PHIL 2003: Introduction to Philosophy
h p o
s o l i h P
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Where / When: SciEng Bldg 408, T/R’s 3:30 – 4:50; Sci
Bldg 418, T/R’s 7:00 – 8:20
Instructor: Roman Briggs (cv)
Email: rnbriggs@uark.edu
Office: 479-575-7553, Philosophy Department: 479-575-3551,
Home: 479-527-9698
Office Location / Office Hours: Old
Special Needs: If you
have special needs, please contact me within the first week of class with
paperwork from the Student Access Office in hand; this will aid me in making
the accommodations necessary to insure your comfort and success.
Inclement Weather
Policy: Unless the university officially cancels class, we will meet
as scheduled.
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About the Course: Our shared
objective will be to forge a posture of healthy inquiry: a disposition to
formulate those questions which generally do not occur to us. We will look to
doubt what we generally take for granted, to reconsider our basest assumptions,
and to ask ourselves the so-called “big” (and, prima facie,
not-so-“big”) questions. We will look to formulate and consider various answers
to these questions—to back these answers with appropriate arguments, and to
repeat this process if, and when, we find our efforts to be unsatisfactory; as
will be evident early on, this will almost always turn out to be the case.
Among these questions will be epistemological, metaphysical, ontological,
ethical, existential, and political inquiries like in kind to: What can we
know? How can we come to know these things? Does God exist? What is the world
like? What sorts of things exist? How ought we behave?
Are the dictates of morality objective or subjective? What is justice? What
might the just society be like? Is there meaning to find in life? If not, might
we create meaning? And, sadly pertinent: What constitutes terrorism? By
what is a war just? In considering these questions we will find as guides some
of the greatest minds in the Western intellectual tradition—Plato, Rene
Descartes, John Locke, David Hume, John Stuart Mill, (by proxy) Harriet Taylor-Mill, Friedrich
Nietzsche, and Karl Marx. Amid the writings of these
disparate thinkers and the varied opinions of your classmates, you will
assuredly come to face opinions painfully contrary to your own. When you find
yourself in this position, I ask that you do your best to consider your
interlocutor’s perspective as charitably as possible, be she an author we
happen to be reading, or the person sitting next to you. As says Aristotle, “It
is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without
accepting it.” As we will be considering philosophical positions from as many
perspectives as possible, this mantra will be our own. I look forward to an
exciting and productive semester, and ask that you contact me at any time if I
might make this experience more rewarding.
Φ
Materials: Each
student should purchase (or, if possible, borrow) the following books:
1.
Five Dialogues by:
Plato, Grube (Trans.),
ISBN: 0872206335
2.
Meditations on First Philosophy, by: Rene Descartes,
Cress (Trans.), ISBN: 0872201929
3.
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, by: David Hume,
Steinberg (Ed.), ISBN: 0872202291
4.
The Basic Works of John Stuart Mill, by: John Stuart
Mill, Miller (Ed.), ISBN: 0375759182
5.
On The Genealogy of Morality, by: Friedrich
Nietzsche,
6.
The Communist Manifesto, by: Karl Marx and
Friedrich Engels, ISBN: 0717802418
Φ
Grades shall be
given in consideration of the following:
Attendance and Participation: Attendance will be taken promptly at
the beginning of each meeting, and while it will not play a direct role in
overall grades, it will be taken into consideration as regards any
borderline grade (+/-). As
philosophy is an essentially conversational enterprise, this course will
function, in part, as a seminar of sorts. That said, daily participation in
discussion of the readings, and adequate preparation for such discussion, will
also have an effect on borderline grades. Please bring any materials which
might be pertinent to discussion to each meeting (e.g., books, handouts). In cases of flagrant absenteeism, I reserve
the right to lower any final score as much as one letter grade.
Exams: Three essay exams will be administered
throughout the semester (—each valued at 30 points); the specifics of the exams
will be discussed as the course evolves. A bluebook is required for each of the
exams. (—I shouldn't have to say this, but here goes: No cheating. Academic dishonesty will result in a zero for the
exam/assignment and, perhaps, for the course.) 3
exams x 30 points = 90 points possible
Exam Make-Up Policy:
Exams may be made up within one week of the original test date, given I am contacted before the regularly scheduled
exam time. Exams not taken within one week of the original test date will
result in a penalty of 5 points. Exams not taken within two weeks of the
original test date will result in a penalty of 10 points. I reserve the right
to refuse a makeup exam to those students who have not taken tests within two
weeks of the original exam date.
Writing Assignment: One
short (—3 to 5 pages in length) paper will be assigned toward the last
third of the semester. The content/format of the paper will be discussed as the
course evolves. 1 paper x 10 points = 10 points possible
Course Total: 90 + 10 = 100 points possible for the
course
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Spring 2007 - Reading Schedule
Week 1
Tuesday, January 16 (—Happy Birthday, Eleanor Marx!)
