Department of Philosophy PHIL133-18S1: Philosophy and Human Nature

Department of Philosophy PHIL133-18S1: Philosophy and Human Nature Syllabus and Course Outline - 2018 Contents: I. Course Details II. Course Outline and Reading Guide III. Reading List IV. Assessment V. General information I. Course details Description: The human record is full of contradictions. We are capable all at once of selfless love and murderous depravity; of sublime rational insight and base stupidity; of soul-baring honesty and habitual duplicity; of principled rebellion and obsequious deference to authority; of generosity and jealousy. What, then, is our true nature? Are we rational creatures or slaves to our passions? Are we moral creatures or are we fundamentally selfish? Can we improve the human situation either individually or collectively? Does it all depend on our evolutionary history? This course is an introduction to Western philosophy through the ideas of philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Hume, Marx, Nietzsche and Darwin as they puzzle over the riddles of human nature. Learning Outcomes: 1. An understanding of influential theories and ideas about human nature 2. Familiarity with some highlights from the history of Western philosophy from different places and times 3. Better independent, critical thinking through engagement with issues of permanent importance in philosophy and everyday life 4. A foundation for further study in philosophy Course credit: 15 points, 0.1250 EFTS Contact hours: 24 one-hour lectures and 11 one-hour tutorials Lecturer and Course Coordinator: Dr. Michael-John Turp, Karl Popper Building, Room 603, Phone (03) 364 2385 ext. 6385, michael-john.turp@canterbury.ac.nz Office hours: Friday, 3-4pm 1

Lectures introduce central issues in the history of Western philosophy as they apply to human nature. They provide an overview and framework for further reading, thought and investigation. Tutorials provide a forum for deeper thought and discussion about topics introduced in lectures and your own reading. Times and locations for lectures and tutorials are set by UC timetabling and are available on the Course Information System. Recommended Texts: Roger Trigg. 1999. Ideas of Human Nature. 2 nd edition. Oxford: Blackwell. Leslie Stevenson, David L. Haberman, P. M. Wright and Charlotte Witt. 2017. Thirteen Theories of Human Nature, 6 th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Older editions entitled Ten Theories of Human Nature (2009) and Twelve Theories of Human Nature (2013) are suitable alternatives.) Online resources: The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is an excellent resource written by experts: http://plato.stanford.edu/index.html The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy is also a good, reliable, peer-reviewed resource: http://www.iep.utm.edu/ PhilPapers is a very useful online database of philosophy papers and a good place to extend your research beyond the reading list in the course outline: http://philpapers.org/ JSTOR is a large archive of academic papers including philosophy, which you have free access to through the UC library website: http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.canterbury.ac.nz Note: Online resources vary enormously in quality and should normally be avoided unless they are peer-reviewed. Learn: There is a website for this course on Learn, the university s online learning system. The course outline, lecture handouts, links to podcasts and various reading materials are posted on the site: http://learn.canterbury.ac.nz Majoring in Philosophy: BA or BSc students who major in philosophy must normally take at least two 100-level PHIL courses, plus at least three 200-level PHIL courses (including PHIL233 2

Epistemology and Metaphysics), plus at least 60 points from 300-level PHIL courses (including at least one course from this list: PHIL305 Paradoxes; PHIL310 History of Philosophy; PHIL311 Meaning, Mind, and the Nature of Philosophy; and PHIL317 Contemporary Political Philosophy). For more information see the BA regulations <http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/regulations/award/ba_schedule_a.shtml#unique_30> and/or the BSc regulations <http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/regulations/award/bsc_schedule_a.shtml#unique_19>. Note that you can combine a major in philosophy with a major in another subject. Assessment: Item Length / Time Weight Due Date Plato Summary 250 words 5% Friday 2 nd March, 11:55pm Essay 1 1200 words (max) 30% Thursday 29 th March, 11.55 pm Essay 2 1200 words (max) 30% Friday 1 st June, 11.55 pm Exam 2 hours 35% TBC II. Course Outline and Reading Guide Reading list and references are in Section III below. 1: Plato Starting Points: Trigg (1999: Ch. 1). See also Stevenson et al. (2017: Ch. 4). Primary Sources: Republic 514a 520a, Phaedrus 253d 254e Available through the UC Library website link on Learn. Further Reading: Melling (1987) is a clear introduction to Plato. Other good, booklength introductions include Rowe (2003) and Meinwald (2016). Kraut (2017) is a shorter, helpful overview. 2: Aristotle Starting Points: Trigg (1999: Ch. 2). See also Stevenson et al. (2017: Ch. 5). Primary Sources: Nicomachean Ethics, Book I, Chs. 1-5, 7 and 13. Available through the UC Library website link on Learn. Further Reading: Shields (2015) is a useful overview of Aristotle s philosophy. Shields (2007: Ch. 2) is an excellent introduction to Aristotle s four causes. Urmson (1988) and Kraut (2017) are good introductions to Aristotle s ethics. 3

