a.k.a. PHL 101 Introduction to Philosophy fall semester 2014, MW 12:40 14:00 Kresge Art Center 108 https://loncapa.msu.edu Debra Nails, 501 South Kedzie, nails@msu.edu 381-4494 (home landline 7:00 18:00 only) office hours: 2:15 3:15 MW + by appointment Socrates: The unexamined life is not worth living for a human being. Plato, Apology 38a By taking this class, you are joining a conversation that began thousands of years ago when our an- cestors began to wonder about themselves and the world around them and to talk seriously with one an- other about what they thought and why. Are there gods? What is death? What makes a life worth living? Are our perceptions reliable? What can we certain about? Are we in control of our own lives? Why be good? Are we responsible for others? Philosophy aims if it cannot answer such questions for all time and all people at least to inquire thoughtfully into the nature of reality and the process of reasoning and reflecting about issues that matter universally, fundamentally, and timelessly. Practically speaking, the study of philosophy demands that we examine our own most cherished beliefs, that we imaginatively stand outside ourselves to understand others perspectives and to see our- selves as they see us. Philosophy requires that we take seriously the way we speak and write, but it equally requires us to think clearly and precisely about our own views and those of others. Besides all that, philosophy is fun. REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS: if truth is to be sought in every division of philosophy, we must, before all else, possess trustworthy principles and methods for the discernment of truth. Sextus Empiricus No other translations or editions may be used (do not buy e- texts). Always bring your book to class; write in the margins; make the text your own. Note that the bookstores will return books- on- hand to publishers in early October, so don t put off buying your books. Descartes, René, Meditations on First Philosophy, 3 rd edition, Indianapolis: Hackett, 1993. ISBN: 0872206335. On two- hour library reserve. Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus, print from LON- CAPA, 4 pages. Nietzsche, Friedrich, On the Genealogy of Morality, translated by Maudemarie Clark and Alan J. Swensen. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1998. ISBN: 9780872202832. On two- hour library reserve. Plato, Five Dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo. 2 nd edition, translated by G. M. A. Grube, revised by John M. Cooper. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2002. ISBN: 0872201929. On two- hour library reserve. Russell, Bertrand, Why I m Not a Christian, print from LON- CAPA, 8 pages. Spinoza, Baruch, Ethics, translated by Samuel Shirley, Indianapolis: Hackett, 1992. ISBN: 978-0- 87220-130- 9. On two- hour library reserve. Weston, Anthony, A Rulebook for Arguments, 4 th edition, Indianapolis: Hackett, 2009. ISBN: 9780872209541. On two- hour library reserve.
In a republican nation, whose citizens are to be led by reason and persuasion and not by force, the art of reasoning becomes of the first importance. Thomas Jefferson date assignment in class 8/27 Introduction to philosophy and to the course (syllabus). Exercise 1. 9/3 Read Weston, pp. 1 65, very carefully. 9/8 9/10 Read Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus (4 pp. on LON- CAPA). Mark the argument indicators, distinguish the arguments (conclusions and premises) and determine whether they are sound. Epicurus continued. Exercise 3: Diagram at least one of Epicurus s arguments. 9/15 Prepare WA1. 9/17 9/22 9/24 9/29 Apologies: I am chairing an AAUP investigation of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Read Plato, Euthyphro. Look at the material on Euthyphro in the Plato folder on LON- CAPA. Read Plato, Apology, Crito, and Three Historical Episodes on LON- CAPA (5 pp., but you need not print it). An ethical principle is said to be funda- mental when it is categorical, admits no excep- tions. Find places in the texts where Socrates ex- presses a fundamental principle. Read Plato, Phaedo to 88b; and Arguments for and against the Immortality of the Psyche on LON- CAPA (1 p., but you need not print it). Exercise 4: Diagram a non- analogical argument from the dia- logue. 10/1 88c to the end. 10/6 Prepare WA2. 10/8 10/13 10/15 10/20 Read Descartes, Meditations, Letter to the Theol- ogy Faculty, and Preface to the Reader (i.e., 1 11), noting the quality of Descartes s arguments. Synopsis and 1 ( 12 23); and p. 1 of Ob- jections and Replies (print 7 pp. from LON- CAPA). 2 ( 24 34); and pp. 1 4 of Objections and Replies. [Nietzsche s birthday, 1844] 3 ( 34 52); and (Exercise 5) diagram Des- cartes s proof for the existence of God. 10/22 Read pp. 4 7 of Objections and Replies. 