Introduction to Course Objectives
Thursday, January 18 (—Happy Birthday, Sylvia Pankhurst!)
Crash-Course in Logic: Deduction, Induction, etc.
Week 2
Tuesday, January 23 (—Happy Birthday, Humphrey Bogart!)
Required
Study Questions:
1. What is the Socratic elenchus? And, in what
way in the elenchus limited? In your opinion, is the elenchus effective?
Why or why not?
2. What is “Divine-Command Theory”? Provide an example of this theory discussed
in class. What problems are posed for this theory by the “Euthyphro Dilemma” [@
Euthrphro 10a]?
Thursday, January 25 (—Happy Birthday, Virginia Woolf!)
Required
Study Questions:
1. What are the informal charges brought against
Socrates? What are the formal charges brought against Socrates (i.e., those filed by Meletus)?
Rehearse each of the arguments that Socrates offers in order to defend himself
against the formal charges. In your opinion, are his arguments convincing? Why
or why not?
2. Of the two sets of charges (i.e.,
informal and formal), which is Socrates most concerned with clearing his name
of? Why is this so?
Week 3
Tuesday, January 30 (—Happy Birthday, Saul Alinsky!)
Required
Study Questions:
1. What is “Social Contract Theory,” and how is it addressed in Plato's Crito?
What, according to Socrates, is the one way that a party may justly dissolve a
standing social contract? Why, at the time Socrates gives his account, is he
unable to dissolve such a contract justly?
2. Describe Hobbes' conception of the “Natural Condition” of humanity (@ Leviathan,
Chapter XIII). What motivates the rational agent, according to Hobbes, to put
in place a sovereign (The State)? How does Hobbes's account differ from Plato's
in the Crito? In your opinion, is Hobbes’ account of human nature
accurate? Why or why not?
Thursday, February 1 (—Happy Birthday, Langston Hughes!)
**Classes Cancelled by the U of A due to
snow**
Week 4
Tuesday, February 6 (—Happy Birthday, Bob Marley!)
Required
Study Questions:
1. How does Socrates react to the mourning of his comrades
in the Plato’s Phaedo?
What does Socrates mean when, just before he perishes, he tells Crito, “..we owe a cock to Asclepius; make
this offering to him and do not forget” [@ the Crito 118a]? Given this,
what might we assume that Socrates thinks about the possibility of there being
an after-life?
2. Nietzsche contends that the Socratic mission is a symptom of decay; a sign
of cultural malady. What does Nietzsche mean by this? What is his evidence?
What, according to Nietzsche, fuels the “Socratic Mission”?
Thursday, February 8 (—Happy Birthday, Kate Chopin!)
Required
Study Questions:
1. Describe the epistemological positions: (i)
Foundationalism, (ii) Coherentism. Which of these positions best
describes Descartes' approach to the justification of knowledge claims.
Please explain your answer by referring to moves which Descartes makes in
2. In Meditation I, Descartes offers three arguments (or, ‘invitations
to doubt’) intended to undermine faith in the senses. Rehearse each of these
arguments as we constructed them in class. Which of the three arguments do you
find the strongest? Why? Which of three arguments does Descartes seem to find
the strongest? Why? Why is Descartes attempting to undermine faith in the
senses, i.e., why is he offering
these ‘invitations to doubt’?
Week 5
Tuesday, February 13 (—Happy Birthday, Sarojini Naidu!)
Required
Study Questions:
1. According to Descartes, what (in Meditation II) is the only thing
that he can be absolutely certain of? How does he argue for this, i.e., how can he be certain about this? In your opinion, is
Descartes right to think that he may be certain of this? Why or why not?
2. Descartes suggests that he is essentially a 'thinking thing'. What all does
being a “thinking thing” entail, i.e.,
what sort of “thing” is Descartes? Common sense suggests that, rather
than a “thinking thing,” Descartes is a human being. Why does he continue to
doubt this?
Happy
Valentine’s Day!
Thursday, February 15 (—Happy Birthday, Jeremy Bentham!)
Required
Study Questions:
1. Rehearse the Cosmological Argument for the Existence of God, found in Meditation III. Why is Descartes arguing
for the existence of God, i.e., how
does this argument affect his overall epistemological project? In your opinion,
is Descartes’ argument a good one? Why or why not?
2. Discuss in detail what we referred to in class as the “Cartesian Circle,”
which is said to occur in Meditations III and IV. Why is it impossible
to construct a proof for the existence of God without first being able to trust
“clear and distinct perceptions”?
