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Accessible Syllabus Template PHIL620 (22677) PHILOSOPHY of TIME a cross-cultural analysis SPRING 2015 COURSE INFORMATION Class Days: Monday Class Times: 4-6:40 p.m. Class Location: AL 422 Office Hours Times: TTH 11-12; M 2:30-3:30 (or by appointment) Office Hours Location: AL473A [email protected] 1 Course Overview Description from the Official Course Catalog 630 Seminar in Philosophical Problems: Knowledge and Reality (3) A problem or group of problems in metaphysics, epistemology and logic. Description of the Purpose and Course Content Time is a concept that has presented perennial challenges to philosophers from all cultures for thousands of years. It also has a prominent role in theories still unfolding in post-modern science. We will begin with a sampling of Eurocentric theories and reveries concerning Time: Augustine to Wittgenstein Kant and the Mad Hatter’s Tea/Time Party Nietzsche’s Eternal Recurrence Krishnamurti Then we will examine notions of time in Buddhism Diamond Sūtra that resonate with post-modern science, as heralded by Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and space-time continuum. Eight hundred years before Heidegger, Zen Master Dōgen (1200-1253) was parsing the experience of Uji, Time-Being, encountered in the perceptual revolution provoked by Buddhist practice that can lead to epistemological awakening. Student Learning Outcomes 1. Investigate and analyze interdisciplinary approaches to philosophical questions posed by Time in multiple cultures 2. Assess theories on Time offered by philosophers and the scientists 3. Evaluate the evidence garnered from various disciplines by proposing and testing a hypothesis/theorem concerning Time 4. Explore the personal and global consequences of our assumptions about Time Real Life Relevance “Time is not an empirical concept. For neither co-existence nor succession would be perceived by us, if the representation of time did not exist as a foundation a priori. Without this presupposition we could not represent to ourselves that things exist together at one and the same time, or at different times, that is, contemporaneously, or in succession.” Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason (1781), trans. Vasilis Politis (London: Dent., 1991), 54. “For us who are convinced physicists, the distinction between past, present, and future is only an illusion, however persistent.” Albert Einstein “a past thought cannot be found. A future thought cannot be found. Nor can a present thought be found.” Diamond Sutra, 18 “Indeed it is true, as philosophies say, that life must be understood backwards. But because of this, the second proposition is forgotten, that life must be lived forwards. Which proposition, the more one thinks about it, leads precisely to the conclusion that temporal life is never understood truly, precisely because at no moment am I quiet enough to adopt a position: backwards.” Søren Kierkegaard Enrollment Information Prerequisites: Graduate standing in philosophy. May be repeated with new content. Maximum credit nine units applicable to a master’s degree. Adding/Dropping Procedures Add a Class: You may add classes while using any of the search options. While viewing a list of classes, choose the "ADD" option on the right side. Choosing this option will take you to a page where you must confirm your enrollment in the class. Be sure the course has been added before moving on. If you know the schedule number of the course you wish to add or if the schedule number is suppressed on the section you wish to add, choose the "Add a Class" option from the menu on the left. Enter a schedule number and add code (if you are adding once classes have begun) to add a course to your current class schedule. Drop a Class/Substitute a Class: You may drop a class through "My Registration," or you may substitute one class for another. By entering the schedule number of the course you wish to drop and the schedule number of the course you wish to add, the system will perform a search to see if your desired course is available. If it is, then you may substitute that class for the one you want to drop. Through substitution, you don’t drop one class until you are sure you are able and eligible to get into another one. Course Materials Required Materials Augustine,Confessions , 11; http://thriceholy.net/Texts/Time.html Bredeson, Garrett Zantow. “On Dōgen and Derrida,” Philosophy East and West, 58:1, Jan. 2008. Carroll, Lewis. Through the Looking Glass (1872); https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/c/carroll/lewis/looking/ Carroll, Lewis, Alice in Wonderland, chapter 7 “A Mad Tea-Party” https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/c/carroll/lewis/alice/chapter7.html Carroll, Sean M. “What Does ‘Happy New Year’ Even Really Mean? Physicists engage in a strange debate about whether time really passes,” Smithsonian Magazine, January 2015. d 'Espagnat, Bernard, “The Quantum Theory and Reality,” Scientific American, 1979, 158-181. Dōgen, Shobogenzo, 11 Uji Time-Being; 18 Shin-Fukatoku Mind Cannot be Grasped; 52 Bukkyo The Buddhist Sutras 11 Uji http://www.thezensite.com/ZenTeachings/Dogen_Teachings/Shobogenzo_Complete.html