BETHEL
COLLEGE
Department
of Philosophy
Fall,
2007
General
Philosophy
(PHI 200:
T-Th; 2:30-3:45PM; KSC 121)
Paul T. Lewis, Instructor
Meets the General Education Formal
Reasoning Requirement
Course
Description
Introductory
Remarks
To the early Greeks, philosophy
meant
literally "the love of wisdom".
And it still means that today to professional philosophers. In fact, there is probably no other
discipline whose practitioners regard the pursuit of truth as the most
important activity a human being can engage in. I
believe that one of the reasons for this might be the
possibility that doing good ultimately depends on a knowledge of the
truth. Further, the relationship of
truth to the good presupposes a particular framework of absolute
presuppositions, i.e. conceptions of reality that no one disputes.
In
many respects I regard such questions of epistemology
-the formal study of the origin, nature, and extent of knowledge, ethics -the formal study of the bases of
morally right and morally wrong actions, and those of metaphysics
-the formal study of the ultimate nature of reality, as
the three most significant sub-disciplines of philosophy.
However, there are other areas that will be
as important for us to take up in earnest in this first course in
philosophy,
like political philosophy (e.g. what
is justice?), philosophy of religion (e.g.
what is the relation between
faith and reason?), and philosophy of
science (e.g. what is the nature of scientific explanation?). And of course, we shall introduce and
re-introduce ourselves to logic -the
formal study of the principles by which sound arguments are
distinguished from
unsound ones, and aesthetics -the
formal study of the principles of our evaluations of beauty.
This
course will cover each of the above areas to one degree or another, in
particular discovering how each informs, and is informed by, the other. We shall do this within the context of some
major schools of philosophy (e.g. Rationalism, Skepticism,
Existentialism, and
so forth) as represented in several classic, original philosophical
writings. But I shall attempt, so as to
properly focus our learning, to center our understanding on
metaphysical
questions of ethics and epistemology stretching from the concrete to
the
abstract in a variety of social situations:
from concrete moral questions like `what kind of action should
I
take towards depictions of eroticism in a painting on public display?',
to more
abstract questions of the nature of truth like `is truth
context-dependent or
independent?'; and how such questions are played out in the domains of
politics, or the art world, the pulpit or the laboratory, the dorm or
the
classroom.
In
brief, our study will depart from, as well as come back around to, an
ongoing
critique of our underlying assumptions (metaphysics) of the
relationship
between truth (epistemology) and the good (ethics), as we consider
questions
that mean something to us.
Indeed, this is not a course where the big questions are
forsaken . . .
We would do well, however, to keep in mind the words of the British
empiricist,
Bertrand Russell, as written in his classic The Problems
of
Philosophy, as we undertake the philosophical sojourn:
Philosophy,
if it cannot answer so many
questions as we would wish, has at least the power of asking
questions
which increase the interest of the world, and show the strangeness and
wonder
lying just below the surface even in the commonest things of daily life
(1912,
p.16.).
Class
Format
I
shall be using a variety of methods to assist you in the learning of
the
subject matter of this course. Lectures
will be anywhere from 5 minutes to 50 minutes with the median length
around 15
minutes. Quite a large percentage of
class time, about 35 to 40% will consist of the rather nebulous
lecture-discussion wherein I attempt to confine myself to short bursts
of
lecturing 5, 10, or 15 minutes, interspersed with large group
discussions of
similar lengths. Other class formats
include more formally structured large and small group discussions and
debates,
as well as written and experiential exercises.
At
times my organization will be quite structured, at other times quite
loose, and
both quite intentional: Sometimes I
shall simply read a paper, as opposed to deliver a lecture on a
particular
subject. Sometimes a more careful
exegesis of the text we're all reading will be what is done. Perhaps the simple question `what did you
find important about the reading and why?' will take up our entire time
together. On another occasion we might
philosophically investigate the popular press in terms of the canons of
logical
argument, or perhaps actually practice ourselves the Socratic method,
or
Descartes' method of meditation. At
still another time we might engage in a series of questions and
subsequent
discussion designed to tease out the moral implications of an issue, or
reveal
the growing edge of our understanding about a subject.
The
generation of this understanding will be facilitated by the use of
three
dialectics: that between deductive and
inductive reasoning; that between foresight and hindsight; and that
between the
perspective of the actor and the perspective of the observer. Indeed the relationships between the
universal and the particular; between past, present and future time;
and
between what is going on inside as opposed to outside a person's head
-another
way of looking at each of these dialectics respectively- may be as
crucial to
the understanding of anything, as it is to the particular subject
matter of
philosophy.
