Philosophy 401.01 Introduction to Philosophy Tuesdays & Thursdays 8:10-9:30, MUB Theater 1 Instructor: Matthew Dowd, Ph.D. (Matthew.Dowd@unh.edu) Office: Hamilton Smith 249B Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:40-11:00, 1:00-2:00 & by appointment Course Description RADICAL HUMANITY The Radical is often understood in a pejorative sense as being extreme or on the fringe. As going too far or pushing the limits. In fact, Radical means something more like root or core, and expresses something genuine and essential. In this sense, the Radical Human is human to its core the very expression of human essence. Said another way: the Radical Human expresses the root of all humanity. During this course we will ask ourselves the following questions: Is there a radical human? What is the nature of this core or root of humanity? Is it better to live according to this core, and what happens if we do not? What role do such things as religion, money, work, gender, and family play in being a Radical Human? Are we at our core good or evil? What is Radical Art? Radical Politics? Radical Ethics? Required Texts (in reading order): Plato, The Trial and Death of Socrates, Cooper tr., Grube, ed. (Hackett, 2001) ISBN: 0872205541 Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, A Discourse on Inequality, tr. Maurice Cranston (Penguin Books: New York, 1984) Immanuel Kant, Perpetual Peace, and Other Essays on Politics, History, and Morals, Tr. Ted Humphrey (Hackett Publishing Company: 1983) ISBN: 9780915145478 Essays and Selections (PDFs on MyCourse): Aristotle, Politics, Book 1 Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations (Chapters 1 & 2) Karl Marx Estranged Labor, Power of Money in Bourgeois Society Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil (selections) John Dewey, Art as Experience (Selections) Requirements: Students are expected to be responsible to their classmates by coming to class and being prepared for class (which includes having done the reading). Also required are 4 Exams, 50%; 10 Quizzes/Discussions 20%; 2 Exegetical Analysis papers 30%. Extra credit opportunities are extended to those who merit them.
Technology in the classroom: It is preferred that all cell phones and computers be put away for class. Exams, Quizzes, and Discussion Boards Exams: Generally exams will be given in class and will be multiple choice and non-cumulative. You will be provided with a review sheet outlining the general topics for the exams. Quizzes: Weekly quizzes are from the readings for that week. Quizzes will be made available on MyCourses no later than Friday afternoon and will be unavailable Tuesday before class. The quizzes are both timed and single chance, meaning that you have only an allotted amount of time to finish the quiz and can only open and attempt the quiz once. Only the top 10 quiz scores will be counted. Discussion Board Instructions THE DISCUSSION BOARDS ARE OPTIONAL! A discussion board will be opened corresponding to each quiz. Comments and threads on the discussion board are to address the same readings that were for that quiz. 5 Possible points: You Must Have Attempted the Quiz to get these Points* To get the full 5 points each student must do both of the following (fulfilling half of these results in 0 points): 1) Identify a quote or passage from the reading that you think is significant. Begin a new thread where you introduce that quote and explain why you think it is significant. 2)Having done this, find another student s thread with their quote and explanation, provide thoughtful feedback in a response to this thread. In both cases (i.e. your explanation on the thread you introduce, and your thoughtful feedback on another student s thread) you are expected to explain why you think what you think. Having done both, the student will have 5 points added to his or her corresponding Quiz grade. The maximum number of points to be given for a Quiz or a Quiz/Discussion is not more than 10 points. Any plagiarism found on any discussion board will result in none of the discussion board points counting toward quizzes.
Exegetical Analysis papers: Corresponding to the 4 sections of the course, and the 4 exams, students will be provided four paper prompts. Each student will be required to respond to two of these prompts. In short, each student will be given 4 opportunities to write a paper, and only 2 are required. In these papers, you will have to identify passages from the texts we ve read that could be used as evidence for supporting a given thesis. Having identified and supplied the quotes, you will then explain your rationale for why you think these passages support the thesis at hand. I will read one draft from each student for the semester. Quiz & Discussion Board Grading: Because the discussion board grades will be added to the quiz grades, neither of these grades alone will count in the final grade total on MyCourse. To determine your grade from the information provided on MyCourse, look only to the information in the Quiz & Discussion Totals section. Even if you did not do a discussion board, your grade is determined using the information in the Quiz & Discussion Totals section. Email Communications: Please feel free to email the professor with any questions about the class. Please ensure that the question you have is not already answered in the syllabus. I will not respond to emails addressing content that is easily gotten or should already be had. I also do not respond to emails regarding absences.