3: Hobbes Starting Points: Trigg (1999: Ch. 4). See also Kupperman (2010: Ch. 8) Primary Sources: Extracts from Leviathan (available on Learn). Further Reading: Newey (2008) is a good introduction to Hobbes Leviathan. Lloyd and Sreedhar (2014) focus on Hobbes moral and political theory. Shaver (2015) is a good introduction to egoism. The title of Steen's (2011) paper Why Everyone Acts Altruistically All the Time: What Parodying Psychological Egoism Can Teach Us speaks for itself. Blackburn (1998: Ch. 5-6) is a fairly challenging, but interesting, discussion of egoism and game theory. See Wilson (2015) for an evolutionary perspective on altruism. 4: Hume Starting Points: Trigg (1999: Ch. 6). See also Kupperman (2010: Ch. 9). Primary Sources: Extracts from the Treatise and Enquiries (available on Learn) Further Reading: Good introductions to Hume and the Treatise include Mounce (1999) and Noonan (1999). Baillie (2000) focuses on Hume s moral theory. Cohon (2010) is another useful introduction. Haidt (2012: Ch. 2) is a readable discussion of the roles of reason and emotion in moral psychology. 5: Locke Starting Points: Trigg (1999: Ch. 5). Primary Sources: An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Book 1, Chapter 2 Available through the UC Library website link on Learn. Further Reading: Lowe (2005) is a good book-length introduction to Locke s philosophy. Uzgalis (2017) is a brief overview. Carruthers (1992) is a very good introduction to the subject of innate knowledge. Pinker (2002) is a readable, popular book on the idea of human nature as a blank slate. Prinz (2012) is another readable book, which presents an opposing nurturist view. See especially chapters four and six. Samet and Zaitchik (2017) provide an overview of contemporary theories of innateness. See Downes and Machery (eds) (2013: Chs. 8 10) for further recent discussion. 6: Darwin Starting Points: Trigg (1999: Ch. 8). See also Stevenson et al. (2017: Ch. 12). 4

Primary Sources: Extracts from Origin of Species and The Descent of Man (available on Learn). Further Reading: Richards (2000) is a very good introduction to questions of human nature from a Darwinian perspective. Dennett (1995) is a fascinating and very readable discussion of the philosophical implications of Darwinism (see, for instance, Ch. 16 on the origins of morality). See Dennett and Plantinga (2011) for an accessible and interesting debate about the relationship between Darwinism and Christianity. Singer (2000) looks at the implications of Darwinism for the political left. Trivers (2011) studies the evolutionary origins of deception. There are many interesting books discussing the relevance of evolution to human behaviour and morality. Wright (1994) and de Waal (2006) are two good examples (with opposing views). Joyce (2006) is a relatively advanced study of the moral implications of evolutionary theory. Downes (2014) provides an introduction to evolutionary psychology. 7: Nietzsche Starting Points: Trigg (1999: Ch. 10). Primary Sources: Extracts from On the Genealogy of Morals (available on Learn) Further Reading: Wicks (2017) and Anderson (2017) are useful introductions to Nietzsche s life, works and philosophy. Leiter (2014) is an excellent, book-length introduction to Nietzsche s moral theory. Leiter (2015) is a briefer introduction. Janaway (2007) and Owen (2007) are more advanced. 8: Marx Starting Points: Trigg (1999: Ch. 9). See also Stevenson et al. (2017: Ch. 9). Primary Sources: Extracts from the Communist Manifesto (available on Learn). Further Reading: Wolff (1992) is an excellent short introduction to Marx on alienation. Wolff (2002) and Osborne (2005) are relatively gentle general introductions. Wood (2004) is more detailed and comprehensive. Popper (1945/2012) is a classic criticism of Marxism (written at the University of Canterbury). III. Reading List Everything on the reading list is freely available online or through the UC library. Anderson, R.L. 2017. Friedrich Nietzsche. In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2017 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2017/entries/nietzsche/. Baillie, J. 2000. Hume on Morality. London: Routledge. 5

