Philosophy 103: Fall 2009 MW 1:10 PM - 2:30 PM

Instructor: Professor Martin Lin

Office: Seminary 1 - 117

Office Hours: W 3:00-4:00 PM

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Location: Frelinghuysen Hall B5

Assignments: There will be two exams: a midterm and a final. The midterm will be given in our regular lecture room, Frelinghuysen Hall B5, and the final will be Friday December 18th, 12:00- 3:00 PM. (Please note that I will not give make up exams to accommodate your vacation plans. If your vacation plans make it impossible for you to attend the final exam, you should drop the course.)

There is also one short paper (5-7 pages). Topics and dates will be posted on the course website.

In determining your final grade, work will be weighted as follows:

Paper: 30% Midterm: 30% Final: 40%

Text: all readings will be from The Elements of Philosophy: Readings from Past and Present, edited by Tamar Szabo Gendler, Susanna Siegel and Steven M. Cahn. This book should be on sale at the bookstore.

Website: To access the course website, go to:

http://fas-philosophy.rutgers.edu/mlin and click on Teaching and then Introduction to Philosophy

Tentative schedule:

The Lectures mentioned below are readings from Sober. They are short essays that Sober himself has written on the topic. The other readings are all primary texts collected by Sober in his textbook. First day: Introduction What is Philosophy? Unit 1: Philosophy of Religion (weeks 1-3) Saint Anselm , “The Ontological Argument”, Gaunilo , “In Behalf of the Fool”, William Rowe , “Why the Ontological Argument Fails.”

Unit 2: Ethics (weeks 5-7) Peter Singer , “Rich and Poor”, Garrett Hardin , “Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping the Poor”, Thomas W. Pogge , “‘Aiding’ the Global Poor”, Alastair Norcross , “Puppies, Pigs, and People: Eating Meat and Marginal Cases”, Carl Cohen , “A Critique of the Alleged Moral Basis of Vegetarianism.”

Unit 3: Theory of Knowledge (weeks 8-11) Plato, “What is Knowledge?” from The Meno, Edmund Gettier , “Is Justified True Belief Knowl- edge?”, Robert Nozick, “Knowledge” from Philosophical Explanations, Ren Descartes , Meditations 1 and 2, G.E. Moore , “Proof of an External World”, G.E. Moore , “Certainty”, Plato, “The Alle- gory of the Cave” from The Republic.

Unit 4: Time and Time Travel (weeks 12) Albert Einstein , “Time and the Relativity of Simultaneity,” Theodore Sider , “Time,” David Lewis , “The Paradoxes of Time Travel.”

Unit 6: Free Will (weeks 13-14) A.J. Ayer , “Freedom and Necessity,” Roderick M. Chisholm , “Human Freedom and the Self,” Harry Frankfurt , “Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person,” Peter Strawson , “Freedom and Resentment.”

Important Dates:

October 19: Midterm exam in class.