Phil102: Intro to Philosophy: Knowledge & Reality

PHIL102: INTRO TO PHILOSOPHY: KNOWLEDGE & REALITY section 3, schedule #22716 MW 4:00-5:15 pm in EBA 343 D r . R obert Francescotti Office Hours (Arts & Letters, 438): Monday 5:45–7 pm, Wednesday 12:30–1:30 pm, & Thursday 2–4 pm Office phone & e-mail: 619-594-6585, <a href="mailto:[email protected]" target="_blank">[email protected] </a>COURSE DESCRIPTION This course satisfies the Philosophy & Religious Studies section of the Humanities requirement of the Foundations of Learning component of the General Education requirements. - description in SDSU’s General Catalog: Introduction to philosophical inquiry with emphasis on problems of knowledge and reality. Students are encouraged to think independently and formulate their own tentative conclusions. - a fuller description of my section: You will learn about the philosophical method by exploring some main areas of philosophical interest. The first issue we will discuss is whether God exists. We will consider a few arguments designed to show that God exists along with an argument that aims to show that God does not exist. This first section of the course is a good introduction to the structure of argumentation (an essential tool of the philosophical method). Then we will investigate the Free Will debate. Science has shown that much of our behavior is the result of factors beyond our control. The environment in which we were raised obviously greatly affects our behavior. Non-conscious mental activity and genetic factors are also thought to play a major role. Of course, the state of one’s brain is a major culprit as well. However, if our actions are the result of these factors, which seem largely out of our control, then in what sense can we be considered “free”? And if we do not act in a truly free manner, then can we be held responsible for our actions? Many people believe that in addition to the body, there is some immaterial aspect to our being. We might call this the soul—or perhaps spirit, psyche, or simply the mind. Is the mind really immaterial? Might it be that our thoughts, beliefs, and desires are nothing more than purely physical processes of our bodies? Might it be that we are in general nothing more than our physical bodies?? A closely related question is: In what does your identity as a person consist? What makes you the person you are, and what is it that makes an individual the same person over time? We will consider what various influential thinkers have said regarding these deep questions, and then we will try to decide for ourselves how the questions should be answered. Whether or not we reach any definite conclusions, we will still accomplish the main goal of the course, which is to develop the basic logical and conceptual skills needed to effectively think through philosophical issues on one’s own. So in addition to learning specific facts about particular philosophers and their theories/arguments, you will also learn how to do philosophy. Moreover, the analytical skills you will develop are those that prove beneficial to clear thinking and good reasoning about all facets of life. 2GENERAL EDUCATION “ESSENTIAL CA P A CITIES”& GOALS Philosophy 102 is a General Education (GE) course. The “seven essential capacities” (listed on p. 90 of the 2016-17 General Catalog) that San Diego State’s GE program aims to develop in students are the ability to: - construct, analyze, and communicate arguments - apply theoretical models to the real world - contextualize phenomena - negotiate differences - integrate global and local perspectives - illustrate relevance of concepts across boundaries - evaluate consequences of actions. Phil 102 is a member of the Humanities and Fine Arts group of GE courses, and the goals for this set of courses (p. 91 of the General Catalog) are to enable students to - analyze written, visual, or performed texts in the humanities and fine arts with sensitivity to their diverse cultural contexts and historical moments - develop a familiarity with various aesthetic and other value systems and the ways they are communicated across time and cultures. - argue from multiple perspectives about issues in the humanities that have personal and global relevance. - demonstrate the ability to approach complex problems and ask complex questions drawing upon knowledge of the humanities. SPECIFIC LEARNING OUTCOMES Students are expected to develop and demonstrate the ability to: - identify when a discussion counts as philosophical - identify arguments and their main components - clearly explain and distinguish between each of the theories discussed in the class - identify problems with and merits of each of the theories and arguments presented - speculate on how the theories might be modified to avoid the objections raised - critically evaluate arguments and theories in a variety of philosophical contexts - think and write in a clearer, more logically rigorous fashion - develop and defend your own views on the philosophical topics discussed .REQUIRED TEXTS & READINGS A course packet (Phil 102: Readings) available at CalCopy contains the following: - Cover and Garns, Theories of Knowledge and