PHIL 11001: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY (FALL 2019, T/TH 2:15-3:30PM) PROFESSOR: David Pereplyotchik EMAIL:
[email protected] and
[email protected] OFFICE PHONE: 330.672.0270 OFFICE LOCATION: Bowman Hall, 320, Room N PRIMARY OFFICE HOURS: Wednesday, 1-6pm (see below for more options) GRADUATE ASSISTANT: Hope Seo,
[email protected] OFFICE HOURS: Tues/Thurs, 10:30-12pm, Bowman Hall, Room 208 READINGS: I will distribute ALL of the readings via Google Drive and/or email. Many of them will come from the following books, which you can purchase (but only if you want to). 1. Peg Tittle, What If….? Collected Thought Experiments in Philosophy 2. Julian Baggini, The Pig That Wants to be Eaten and 99 Other Thought Experiments 3. Daniel Dennett, Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking 4. Douglas Hofstadter, Dan Dennett (eds.), The Mind’s I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul 5. David Wallace-Wells, The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming Course Description: This course will focus on introductory readings concerning a variety of philosophical topics, including the meaning of life, the role of religion in society, the attempts to justify religious belief, the nature of the conscious mind and its relationship to the physical body, the possibility of artificial intelligence, the value of political equality, and the philosophical implications of recent findings in the sciences, especially physics, biology, and psychology. Kent Core: This course may be used to satisfy a Kent Core requirement. The Kent Core as a whole is intended to broaden intellectual perspectives, foster ethical and humanitarian values, and prepare students for responsible citizenship and productive careers.