Blackburn, S. 1998. Ruling Passions. Oxford: OUP. Carruthers, P. 1992. Human Knowledge and Human Nature. Oxford: OUP. Cohon, R. 2010. Hume's Moral Philosophy. In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2010 Edition), E. Zalta (ed.), URL = http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2010/entries/hume-moral/. Dennett, D. 1995. Darwin's Dangerous Idea. Harmondsworth: Penguin. Dennett, D. & Plantinga, A. 2011. Science and Religion: Are They Compatible? New York: OUP. de Waal, F. 2006. Primates and Philosophers. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Downes, S. and E. Machery (eds.). 2013. Arguing About Human Nature: Contemporary Debates. New York : Routledge. Downes, S. 2014. Evolutionary Psychology. In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2014 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2014/entries/evolutionary-psychology/. Haidt, J. 2012. The Righteous Mind. London: Penguin. Janaway, C. 2007. Beyond Selflessness. Oxford: OUP. Joyce, R. 2006. The Evolution of Morality. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. Kraut, R. 2017. Plato. In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2017 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2017/entries/plato/. Kraut, R. 2017. Aristotle s Ethics. In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2017 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2017/entries/aristotle-ethics/. Kupperman, J. 2010. Theories of Human Nature. Indianapolis: Hackett. Leiter, B. 2014. Nietzsche on Morality, 2 nd edn. London: Routledge. Leiter, B. 2015. Nietzsche's Moral and Political Philosophy. In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2015 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2015/entries/nietzsche-moral-political/. Lloyd, S. and S. Sreedhar. 2014. Hobbes's Moral and Political Philosophy. In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2014 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2014/entries/hobbesmoral/. Lowe, E. J. 2005. Locke. London: Routledge. Meinwald, C. S. 2016. Plato. London: Routledge. Melling, D. 1987. Understanding Plato. Oxford: OUP. Mounce. H. O. 1999. Hume s Naturalism. London: Routledge. Newey, G. 2008. Hobbes and Leviathan. London: Routledge. Noonan, H. 1999. Hume on Knowledge. London: Routledge. Osborne, P. 2005. How to Read Marx. London: Granta. Owen, D. 2007. Nietzsche s Genealogy of Morality. Stocksfield: Acumen. Pinker, S. 2002. The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature. London: Penguin. Popper, K. 1945/2012. The Open Society and Its Enemies. Abingdon: Routledge. Prinz, J. 2012. Beyond Human Nature. London: Penguin. 6

Richards, J. 2000. Human Nature After Darwin. London: Routledge. Rowe, C. J. 2003. Plato. 2 nd edn. London: Bristol Classical. Samet, J. and D. Zaitchik. 2017. Innateness and Contemporary Theories of Cognition. In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2017 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2017/entries/innatenesscognition/. Shaver, R. 2015. Egoism. In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2015 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2015/entries/egoism/. Shields, C. 2007. Aristotle. London: Routledge. Shields, C. 2015. Aristotle. In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2015 Edition), E. N. Zalta (ed.), URL = http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2015/entries/aristotle/. Singer, P. 2000. A Darwinian Left. New Haven: Yale University Press. Steen, M. 2011. Why Everyone Acts Altruistically All the Time: What Parodying Psychological Egoism Can Teach Us. Philosophia 39 (3):563-570. Stevenson, L., D. Haberman, P. M. Wright and C. Witt. 2017. Thirteen Theories of Human Nature, 7 th edn. Oxford: OUP. Trigg, R. 1999, Ideas of Human Nature, 2 nd edn. Oxford: Blackwell. Trivers, R. 2011. The Folly of Fools. New York: Basic Books. Urmson, J.O. 1988. Aristotle s Ethics. Oxford: Blackwell. Uzgalis, W. 2017. John Locke. In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2017 Edition), E. N. Zalta (ed.), URL = http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2017/entries/locke/. Wicks, R. 2017. Nietzsche s Life and Works. In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2017 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2017/entries/nietzsche-life-works/. Wilson, D. S. 2015. Does Altruism Exist? New Haven: Yale University Press. Wolff, J. 1992. Playthings of alien forces: Karl Marx and the rejection of the market economy. Cogito 6: 35 41. Wolff, J. 2002. Why Read Marx Today? Oxford: OUP. Wood, A. 2004. Karl Marx. 2 nd edition. London: Routledge. Wright, R. 1994. The Moral Animal. London: Abacus. IV. Assessment A. Assessment details Item Length / Time Weight Due Date Plato Summary 250 words 5% Friday 2 nd March, 11:55pm Essay 1 1200 words (max) 30% Thursday 29 th March, 11.55 pm Essay 2 1200 words (max) 30% Friday 1 st June, 11.55 pm Exam 2 hours 35% TBC B. Short Summary 7

