apply to students who
come to class without having read the required reading material. Please note that students generally do not
need to notify the instructor of absences due to short-term illness, sports events, travel, etc. as every
student is automatically excused for three class days. While students who do not attend class and do not
keep up with our reading schedule will have their grades reduced, students who make exceptional
contributions to a flourishing learning community within the classroom will have their final grades
adjusted upwards by a fraction of a grade (e.g. from B to B+).
Late Policy:
Late essays received within one week of the assignment deadline will receive a fractional grade
deduction. Late essays received more than one week late but less than two weeks late will receive a full
grade deduction. Essays will not be accepted for credit after two weeks from the deadline. Final essays,
short writing assignments, and reading responses will not be accepted late. Students who anticipate the
need for an extension must speak to the instructor prior to the deadline.
Required Texts
De Beauvoir, Simone. (2011). The Second Sex. (Constance Borde & Sheila Malovany-Chevallier, Trans.)
New York: Vintage. ISBN: 978-0307277787
Nietzsche, Friedrich. (1961). Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for Everyone and No One. (R.J.
Hollingdale, Trans.) London & New York: Penguin Books. ISBN: 978-0140441185
Descartes, Rene. (1996). Meditations on First Philosophy. (John Cottingham, Trans. and Ed.) Cambridge
& New York: Cambridge, U.P. ISBN: 978-0521558181
Plato. (2002). Five Dialogues. (John M. Cooper, Ed.; G.M.A. Grube, Trans.). Indianapolis, IN: Hackett
Publishing Company. ISBN: 978-0872206335
*Please note that no other translations of these works are acceptable substitutes. Also, while the
book store offers the option to purchase digital versions of these works, referencing page numbers
is a requisite for essay assignments and digital editions are not always paginated.