2 Exercise 2: Introductions. Recognizing argument indi- cators and making philosophical arguments. Distribution of Epicurus s Letter. Practice arguments in Epicurus: form and content. How to mark and diagram an argument. Bring Exercise 3. Bring First Aid, and three paper copies of WA1 for a writing workshop. Introduction to Socrates and Plato. What good reason is there, based on the dialogue, to sup- port Allen (1970), Penner (1973), or Guthrie (1975)? In- troduction to ethics. Identify the fundamental principles in the texts and think how they might be applied to the three events. Are we obligated to obey unjust laws? Bring Exercise 4 and be prepared to support or oppose the argument you have diagrammed. Is Socrates guilty as charged? Consider the views of the six scholars in Three Historical Episodes (last page), and be ready to defend at least one of them with arguments based on specific pas- sages in Plato s dialogues. Be prepared to support or oppose any argument from the Phaedo. Bring three paper copies of WA2 to class for a writing workshop. Scientific background of 17 th century philosophy and intro- duction to Descartes. Your views about the Cartesian method of doubt. Your views of how the mind and body are related. Your views on Descartes s first proof for the existence of God. Bring Exercise 5, prepared to support or oppose it. Be prepared to defend at least one of Hobbes s, Arnauld s or Descartes s objections or replies.
10/27 Review Descartes and the instructions for WA3. In- class Exercise 6: thesis statements. 10/29 Read Spinoza, Ethics: Translator's Preface (pp. 21 9); E 1d1 1a7; and the corresponding material on LON- CAPA (print 4 pp.). Introduction to Spinoza. 11/3, E 1p1 7. Use the same LON- CAPA material. Your views on the soundness of Spinoza s argument for monism. 11/5, E 1p8 36. Particularly important are p11, Assess Spinoza s necessitarian position (e.g. how it differs p14, p29 and p33. from physical determinism). 11/10, E Ap. Evaluate Spinoza s view that all religion is superstition. 11/12, E 2d1 2p13s. This is Spinoza s most explicit Think back to Descartes s mind- body distinction and con- critique of Cartesian dualism. sider whether Spinoza succeeds in undermining it. 11/17 Prepare WA3. Bring three paper copies of WA3 to class for a writing workshop. 11/19 Introduction to Nietzsche. Why, for Nietzsche, is morality Read Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morality, a sociological or psychological but not a philosophical Essay 1 category? 11/24 Essay 2 [Spinoza s birthday, 1632] What is the ethic that Nietzsche prefers to morality? 11/26 Review for final exam. Prepare WA4. Catch- up and feedback day (no pop quiz). WA 4 due by email attachment no later than midnight. 12/1 Read Russell, Why I Am Not a Christian. Exercise 7: Diagram two of Russell s arguments. Bring Exercise 7 and be prepared to support or oppose the arguments you have diagrammed. 12/3 continued Distribution of take- home portion of the final exam. 12/9 Final exam 12:45 2:45, no books or notes. Bring the take- home part and a pencil or pen. Education adapted to an individual is actually better than a common education for everyone. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1180b7 8 Observations, advice, and policies: 1. Jump in and keep swimming: you ll improve with practice. Just as you have to play the oboe to be- come a good oboist, you have to participate in philosophical dialogue to do it well, and some of your best ideas for writing will be sparked by classmates remarks. Philosophy is not about the transfer of information, so I won t post PowerPoint slides that might lull you into thinking you can catch up later. Budget three hours of homework time for each hour of time in the classroom. 2. Turn off all electronic gadgets (phones, laptops, ipads, et al.). Keep them out of sight and out of mind. Philosophy requires intense concentration, so I don t want you or your neighbors to be dis- tracted. If an emergency requires that you be contactable by phone, warn me before class begins. 3. I keep office hours and will warn you in advance if I can t; but I enjoy office hours, so please don t hes- itate to drop in. If posted hours are inconvenient, make an appointment by email. I answer email daily when I am in town. 4. Return of written work: I return your work no later than the expiry of two weekends after its sub- mission (except when illness or travel interferes). You will receive an additional.5 on the assignment for each class period that I fail to return your work after that period. 5. Do your own work cooperatively: You are strongly encouraged to study, discuss, and dispute with others everything we do in this course. Over the years, the students who performed best were those who shared their ideas and written work with one another. But give credit! Do not submit for credit 3