Reality, 2nd ed. (McGraw Hill, 1994)—ch. 2, sec. 1: Logic: Deduction. - St. Thomas Aquinas, “The Five Ways,” from Summa Theologica, written from 1265–1274. Reprint in Perry & Bratman (eds.), Introduction to Philosophy: Classical & Contemporary Readings (Oxford University Press, 1986). - St. Anselm, from Proslogiun, written in 1077-1078. Reprint in Feinberg and Shafer-Landau (eds.), Reason and Responsibility, 13th edition (Wadsworth, 2008). - Cover and Garns, Theories of Knowledge and Reality, 2nd ed. (McGraw Hill, 1994)—ch. 2, sec. 1: Logic: Induction. - William Paley, excerpts from Natural Theology, published in 1802. Reprint in Feinberg and Shafer-Landau (eds.), Reason and Responsibility, 13th edition (Wadsworth, 2008). - Fyodor Dostoevsky, from The Brothers Karamozov, published in 1880. The course packet contains excerpts under the title, “Rebellion,” reprinted in Feinberg and Shafer-Landau. - Blaise Pascal, from Pensees, published in 1669. In Blaise Pascal, Penees and Other Writings, Honor Levi, trans. (Oxford University Press, 1995). - excerpts from Paul Holbach’s System of Nature, 1770. The course packet contains the reprint under the title, “The Illusion of Free Will,” in Feinberg (ed.), Reason and Responsibility, 8th edition (Wadsworth, 1993). 3 - Clarence Darrow, “The Crime of Compulsion: Leopold and Loeb,” in Weinberg (ed.), Attorney for the Damned, (University of Chicago Press, 1957). - Walter Stace, “The Problem of Free Will,” from his Religion and the Modern Mind (J. B. Lippincott Company, 1952). Reprint in Pojman (ed.), Philosophy: The Quest for Truth, 6th edition (Oxford University Press, 2006). - excerpts from Richard Taylor’s Metaphysics (Prentice-Hall, 1992). - Rene Descartes, from Meditations on First Philosophy, 1641. Reprint in Pojman (ed.), Classics of Philosophy (Oxford University Press, 1998). - Rene Descartes, Treatise on Man, 1664 -- in Cottingham, Stoothoff, and Murdoch (trans.), Philosophical Writings of Rene Descartes, vol I (Cambridge University Press, 1985). - Cover & Garns, Theories of Knowledge and Reality, 2nd ed. (McGraw Hill, 1994) -- ch. 2, sec. 3: “Dualism and the Relationship Problem” - Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, “Third Explanation of the New System” (1696), from G. W. Leibniz, Philosophical T e xts, translated and edited by R. S. Woolhouse and Richard Francks (Oxford, 1998). - John Locke “Of Ideas of Identity and Diversity” from An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, 1690. Reprint in Perry & Bratman (eds.), Introduction to Philosophy: Classical & Contemporary Readings (Oxford, 1986). - Thomas Reid, “Of Mr. Locke’s Account of Our Personal Identity,” in Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man, 1785. Reprint in Feinberg and Shafer-Landau (eds.), Reason and Responsibility, 13th edition (Wadsworth, 2008). SCHEDULE: dates & topics (and the readings for those dates in parentheses) 8/29 Introduction to the course 8/31 Arguments <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">9/7 </li><li style="flex:1">- more on arguments (“Logic: Deduction” from Cover and Garns, Theories of Knowledge and Reality) </li></ul>- introducing the Causal Argument <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">9/12 </li><li style="flex:1">the Causal Argument (St. Thomas Aquinas, “The Five Ways,” from Summa Theologica) </li></ul>9/14, 9/19 Anselm’s Ontological Argument (St. Anselm, from Proslogium and Guanilo’s reply) 9/21 Inductive vs. Deductive Arguments & Arguments by Analogy (“Induction” from Cover and Garns) 9/26 The Teleological Argument (William Paley, excerpts from Natural Theology) EXAM I September 28th 10/3 The Problem of Evil (Fyodor Dostoevsky, “Rebellion” from The Brothers Karamozov) 10/5 More on the Problem of Evil 10/10 Pascal’s Wager (Blaise Pascal, from Pensees) <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">10/12 </li><li style="flex:1">Introducing to the Free Will/Determinism debate </li></ul>10/17 Hard Determinism (Paul Holbach, “The Illusion of Free Will” from System of Nature) 10/19 Hard Determinism (Clarence Darrow, “Leopold and Loeb: The Crime of Compulsion”) 10/24 Compatibilism (Walter Stace, “The Problem of Free Will” from Religion and the Modern Mind) 10/26 Indeterminism 10/31 Theory of Agency (excerpts from Richard Taylor’s Metaphysics) EXAM II November 2nd 11/7 Intro to the Mind-Body Problem 11/9 Skepticism and the External World (Rene Descartes, Meditations I, II) and an argument for Dualism 11/14 More arguments for Dualism (Descartes, from Meditation VI, and Leibniz’ “Third Explanation”) 11/16 Interactionism (Rene Descartes, Treatise on Man and Cover & Garns, “Dualism and the Relationship Problem”) 11/21 - Parallelism (Gottfried Leibniz’ letter, “Third Explanation of the New System”) - Materialism & the Identity Theory 11/28 - Identity Theory vs. Logical Behaviorism; and the Artificial Intelligence debate - Materialist responses to arguments for Dualism 11/30 Intro to Personal Identity 12/5 Bodily Substance and Bodily Continuity 12/7 Locke’s Mental Continuity Account (John Locke, “Of Ideas of Identity and Diversity”) 12/12 Objections to Locke’s Account (Thomas Reid, “Of Mr. Locke’s