Extensively revised and expanded in this fourth edition, Exploring Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology is a uniquely accessible and engaging introduction to philosophy. Cahn brings together exceptionally clear recent essays by noted philosophers and supplements them with influential historical sources.
Phil 190: Introduction to Philosophy Syllabus, Spring 2019
Section 80, Class #42591; T/TR 8:00AM-9:50AM, IW 303
Professor Phil Nist
turnitin.com ID#: 20853563
password: pdc190
![Sixth Sixth](https://image.isu.pub/190124144725-511ed2636ac901732c26206bf721f444/jpg/page_1.jpg)
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is an introduction to basic topics, central thinkers, and general methods found within the Western philosophical tradition. Topics include logic, epistemology, free will versus determinism, philosophy of religion, and ethics. Emphasis is placed on the critical analysis of philosophical arguments rather than a mere learning of names and concepts. The definition of philosophy is itself a matter of philosophical debate. One could say that it is the rational investigation of fundamental aspects of existence. It seeks reasonable answers to the biggest questions. What is real? Is there anything we can know for certain? What is good and right? Does God exist? Prerequisite:English 101.
REQUIRED TEXT: Steven M. Cahn, Exploring Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology, 6th Ed., ISBN: 9780190674335. This book is available for two hour reserve at the library, but I highly recommend getting your own copy. If you decide to use an older edition, you are responsible for getting the correct readings and homework questions.
CONTACT INFORMATION: Email address: [email protected] The best way to reach me is via email. In your message, please tell me which class you are in (including the time). Please do not contact me to ask for homework assignments, notes, test reviews or to email term papers. My office hours are Tuesdays from noon until 1:30PM, and Thursdays noon to 1:00PM, in room IW 305. I am also available by appointment. You should exchange contact information with someone in class who can provide you with notes and other important information.
READING ASSIGNMENTS: Reading assignments are listed on the class schedule. You are expected to have read the material before class so that you can participate meaningfully in class discussion. The readings are usually not long, but they are often dense and abstract. Expect to read them more than once or twice in order to grasp them sufficiently.
CLASS PARTICIPATION/ATTENDANCE: (up to 5 pts extra credit): Up to five extra credit points are given for participating regularly in class discussions. Points are deducted from your overall score for disrupting the class. Disruptions can be caused by arriving late, leaving early, letting your cell phone ring or vibrate, wearing headphones, sending text messages or browsing the Internet. Again, POINTS WILL BE DEDUCTED FOR DISRUPTIONS. PLEASE DON’T COME TO CLASS IF YOU CANNOT STOP USING YOUR PHONE, TABLET OR LAPTOP FOR SOMETHING OTHER THAN TAKING NOTES. PHONES MUST BE PUT AWAY DURING CLASS. No points are deducted for missed classes.
HOMEWORK QUESTIONS (49pts—7pts each):All homework must be turned in through turnitin.com (ID# and password are above).Homework consists of answering the “Study Questions” in your textbook at the end of each assigned reading, plus writing one question you have regarding the reading. Students are expected to turn in at least 7 out of the 12 assignments. You can turn more, but only the top 7 scores will count. The length of each answer should range from a few sentences (very rarely) to a few paragraphs. Assignments turned in after class starts will be considered late and receive an automatic 3 point deduction. Late work must be turned in within one week of due date to get any credit. Also, please remember that even if you do not do the study questions for a given assignment, you should still complete the reading.
Make sure you get a receipt and receipt number from turnitin.com to confirm your work has been submitted. If I am told the work has been submitted, but it is not there, I will ask for your receipt number. After you get a grade on your homework, check it for comments, even if you got a high score.
Do not consider your homework complete unless you have checked your email for a receipt with a receipt number. Part of your homework is checking your email. If you do not get a receipt or receipt number, you must email me your homework before class and then keep trying to submit it to turnitin.
The total grade showing on turnitin.com is NOT the grade you are getting in the class.
Homework (and papers) cannot be resubmitted to turnitin.com without my permission.
Grading: Answers must show sufficient and accurate knowledge of the reading material. Points will be deducted from answers if they rely too heavily on quotations or wording from the reading, if they are not thorough enough, or if they are not turned in through turnitin.com. If you are unsure how to answer a question, suggest different possible answers supported by the reading.