Your first assignment is due at the end of week two. Read Plato s Allegory of the Cave (Republic 514a-518b, link on Plato section of Learn) and summarise it in your own words (max. 250 words). The summary will be marked as pass (100%) or fail (0%). Late submissions will be failed unless an extension is sought in advance. C. Essay One Essay one is due by 11:55 pm on Thursday 29 th March. Answer one of the following questions (max. 1200 words): 1. Explain and critically discuss Plato s Theory of the Forms. 2. There is good hope that death is a blessing (Apology, 29a). Explain and discuss Socrates claim. 3. Does human happiness depend on human nature? Discuss with reference to Aristotle s ergon argument. 4. Is the rule of a Leviathan always preferable to the state of nature? Discuss with reference to Hobbes. 5. No man giveth but with intention of good to himself. (Leviathan, Ch. XV). Critically evaluate Hobbes claim. 6. Tis not contrary to reason to prefer the destruction of the whole world to the scratching of my little finger. (Treatise, 2.3.3.6) Is Hume right? Explain and justify your answer. D. Essay Two Essay two is due by 11:55 pm on Friday 1 st June. Answer one of the following questions (max. 1200 words): 1. Can empiricism account for all human knowledge? Answer with reference to Locke. 2. Are humans the current pinnacle of evolution? Explain and justify your answer. 3. To what extent does evolutionary theory help us to understand the origins of human morality? 4. Does evolution favour true beliefs? Explain and justify your answer. 5. How does Nietzsche explain the origins of morality? Does his account undermine conventional moral principles? 6. Explain and discuss Marx s theory of alienation. E. Essay Submission: Essays must be submitted electronically via the PHIL133 Learn website. The file name must include your family name, user code, and course name: eg <Socrates-soc46- Phi133.doc>. Essays should be 1.5 spaced or double spaced. Please do not submit pdfs. 8

All the essays will be submitted to Turnitin, an electronic tool that measures the originality of text. Turnitin generates an Originality Report to which you have access. Turnitin advises as follows: Students agree that by taking this course all required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. Use of the Turnitin.com service is subject to the Terms and Conditions of Use posted on the Turnitin.com site. Referencing: You should use either footnotes or in-text citations. In either case, the citation should include the author and year, e.g., (Smith 2017). When quoting some text or referring to a specific passage or argument, you should also include the page number, e.g. (Smith 2017, p. 66). Full details should appear in the bibliography at the end of your essay (e.g., Smith, J. 2018. The Philosophy of Human Nature. Oxford: Oxford University Press). Feel free to use any standard referencing system (e.g., APA, Chicago, MLA etc.). If in doubt, copy the system used in any academic book or article in the course reading list. If still in doubt, ask your tutor. F. Examination The examination is two hours long and requires you to answer two essay questions from a range of alternatives. There will be at least one question on each philosopher studied during the course. You cannot answer two questions on the same philosopher. There are no other restrictions. Exam papers from previous years can be accessed through the Library website: http://library.canterbury.ac.nz/exams/index.php?course=phil133&year F. Extensions Essays submitted after the due date without an official extension will be penalised. Extensions will be granted only on medical or compassionate grounds. Other than in exceptional circumstances, the extension must be sought before the due date. Extensions are not normally given because of workload commitments for other courses. H. Penalties for Late Essays Essays submitted after the due date and without an extension will attract a penalty of two percentage points per day or part thereof. Other than in exceptional circumstances, no essays submitted more than 14 days after the due date will be marked. I. Marks and Grades The University of Canterbury uses the following scale to relate grades to marks and GPAs: 9

Grade A + A A - B + B B - C + C C- D E Marks 90-100 85-89 80-84 75-79 70-74 65-69 60-64 55-59 50-54 40-49 0-39 GPA 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0-1 Any grade over 50 is a pass. J. Plagiarism and Other Forms of Dishonest Practice Plagiarism occurs when passages of text are copied into an essay without being included in quotation marks and without sufficient acknowledgement of the source for the quotation. Minor variations to the wording of the original are not sufficient to avoid the charge of plagiarism. Plagiarism is regarded very seriously in the university, and may result in disciplinary action. The Philosophy Department s policy is as follows: Under no circumstances may you copy the words of an article or book without acknowledging it as a quotation. Nor may you copy or borrow extensively from the essays of other students, or have any other person write an essay for you. Be aware that we view these forms of cheating very seriously, and that we regularly take steps to detect plagiarism in work submitted by students. If we find that that you have engaged in dishonest practice, you may be subject to disciplinary action. Penalties range from a failing grade on the specific item of assessment or the course as a whole to expulsion from the university. If you have any doubts about whether you are appropriately referencing sources and material, the onus is on you to check your approach with a lecturer or the Learning Skills Centre. K. Special Considerations If you feel that illness, injury, bereavement or other critical circumstances has prevented you from completing an item of assessment or affected your performance, you should complete a special considerations application form. Further information is available here: http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/exams/specialconsideration.shtml V. Further Support Student Representative Your class will appoint a student representative at the start of the semester. Please feel free to talk to the student rep about any problems or concerns that you might have about the course, but not about individual issues such as aegrotats, lost notes or personal problems. Further information is available here: http://ucsa.org.nz/support/ 10

Students with Disabilities Students with disabilities should speak with someone at the Disability Support Service. Webpage: http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/disability/index.shtml Email: disabilities@canterbury.ac.nz VERSION DATE: 12 th February 2018 11