Einstein, Albert. Relativity: The Special and the General Theory (1916). http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=30155 Heidegger, Martin. On Time and Being, trans. Joan Stambaugh, Harper & Row; 1st edition (1972). [a revision of his seminal work, On Being and Time] Holmes, Roger W. “The Philosopher’s “Alice in Wonderland,’” The Antioch Review, Vol. 19, No. 2 (Summer, 1959), 133- 149. Immanuel Kant. “Philosophical questions about space and time,” http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-spacetime/ Krishnamurti, J & Bohm, David. The Ending of Time (1985). Nietzsche, Friedrich. Thus Spoke Zarathustra https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/n/nietzsche/friedrich/n67a/ Petersen, Calvin R. “Time and Stress: Alice in Wonderland,” Journal of the History of Ideas, Vol. 46, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1985), 427-433. Purser, Ronald. “The Myth of the Present Moment,” Mindfulness (2015) 6:680-686. Red Pine. The Diamond Sutra (Counterpoint 2002). Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations, 607-608. ONLINE RESOURCES—materials will be posted on BLACKBOARD periodically (Course Documents for class notes and other new materials; Assignments for exams). Online forums also can be set up as required. If internet access is a problem alert the instructor! Recommended Materials Burgess, John P. “Logic and Time,” The Journal of Symbolic Logic, Volume 44, Number 4, Dec. 1979, 566-82. Ezzell, Carol. “Clocking Cultures,” Scientific American Special Edition, Feb2006 Special Edition, Vol. 16 Issue 1, 42-45. Harrison, Jonathan. “Dr. Who and the Philosophers or Time-Travel for Beginners,” Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Supplementary Volumes, Vol. 45 (1971), 1-24. Lightman, Alan. Einstein’s Dreams: A Novel (1993). RADIOLAB, Time, Season 1, Episode 4; http://www.radiolab.org/story/91584-time/ Suter, Ronald. “Augustine on Time with Some Criticisms from Wittgenstein,” Revue Internationale de Philosophie, Vol. 16, No. 61/62 (3/4) (1962), 378-394. Make use of the online course materials available via Blackboard. Access to these materials is available once you have registered for the course. • Complete readings and dates of assignments are indicated on the syllabus. • Check email on a daily basis. Course Structure and Conduct Style of the Course: application of the scientific method to the core question of Time brainstorming sessions to refine hypotheses, lemmas, questionnaires interactive presentation of results, incorporating student critiques in final report Technology Utilized in the Course: Blackboard, PowerPoint presentations student-generated website on Philosophy of Time Due Dates for Assignments and Exams ASSIGNMENT FORMAT DUE DATE individual presentations of 1. provisional hypothesis/ theorem Sept 21 tentative results 2. test assumption/lemma and class critiques 3. evaluate the evidence 4. accept or reject the hypothesis/theorem presentation of penultimate group discussions and challenges will allow Nov 2 conclusions you to hone final report on your hypothesis final conclusions presented may include draft of essay Nov 30, Dec 7 journal quality essays due formatted for specific journal guidelines Dec. 14 Grading Scale Evaluative Criteria for Essay Examinations D D+ C- C C+ B -B B+ A- A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1# nearly non existent// 5 # average// 10 # exceptional D—deficient resources (stream of consciousness? whatever!) 61-70 C—you came to class AND took adequate notes (you tell me what I told you) 71-80 B—you came to class, took adequate notes AND demonstrate comprehension of the class materials, with an emphasis on primary sources 81-90 A—you came to class, took adequate notes, demonstrate comprehension of class materials, AND show evidence of original thinking 91-100 JUST THE FACTS—journalist mode COMPREHENSIVENESS did you answer the question? the whole question? and nothing but the question? ACCURACY/ANALYSIS have you given a faithful presentation of class material? have you checked definitions of key terms and topics? PHILOSOPHIZING—asking why CLARITY have you expressed yourself clearly? how well have you communicated your points? TEXTUAL SUPPORT have you demonstrated that you have read and understand class readings/materials? have you included page references for quotations? STRUCTURE/ORGANIZATION have you planned out your discussion? have you offered logical arguments for your views? have you included evidence from the texts? TRANSCENDENCE—your contributions CREATIVE INSIGHT have you gone beyond class discussions, contributing your own original thinking? have you evolved from passive Great Faith to engaged Great Doubt, moving toward insights from the Great Death of delusion? PHYSICAL PRESENTATION have you checked your spelling, grammar, syntax? is your paper readable and orderly? does it accurately reflect the time and effort you devoted to the assignment? Excused Absence Make-up Policies: Each student is entitled to one emergency extension, not to exceed one week from the original due date, by prior arrangement with the instructor. Try to avoid contacting the instructor the day the assignment is due.
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