Syllabus
Course Description and Overview:
This course will survey a range of topics of interest to philosophers and prepare the student for further work in several areas of philosophy. We will examine some perennial philosophical questions and their treatments by both classical thinkers and more contemporary philosophers. Topics to be discussed include the nature of reality, the veridicality of experience, space and time, personal identity, the nature of mind, and moral judgments.
Successful study of philosophy requires both quiet study and active engagement. I expect students in this course to read serious philosophy and to participate in class discussions. This course is designated as writing-intensive, which means that you will complete four writing assignments and have some opportunity to re-write in response to comments. Students will write four papers and a final exam. Additionally, each student will prepare an in-class presentation.
Texts
Kolak, Daniel and Raymond Martin. Wisdom Without Answers: A Brief Introduction to Philosophy, fifth edition. Wadsworth, 2002.
Additional articles posted below.
Movies, available on reserve from the Media Library on the third floor of CJ.
My lecture notes, posted here after classes.
Your responsibilities this course include the following, with their contributions to your grade calculation in parentheses:
All the readings (or other preparatory assignments) listed below.
In-class participation (10%)
Four papers (60% total)Paper 1 (600-800 words) due February 9 (10%)
Paper 2 (800-1000 words) due February 23 (10%)
Paper 3 (1250-2100 words)
due to peer reviewers March 30
due to me, with revisions, April 6 (20%)
Paper 4 (1000-1800 words) due May 4 (20%)Presentation (10%)
Final Exam (20%)The given weights are rough, and subject to adjustment.
Readings and Classes: There are three kinds of readings (or movies) in this course:
1. Expository chapters from the Kolak and Martin text;
2. Illustrative readings or movies; and
3. Philosophical texts.
The nature of class discussion will vary depending on the assigned reading (or movie). Some classes, will be discussions. Some classes will be exegetical lectures.
Our class is a cooperative endeavor, and I expect you to attend every class. There is no immediate penalty for missing class. But, our class will be small, and any absence will be noted. You should discuss any missed classes with me, preferably in advance.
Papers: All papers will engage one or more of the philosophical texts, but may invoke any of the expository work from Kolak and Martin or the illustrative readings, as well. The first two papers will be short exegeses, critical analysis of a philosophical text. The third paper will be a standard, rhetorical essay, defending a thesis. The third paper will be distributed to peer reviewers who will comment on the essay. You will hand in your original essay, your peer comments, and a final, revised draft. The fourth paper will be a second, rhetorical essay.
The first and second papers may be re-submitted for an improved grade. Do not expect your grade to improve by the mere correction of a few typos. All re-writes must be completed and submitted, along with the original paper and my comments, by 4pm on April 12, 2011. This option is not available for the third and fourth papers.
Standards for academic writing vary by discipline. Philosophical writing should be clear and focused and attentive to every detail. Do not be misled by the brevity of some of our assignments. Expect to revise your papers several times before submitting them. We may discuss some of your work in class. Any student work I present to the class will be anonymized.
Many Hamilton students take advantage of the excellent tutors at the writing center, located in KJ 152. I do not require that you use the writing center, but I may make a strong suggestion that you do so after the first paper. You may approach them with early drafts of a paper, or even earlier in the writing process. You must make appointments, which you can do easily at their website.
You are always welcome to ask for my help on a paper, in advance of the due date. I do not have strict guidelines about how much time you must give me before the due date, but you must not expect me to provide comments in less than two full days
Presentations: Your presentation will be an exegetical discussion of one of the philosophy readings. A more specific assignment will be distributed in class. We will sign up for presentations early in the term. The Oral Communication Center, in KJ 222, can help you prepare an effective presentation. If you wish, you can practice your presentation, and have it recorded and analyzed. If you wish to do use the OCC, you should make an appointment early. See their website.
Final Exam: For each assigned philosophical text, I will prepare reading guides, which are lists of questions corresponding to the reading. You can use the reading guides to help you determine your comprehension of the assignments. The final exam will be based directly on the reading guides. In addition to peer tutoring, both the Writing Center and the Oral Communications Center have an astoundingly wonderful set of resources to help you write and speak more effectively. Many of these resources are available on their respective websites.
The Hamilton College Honor Code will be strictly enforced
Office Hours
My office hours for the Spring 2011, term are 10:30am - noon on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays; and 10-10:45, on Wednesdays and Fridays. My office is in room 201 of 210 College Hill Road, which is at the northwest corner of CHR and Griffin Road.
Schedule:
Note: The readings listed in each row are to be completed before class.
Class |
Date |
Topic |
Readings to do Before Class |
Presentation (Section 1) | Presentation (Section 2) |
1 |
January 19 |
What is Philosophy? |
-- |
||
2 |
January 21 |
Reality |
K&M 7: Reality
|
||
3 |
January 26 |
Plato's Cave |
Plato, from Republic |
||
4 |
January 28 |
Experience |
K&M 8: Experience |
||
5 |
February 2 |
The Primary/Secondary Distinction |
Locke, "On the Primary/Secondary Distinction" |
||
6 |
February 4 |
Commonsense Realism |
Moore, "Proof of an External World" |
||
7 |
February 9
|
Space and Time |
K&M 1: Where |
||
8 |
February 11 |
Absolute and Relational Space |
|||
9 |
February 16 |
The A-Theory |
Zimmerman, "The Privileged Present: Defending an "A-Theory" of Time |
Emi Birch | Torian Pope |
10 |
February 18 |
The B-Theory |
Max Schnidman | ||
11 |
February 23 |
Personal Identity |
K&M 3: Who |
||
12 |
February 25 |
The Soul |
Clark Louie | ||
13 |
March 2 |
Memory Theory |
Philip Shulman Robbie Fagan |
Hannah Rogge David Goldstein |
|
14 |
March 4 |
Irreducibility and Essentialism |
Ben Hall Jonice Mendoza |
Nik Prudente Colin Hostetter |
|
15 |
March 9 |
The Bundle Theory |
Matt Wiltshire Sarah Andrews |
Andrew Rippel Joelle Adler |
|
16 |
March 11 |
A Case Study |
|||
17 |
March 30
|
The Mind |
K&M 9: Consciousness |
||
18 |
April 1 |
Dualism |
Will Newman |
Glory Bardin Sam Mackoff |
|
19 |
April 6
|
Behaviorism |
Skinner, from Science and Human
Behavior |
Tommy Moriarty Beryl Li |
Liz Chapin Erik Sandfort |
20 |
April 8 |
Materialism |
Morgan Osborn | Amanda Sheff | |
21 |
April 13 |
Functionalism |
Amanda Pichardo | Sam Otis | |
22 |
April 15 |
Epiphenomenalism |
Locke, "On the Inverted Spectrum" |
Dave Tackeff | Pete Oliver |
23 |
April 20 |
Ethics |
K&M 13: Ethics |
||
24 |
April 22 |
The Ring of Gyges |
Emily Grace | Jorge Mendieta | |
25 |
April 27 |
Consequentialism |
Laura Herlihy Nick Pappageorge |
Sunny Hwang Jason Chen |
|
26 |
April 29 |
Deontology |
Will Boudreau | ||
27 |
May 4
|
Abortion and Personhood |
Pablo Abreu Claire King |
May 6: Class and Charter Day (no class)
Section 01: Tuesday, May 10, 9am-noon, KJ 109
Section 02: Wednesday, May 11, 8pm-10pm, KJ 236