ANALYSIS (TERM) PAPER AND REVISIONS (40 + 35 = 75 pts total): You are required to write a paper (about four pages) on Richard Taylor, “The Meaning of Life,” pp.679-87 and Susan Wolf, “Meaning in Life,” pp.687-90. More specific instructions will be given in class and on my website. You are not allowed to use secondary sources. As a general guideline, the paper should be double spaced with standard (about 1”) margins. Please use a 12pt “Times New Roman” or comparable font. Other formatting guidelines and tips will be covered later. Papers must be turned in through turnitin.com, before the beginning of class.
Deductions for late papers and late revisions:
Less than 1 day (24 hours) = 2 points
One day to one week = 4 points
More than one week = 6 points
Revisions are a separate assignment, to be turned in after you get your papers back. They will also be turned in through turnitin.com, before the beginning of class on their due day. Revisions are worth a little less than the paper because in most cases they require less work than the paper. However, revisions are still worth a lot of points! Please underline changes in the newer version of your paper.
Plagiarismis easier to detect than you might think and it will not be tolerated. A plagiarized paper or homework assignment will receive zero points and will be reported to the administration for disciplinary action. A plagiarized assignment cannot be made up; its score will count toward your final score.
EXAMS: There are two exams for this course—a midterm test and a final. Both consist of true/false, multiple choice, and essay questions. The midterm can be made up only if I have received proper prior notification of extraordinary circumstances that prevent your attendance, or if the exam is missed because of a legitimate emergency. If you miss because of an emergency, please bring documentation in order to show proof of your emergency. The final will likely include some material from the midterm exam. The final exam cannot be made up.
During exams, no bathroom breaks will be permitted and nothing will be allowed on top of desks except something to write with and clear water bottles without labels. Nothing should be on your lap, either.
EXTRA CREDIT: Aside from participation points, there are no extra credit assignments for this course.
POINTS SUMMARY:
Midterm test: 50
Final: 75
Homework: 49
Paper & revisions: 75
Total: 249
Grades for each assignment should be checked on turnitin.com. Please remember that your total course grade on turnitin.com does not allow for assignments missed or drop lowest homework score. I don’t use Blackboard.
FINAL GRADE DISTRIBUTION: Grades are given according to the percentage of points earned.
A (93-100%); A- (90-92%); B+ (87-89%); B (83-86%); B- (80-82%); C+ (77-79%); C (73-76%);
C- (70-72%); D+ (67-69%); D (63-66%); D- (60-62%); F (below 60%)
Incomplete: The grade of Incomplete is reserved for students who have completed the majority of the required course work and who can present adequate justification for needing additional time to complete the remainder. It is the responsibility of the student to bring pertinent information to the instructor and to reach agreement on the means by which the remaining course requirements will be satisfied.
Please see the “General Regulations and Procedures' in the CSUSB Bulletin of Courses for the university’s policies on course withdrawal, cheating, and plagiarism. If you are in need of an accommodation for a disability in order to participate in this class, please let me know ASAP and also contact Services to Students with Disabilities at UH-183, (909)537-5238.
If you require assistance in the event of an emergency, you are advised to establish a buddy system with a buddy and an alternate buddy in the class. Individuals with disabilities should prepare for an emergency ahead of time by instructing a classmate and the instructor.
CLASS SCHEDULE (subject to change): readings are due on the day they are listed! Please make sure to put homework in the correct folder.
4/2 First day of class. Syllabus, introduction to class, start intro lecture.
4/4 (HW#1 due) Beardsley and Beardsley, “What is Philosophy,” pp.3-12. REMEMBER: homework is not done until you get a receipt from turnitin. If you can’t get a receipt, then email me your homework and try again later.
4/9 (HW #2 due) Cahn, Kitcher, and Sher, “The Elements of Argument,” pp.45-53.
4/11 More on logic; fallacies.
4/16 (HW #3) Epictetus, “The Handbook,” pp.658-75.
4/18 (HW #4) Epicurus, “Writings,” pp.651-8.
4/23 (HW #5 due) Shelly Kagan, “The Badness of Death,” pp.641-8.
4/25 (HW #6 due) Richard Taylor, “The Meaning of Life,” pp.679-87.
4/30 (HW #7 due) Susan Wolf, “Meaning in Life,” pp.687-90.
5/2 Discuss paper and midterm.
5/7 MIDTERM EXAM
5/9 (HW #8 due) Thomas Nagel, “Free Will,” pp.181-6; also look at graded midterm.
5/14 More Nagel.
5/16 (HW #9 due) William James, “The Dilemma of Determinism,” pp.213-25.
[MAKE SURE TO ADD A QUESTION AT THE END OF HOMEWORK]
5/21 More James.PAPER DUE (must be submitted to turnitin.com, before class)
5/23 (HW #10 due) W.T. Stace, “Free Will and Determinism,” pp.186-8.