Week 6
Tuesday, February 20 (—Happy Birthday, Angelina Grimke!)
Required
Study Questions:
1. Rehearse the Ontological Argument for the Existence of God. According to
Descartes, how can he know that God's essence includes existence? In
your opinion, is Descartes’ argument a good one? Why or why not?
2. Rehearse Descartes' argument for the existence of material bodies. Why,
according to Descartes, must the immaterial mind be distinct from the material
body?
Thursday, February 22 (—Happy Birthday, Arthur Schopenhauer!)
Important: Class will not
meet today, as I will be out of town attending a
conference—please make use of this time to study for the first exam.
Week 7
Tuesday, February 27 (—Happy Birthday, Marian Anderson!)
Required
Study Question:
1. In his Essay, Locke makes a distinction
between Primary Qualities and Secondary Qualities. Describe the difference
between the two, and make mention of at least one of Locke’s examples for each
kind of quality. In your opinion, is Locke’s argument a good one? Why or why
not?
2. Rehearse Locke’s argument (re: the redness and whiteness of porphyry) for
why colour must be a Secondary Quality.
Thursday, March 1 (—Happy Birthday, Ralph Ellison!)
Exam 1 of 3 – Don’t forget your bluebook
Week 8
Tuesday, March 6 (—Happy Birthday, Gabriel Garcia Marquez!)
Required
Study Questions:
1. According to Hume, what are the two classes of the “perceptions of the
mind”? What differentiates one class from the other? How do these work together
in order to allow us to think about non-existents such as “golden mountains,”
“virtuous horses,” etc.? What bearing does this have on considerations of God, i.e., how might Hume answer Descartes
assertion that God must exist?
2. Rehearse Hume's discussion of the "missing shade of blue.” Hume writes: “…there appear to be only three principles of connexion
among ideas”—what are these three principles? Give an example of who they
work together in connecting one idea to another. Does Hume’s analysis seem
correct? Why or why not?
Thursday, March 8 (—Happy Birthday, Oliver Wendell Holmes!)
Required
Study Questions:
1. According to Hume, there are some things we can know a priori. What
sorts of things are these, and how can we come to know them? List some
examples. Also according to Hume, there are some things we can know only a
posteriori. What sorts of things are these, and how can we come to know?
List some examples.
2. Hume suggests that “all reasoning concerning matters of fact seem to be
founded on the relation of cause and effect.” What does he mean by this? List
an example that he uses to illustrate this point. Hume argues that we cannot
have knowledge of causation. Rehearse this argument. What is Hume's “Skeptical
Solution” to this problem of causation, and in what way does Hume anticipate
the Pavlovian Conditioning,
here?
Week 9
Tuesday, March 13 (—Happy Birthday, William H. Macey!)
Required
Study Questions:
1. What does Hume mean be the term “miracle”? What
does Hume mean by the term “testimony”? Generally speaking, should we—according
to Hume—trust the testimony of others? Rehearse Hume's position regarding the
testimony of miracles in argument form. What part does induction play in Hume's
argument?
2. Rehearse the argument known as the “Problem of Evil”? What is a theodicy?
How might a theodicist (i.e., one
putting forth a theodicy) justify the existence of “Natural Evil”? How might a
theodicist justify the existence of “Moral Evil”? In your opinion, is either of
these justifications compelling? How might the atheist respond to the theodicist’s
justifications? Explain.
Thursday, March 15 (—Happy Birthday, Harold Ickes!)
Important: Class will not
meet today, as I will be out of town attending a
conference.
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Spring Break—No Class March 19-23
Φ
Week 10
Tuesday, March 27 (—Happy Birthday, Quentin Tarantino!)
Required
Study Questions:
1. What is “Utilitarianism”? What differentiates “Act
Utilitarianism” from “Rule Utilitarianism”? What is the primary difference
between Bentham's version of the theory and Mill's formulation? Is Utility, in
your opinion, the greatest good, i.e. , should we
appeal to Utility in choosing each of our actions? If not, what is?
2. Rehearse the four objections to Utilitarianism discussed in class. How does
Mill respond to each of these objections? In your opinion, is his defense
successful? Explain.
Thursday, March 29 (—Happy Birthday, Eric Idle!)
Required
Study Questions:
1. What does Mill mean by “dead dogma”? What does Mill
mean by the “tyranny of the majority”? According to Mill, ideas can be (i) entirely true, (ii) entirely false, or (iii) partially
true. For each of these cases how does he argue that we should not
suppress the idea? What is the only legitimate reason for government coercion
regarding speech according to Mill? In your opinion, when—if ever—is the
government justifies in censoring a person (or persons)?