Account of Our Personal Identity”) 12/14 Immaterial Substances / Souls 4EXAM III December 19th (during final exam week) GRADES & REQUIREMENTS Your final grade is based on the percentage of 300 possible points you earn on three in-class exams. Exam I is September 28th — 80 possible pts. Exam II is on November 2nd — 100 possible pts. Exam III on December 19th — 120 possible pts. (Dec. 19th is during finals week, and according to the final exam schedule, our final exam is to start at 3:30 pm on that day.) The exams must be taken at the scheduled times. I will allow make-ups only for those with a compelling reason for missing, and I must be notified prior to the exam to judge if the reason is compelling enough. Here’s how the percentages convert to letter grades: A 93 90 87 83 80 77 73 73 70 67 63 60 A- B+ B C- D+ D B- C+ C D- F“Close” cases: Let’s call a “close” case, any score that falls within one percentage point of each of the numbers indicated in the chart above. For example, any score between 92 and 92.9, or between 76 and 76.9, or between 69 and 69.9 counts as a close case. If your final grade is a close case, class participation and improvement in grades will be taken into consideration and if significant enough may help you receive the higher letter grade. For example, if your overall score is 237/300, which is 79%, but you regularly participate in class discussion in a productive fashion or show significant improvement in grades, then I might give you B- as your final grade – provided there are no negative factors. Negative factors: Whatever weight I give to the positive factors mentioned above will be outweighed by significant lack of participation (e.g., not being able to answer questions I ask in class about the readings) or disruptive behavior (e.g., chatting with others during class, sleeping, fist-fighting, gaming, or texting). 5Also, and very importantly, attendance will weigh heavily in whether you are bumped up or left behind in close cases. So I’ll keep track of attendance, and unexcused absences will prevent you from getting the higher grade in close cases despite whatever class participation or improvement in grades you show. Btw: tardiness also counts as a negative factor. ELECTRONIC DEVICES - Use of laptops in the classroom is not allowed without my permission. For those who need to use computers to take notes, you must ask me first and if I agree, you may then use them only in areas of the room that minimize disturbance to others. - Use of other electronic devices (cell phones, iPads, cameras, etc.) is not permitted during class. Please turn off your cell phones before class begins. - Please do not use recording equipment of any kind during lectures, unless you have cleared it with me first. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY Anyone caught cheating on an exam will receive 0% for that exam. Also, note that CSU Executive Order 1098 requires that instructors report academic dishonesty to the Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities (CSRR). For more information, visit the CSRR Academic Dishonesty website: <a href="/goto?url=http://csrr.sdsu.edu/student_affairs/srr/academic-dishonesty.aspx" target="_blank">http://csrr.sdsu.edu/student_affairs/srr/academic-dishonest</a><a href="/goto?url=http://csrr.sdsu.edu/student_affairs/srr/academic-dishonesty.aspx" target="_blank">y</a><a href="/goto?url=http://csrr.sdsu.edu/student_affairs/srr/academic-dishonesty.aspx" target="_blank">.</a><a href="/goto?url=http://csrr.sdsu.edu/student_affairs/srr/academic-dishonesty.aspx" target="_blank">aspx </a>DISABILITIES If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations for this class, contact Student Disability Services at (619) 594-6473. To avoid any delay in the receipt of your accommodations, you should contact Student Disability Services as soon as possible. To learn more, visit <a href="/goto?url=http://newscenter.sdsu.edu/student_affairs/sds/faculty-role.aspx" target="_blank">http://newscenter.sdsu.edu/student_affairs/sds/faculty-role.aspx </a>“Student Disability Services provides support services for students with mobility limitations, learning disabilities, hearing or visual impairments, psychological disabilities, attention deficit disorder, and other disabilities. Counselors are available to assist students in making personal, academic, and vocational choices, and to advise how best to utilize campus resources. Prior to receiving assistance, students must furnish appropriate medical or psycho-educational documentation to Student Disability Services” (p. 33, 2016-17 General Catalog). RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES “By the end of the second week of classes, students should notify the instructors of affected courses of planned absences for religious observances. Instructors shall reasonably accommodate students who notify them in advance of planned absences for religious observances” (p. 111, 2016-17 General Catalog). Please notify me by the end of the second week of classes if you plan to be absent for religious observances. 6

Phil102: Intro to Philosophy: Knowledge & Reality

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