5/28 (HW #11 due) Paul Churchland, “The Mind-Body Problem,” pp.140-52.
5/30 More Churchland. [BONUS HOMEWORK OPPORTUNITY (please submit to “Bonus Homework” folder) Gilbert Ryle, “The Ghost in the Machine,” pp.133-7. ]
6/4 (HW #12 due) Thomas Nagel, “What Is It Like to Be a Bat?” pp.153-6 (SQs 1,4), and Frank Jackson, “The Qualia Problem,” pp.156-9 (SQs 1,2,3).
6/6 Last day of class; finish previous discussion, review for final; PAPER REVISIONS DUE
FINAL EXAM: Thursday, 6/13/19, 8AM to 9:50
'Exploring Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology, Second Edition, is an accessible introduction to philosophy. Steven M. Cahn brings together clear, recent essays by noted philosophers and supplements them with historical sources. Most important, the articles have been carefully edited to make them understandable to every reader. The topics are drawn from the major fields of philosophy and include knowledge and skepticism, freedom and determinism, mind and body, the existence of God, the problem of evil, cultural relativism, abortion, euthanasia, democracy, capital punishment, affirmative action, and the meaning of life.'--Jacket
Includes bibliographical references and index
What is philosophy? / Monroe C. Beardsley and Elizabeth Lane Beardsley -- Defence of Socrates / Plato -- The scope of logic / Wesley C. Salmon -- Improving your thinking / Stephen F. Barker -- Fixing belief / Morris R. Cohen and Ernest Nagel -- Testing hypotheses / Steven M. Cahn, Patricia Kitcher, and George Sher -- appearance and reality / Bertrand Russell -- What can I know? / D.Z. Phillips -- Knowledge and belief / Norman Malcolm -- The problem of induction / Bertrand Russell -- Will the future be like the past? / Frederick L. Will -- Meno / Plato -- Meditations on first philosophy / René Descartes -- An enquiry concerning human understanding / David Hume -- The ghost in the machine / Gilbert Ryle -- The mind as a function of the body / Richard Taylor -- What is it like to be a bat? / Thomas Nagel -- Do computers think? / John Searle -- Free will or determinism? / Steven M. Cahn -- Free will and determinism / W.T. Stace -- Mediations on first philosophy / René Descartes -- Does God exist? / Ernest Nagel -- Why God allows evil / Richard Swinburne -- Theology and falsification / Anthony Flew and Basil Mitchell -- Do miracles occur? / Monroe C. Beardsley and Elizabeth Lane Beardsley -- Pascal's wager / Simon Blackburn -- The hiddenness of God / Robert McKim -- Euthyphro / Plato -- Summa theologiae / Saint Thomas Aquinas -- Meditations on first philosophy / René Descartes -- An enquiry concerning human understanding / David Hume
The challenge of cultural relativism / James Rachels -- How not to answer moral questions / Tom Regan -- The nature of ethical disagreement / Charles L. Stevenson -- A supreme moral principle? / Steven M. Cahn -- Abortion / Joel Feinberg -- Giving birth / Virginia Held -- Active and passive euthanasia / James Rachels -- Active and passive euthanasia: a reply / Thomas D. Sullivan -- Nicomachean ethics / Aristotle -- Foundations of the metaphysics of morals / Immanuel Kant -- Utilitarianism / John Stuart Mill -- Democracy / John Dewey -- Letter from a Birmingham jail / Martin Luther King, Jr. -- Political action: the problem of dirty hands / Michael Walzer -- The death penalty / Burton Leiser -- Capital punishment / Hugo Adam Bedau -- Two concepts of affirmative action / Steven M. Cahn -- Are quotas sometimes justified? / James Rachels -- What is a liberal education? / Sidney Hook -- Crito / Plato -- On liberty / John Stuart Mill -- The meaning of life / Richard Taylor -- The value of philosophy / Bertrand Russell -- Phaedo / Plato
'Exploring Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology, Second Edition, is an accessible introduction to philosophy. Steven M. Cahn brings together clear, recent essays by noted philosophers and supplements them with historical sources. Most important, the articles have been carefully edited to make them understandable to every reader. The topics are drawn from the major fields of philosophy and include knowledge and skepticism, freedom and determinism, mind and body, the existence of God, the problem of evil, cultural relativism, abortion, euthanasia, democracy, capital punishment, affirmative action, and the meaning of life.'--Jacket