2. Let's assume that a group which advocates the torture of squirrels petitions
a city council for a permit to hand out pamphlets outside of a PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) fundraiser. Let's also
assume that the group's idea—that we should torture squirrels—is entirely wrong. According to Mill, what
are the two reasons why we should allow the group to distribute the pamphlets
and engage them in dialogue anyway? Do you agree with Mill, here?
Week 11
Tuesday, April 3 (—Happy Birthday,
Required
Study Questions:
1. What does Mill mean by the “despotism of custom”?
Briefly rehearse the three primary arguments that Mill puts forth for why the
individual should not be beholden to the “despotism of custom”. On what
grounds may the community legitimately punish an individual according to Mill?
2. Phred is married to Phrieda.
But, he would also like to marry Phrancine, Predrika, and Phlo. Would Mill
argue against our toleration of Phred's marriage to
multiple partners, or would he suggest that we punish Phred
for his polygamy? Explain why Mill would take this position. Do you agree with
Mill, here? Why or why not?
Thursday, April 5 (—Happy Birthday, Thomas Hobbes!)
Required
Study Questions:
1. Discuss Mill's argument for why society should allow (moreover, encourage) women to transcend the roles
which the patriarchal tradition has assigned to them. In what way is this
argument essentially utilitarian?
2. Since Mill wrote The Subjection of
Women, feminists of various stripes have won women many rights which were
once unheard of (e.g., the right to
vote in many First World countries, the right to own property, etc.). However,
the state of the world today remains far from ideal in this the eyes of many
feminists. Discuss one way in which our society continues to come up
short in its treatment of women.
Week 12
Tuesday, April 10 (—Happy Birthday, Dolores Huerta!)
Exam 2 of 3 - Don't forget your bluebook.
Thursday, April 12 (—Happy Birthday, Lionel Hampton!)
Required
Study Questions:
1. Briefly retell Plato's “allegory of the cave”. What
sorts of things are of substance for Plato? What sorts of things are of shadow
for Plato? Briefly retell Nietzsche’s version of the story. What sorts of things are of substance for
Nietzsche? What sorts of things are of shadow for Nietzsche? Do you agree
completely with the assessment of either? Explain.
2. What does Nietzsche mean by “God is dead”? Why, for Nietzsche, is this event
both a cause for concern and a cause for celebration?
Week 13
Tuesday, April 17 (—Happy Birthday,
Classes
Cancelled
Thursday, April 19 (—Happy Birthday, Jayne Mansfield!)
Required
Study Questions:
1. Describe what Nietzsche refers to the as the “Slave Revolt in Morality,”
paying close attention to the “subterranean” force which brings this
about—here, you will need to discuss what the Ancients meant by “good” and
“bad,” what the moderns (i.e., we) mean by “good” and “bad,” and how
this change came about. How is the revolt carried out in society? How is the
revolt carried out in imagination?
2. In offering his account of the “Slave Revolt,” Nietzsche cites St. Thomas
Aquinas—the quintessential Christian philosopher. Paraphrase the passage from
Aquinas, and discuss how this supports Nietzsche's position.
Week 14
Tuesday, April 24 (—Happy Birthday, Anthony Trollope!)
Required
Study Questions:
1. Describe the concept “guilt” as it was used in the ancient world. Describe
the concept “guilt” as we understand it in the modern world. What, according to Nietzsche, caused this change to come about?
2. Describe Nietzsche's views on suffering. How does God figure into this
equation?
Thursday, April 26 (—Happy Birthday, Ma Rainey!)
Required
Study Questions:
1. What does Marx mean by the concept 'alienation'?
What three things in the modern laborer 'alienated' from? And, in what ways is the modern laborer ‘alienated’
from these three things? What, according to Marx, is the essence of the human
species, and how does this relate to his analysis of 'alienation'?
2. In opening the Manifesto, Marx suggests: "the history of all
society hitherto is the history of class struggles". What does Marx mean
by 'class'? What are the two classes central to Marx's analysis of modern
capitalism? What primary feature differentiates these two classes? Marx writes:
"What distinguishes Communism is not the abolition of property generally,
but the abolition of bourgeois property". What does Marx mean by
"bourgeois property", i.e., what differentiates this form of
property from property generally speaking?
Week 15
Tuesday, May 1 (—Happy Birthday, Joseph Heller!)
Required
Thursday, May 3 (—Happy Birthday, Niccoló
Machiavelli!)
Exam 3 of 3 - Don't forget your bluebook.
Friday,
May 4—Dead Day
Saturday,
May 5—Happy Cinco de
Mayo!
Enjoy
your summer!
These materials are not endorsed, approved,
sponsored, or provided by or on behalf of the University of
Arkansas, Fayetteville; however, the ghost of Emma Goldman
is, no doubt, looking upon them as we speak—and, nodding with approval.