in this course work completed for another course; and do not submit work that is not your own. 6. Why there are no make- ups: In- class work such as exercises and workshops cannot be made up be- cause the circumstances cannot be reconfigured; but one grade is dropped. There are no make- ups for written assignments because you can submit them online by email attachment (doc, docx, or rtf) up to the time class starts, and they should not be last- minute work in any case. If serious illness or an emergency prevents your turning something in by the time the class meets, you have 48 hours from the time of your recovery to make up the work for full credit (I do not want to see documentation). 7. Email is how I communicate if I need to give you information, so be sure you have a reliable email connection. Note that my comments on your written work, if submitted by email attachment, are not displayed on iphones or ipads; comments are visible only on a regular computer. 8. Accommodation for Students with Disabilities. Students with disabilities should contact the Re- source Center for Persons with Disabilities to establish reasonable accommodation. Evaluation: Your grade in the course will have the following components: ⅓ participation (exercises, ad hoc quizzes, homework assignments, etc., graded S U) drop 1 grade ⅓ writing assignments 1 4 ⅓ final examination (50% take- home argument, 50% written in the final exam period) Writing Assignments (WA)1 4 WA 1: Letter. One s first step after reading a text as many times as it takes to understand it well is to de- termine what one supports and what one opposes, and why. For this assignment, formulate an argument of no more than 300 words (word- processed, 1½ spacing, 12- point type) on one of the topics introduced by Epicurus. (If you use his words or ideas, cite him properly as illustrated in First Aid.) Address your philosophical argument to someone whose friendship you value and who has asked you for advice. Your argument should be addressed to your friend, as Epicurus addressed Meno- eceus. WA 2: Dialogue. Instructions about WA1 still apply except that you have a 400- word limit. This time you ll be writing a dialogue (as Plato did), so choose a controversial topic from one of Plato s dialogues and develop an argument for whatever you support or oppose and give your friend an opportunity to object. Don t forget (i) to put your name on your paper and (ii) to embed your surname in the filename that you assign to any email attachment, e.g., Ann_Jones_WA1. Each person in the dialogue should speak at least twice. If you use Plato s words or ideas, cite him as one would in conversation (e.g., I agree with what Cebes says in Plato s Phaedo ). To do well on this as- signment, read OO* and OP* in First Aid very carefully. WA 3: Thesis Statement. A thesis statement should demonstrate that you have read and understood the text, and that you have reflected on it deeply enough to develop a defensible philosophical position on some aspect of it. Because a thesis statement introduces a full- fledged philosophical argument, it must be as much like the beginning of an actual philosophy paper as possible. Learning to write a thesis state- 4
ment that accurately and concisely communicates what it must takes understanding and thought, but it also takes practice. Be sure your thesis statement on some aspect of Descartes s or Spinoza s text (a) is word- processed (not a mere text file), (b) is one, grammatical sentence, (c) is clearly written in present tense, (d) is on a philosophically controversial issue, (e) makes clear what you will argue or how your argument will proceed, and (f) correctly identifies the author, text, and passage that it supports or opposes. WA4: Another thesis statement project this time on some aspect of Nietzsche s position. Follow all the instructions of WA3, and include an objection or alternative that is likewise written in the form of a thesis statement. Producing these two sentences is a very difficult assignment, but you have had practice by now, so let it be an interesting challenge to you. What s on LON-CAPA: FOLDERS SUB-FOLDERS CONTENTS ALL THE MECHANICS OF THE COURSE HELP WITH THE READINGS Epicurus Plato Descartes Spinoza Nietzsche Russell Syllabus Everything about Grades First Aid (in case you lose your copy) Some Rules for Writing a Philosophy Paper (Struhl & Struhl) Commas by Yagoda Grammar Notes The Ambiguous Because Six Practical Suggestions Regarding Gender-specific Language Recognizing and Avoiding Plagiarism in Philosophy What Did Sider Say? Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus (4 pp.) Euthyphro: Setting and Characters Euthyphro: Allen, Penner, and Guthrie Apology: Setting and Characters Crito: Setting and Characters Phaedo: Setting and Characters Phaedo: Arguments for and against the Immortality of the Soul (1 p.) A Few of the Famous Objections with Descartes s Replies (7 pp.) The Cartesian Circle (diagram) How to Cite Spinoza s Text Ethics 1d1 1p7 (4 pp., elaboration of the text) The Family Circus (10 cartoons) Why I Am Not a Christian (8 pp.) 5