Course Order Part 1: Ancient Plato: Reading 1 - The Trial and Death of Socrates Aristotle: Reading 2 PDF - Aristotle, Politics, Book 1 Exam 1 Plato & Aristotle Exegetical Paper Possibility 1 Plato & Aristotle Part 2: Modern Rousseau: from A Discourse on Inequality Reading 3 Preface, Introduction, & Part 1 Reading 4 Part 2 Kant: from Perpetual Peace, and Other Essays on Politics, History, and Morals Reading 5- What Is Enlightenment? The Idea of History with a Cosmopolitan Intent Reading 6 - Perpetual Peace The End of All Things Exam 2 Rousseau & Kant Exegetical Paper Possibility 2 Rousseau & Kant Part 3: After Modern Homo Oikonomos Smith: PDF Reading 7 PDF - Wealth of Nations, Chapters 1 & 2 Marx: PDF Reading 8 PDF - Estranged Labor Power of Money in Bourgeois Society Exam 3 Smith & Marx Exegetical Paper Possibility 4 Smith & Marx Part 4: After Modern Human (to be determined) Nietzsche: PDF Reading 9 PDF - Beyond Good and Evil (Selections) Dewey: PDF Reading 10 PDF Art as Experience (Selections) Exam 4 Nietzsche & Dewey (during finals week) Exegetical Paper Possibility 4 Nietzsche & Dewey
401 Introduction to Philosophy Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday August Week 1 8/28 Course Introduction 8/30 Plato Introduction September Week 2 9/4 Plato - Euthyphro and Apology in The Trial and Death of Socrates 9/6 Plato - Apology and Crito in The Trial and Death of Socrates Week 3 9/11 Introduction to Aristotle 9/13 Aristotle Politics Book 1 (pdf) Week 4 9/18 Aristotle Politics Book 1 (pdf) Review Summary Transition 9/20 Exam 1 Plato and Aristotle (Tentative Date) Week 5 9/25 Rousseau Preface and Introduction to Discourse on the Origin of Inequality 9/27 Rousseau Part 1 Discourse on the Origin of Inequality October
401 Introduction to Philosophy Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Week 6 10/2 Rousseau Part 2 Discourse on the Origin of Inequality 10/4 Kant Introduction Week 7 10/9 No Class Follow Monday Schedule 10/11 Kant Introduction What is Enlightenment? from Perpetual Peace and other Essays Week 8 10/16 Kant The Idea of History with a Cosmopolitan Intent? from Perpetual Peace and other Essays Week 9 10/23 Exam 2 Rousseau and Kant (tentative date) 10/18 Kant Perpetual Peace? from Perpetual Peace and other Essays Rousseau and Kant Review, Summary, Transition 10/25 Smith, Chapter 1 of Wealth of Nations (pdf) Week 10 10/30 Smith, Chapter 2 of Wealth of Nations (pdf) 11/1 Marx Introduction Estranged Labor (pdf) November Week 11 11/6 Marx Estranged Labor & The Power of Money in Bourgeoise Society (pdf) 11/8 Smith and Marx Review, Summary and Transition
401 Introduction to Philosophy Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Week 12 11/13 Exam 3 - Smith and Marx (Tentative Date) 11/15 Nietzsche - Beyond Good and Evil, Week 13 11/20 Nietzsche - Beyond Good and Evil, 11/22 No Class - Thanksgiving Week 14 11/27 11/29 December Week 15 12/4 12/6 Week 16 12/11 FINALS BEGIN Exam 4 - Nietzsche and Dewey will be held during our schedule final exam. 12/13 Week 17 12/18 FINALS END