In
short, this is as much a course in thinking critically about the
substantive
content in philosophy as it is one focused on the pure assimilation of
that
content; but even more important is its emphasis on how doing
philosophy
might make more satisfying your own experience of everyday life, and
your
understanding of the broader human condition as well.
Learning
Objectives
1.
Become
proficient in rudimentary logic: formal and informal reasoning, logical
fallacies, argument analysis and evaluation, causal analysis,
categorical
reasoning and argument by analogy.
2.
Describe
some of the major philosophical sub-disciplines and schools.
3.
Appreciate
some of the major philosophical methods of discovery and creation.
4.
Develop
a rudimentary understanding of several original and classic
philosophical
authors and works.
5.
Develop
a working knowledge of some of the fundamental philosophical problems
and
issues.
6.
Take
advantage of an opportunity to start to define and/or redefine skills
of doing
philosophy
in everyday life.
Required
Texts and Readings
Conway,
D.A., Munson, R The Elements of
Reasoning. New York:
Wadsworth,
2007.
Grube,
G.M.A. (Trans.) Plato Republic. Indianapolis:
Hackett Publishing Company,
~380, 1981
Hume, D.
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. Indianapolis:
Hackett Publishing Company, ~
1777, 1993.
James,
Willliam. Pragmatism.
Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, ~1907, 1981
Searle, J.S.
Mind, Language, and Society.
New York: Basic
Books, 1998.
Camus, A.
The Stranger. New York:
Vintage, -1942, 1946.
Other
translations of Plato and Camus are
welcome. The above should be available for online at E-campus and other
venues,
or at new and used book stores of your choice.
Other required readings may be placed on reserve from time to
time.
Recommended
Readings
Audi, R.
(Editor). Cambridge Dictionary of
Philosophy. New York: Cambridge
University Press, 1999.
Blackburn,
S.
Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy: New York: Oxford
University Press, 1994.
Edwards, P.
(Editor) Encyclopedia of
Philosophy: Supplement. New York:
Macmillan,
1996.
Flew, A. A
Dicitonary of Philosophy. New York:
Gramercy, 1999.
Honderich,
T. (Editor) The Oxford Companion to
Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford
University
Press, 1995.
These
should be available in the reference sections of the library.
Course
Requirements and Evaluation
1.
Class attendance, participation,
doing exercises, meeting deadlines, and so on; miss 3 class sessions
with
discretion, no penalty; miss more than 3 and this part of your grade
may
suffer: Worth 15% of the grade.
2.
4
reading quizzes: Worth 20% of the grade.
3.
3
short answer/ short and long essay examinations: Worth
15% each, 45% total of the grade.
4.
1
short answer/ short and long essay partially comprehensive final
examination: Worth 20% of the grade.
5.
Extra credit will be available with
details forthcoming.
Class
Itinerary
Tu 8/28
Philosophical Bearings I:
Talking
philosophy
Th 8/30
Philosophical Bearings II:
Doing
philosophy
(C&M,
Selections, Chapter 1; Plato
– Bk 1; Reserve R)
9/4-
Rationalism: Universalism,
Idealism, and Realism.
9/18
(C&M,
etc; Selections from Plato; Reserve R)
Th
9/20
TEST I
Tu 9/25
Test Review; Preview of Hume
(Selections
from Hume; Reserve R)
9/27-
Empiricism: A Skeptic's view of
Mind and Society
10/11
(C&M,
etc. Selections from Hume’s Enquiry; Reserve R)
10/16
FALL BREAK
Th 10/18
Empiricism
(Continued)
Tu 10/23
TEST
II
Th 10/25
Test
Review; Preview of James
(Selections from James'
Pragmatism; Reserve R)
10/30-
Pragmatism: A Rapproachment between
Rationalism and
11/8
Empiricism?
(C&M,
etc. Selections from James' Pragmatism; Reserve R)
Tu 11/13
TEST
III
Th 11/15
Test
Review; Preview of Searle
(Selections from Searle’s Mind,
etc.)
Tu 11/20
Back to Realism: On the
naturalization of mind, language, and society.
(Selections from Searle’s Mind,
etc.)
11/21-
THANKSGIVING
BREAK
11/25
11/27
Back to Realism (Continued).
11/29
(C&
M, etc. Selections from Searle; Reserve R)
12/4-
Existentialism
and Existentialism ala’ Camus’ The Stranger.
12/6
(Camus’
The Stranger; Reserve R)
12/14
Semi-Comprehensive Final:
Friday morning, 8:00 A.M.-10:00 A.M or TBA
N.B. I reserve the
right to alter this schedule as the situation warrants!
Concluding
Comments
If you are a student who has a
physical or learning disability and wish to request accommodations or
services
to support your efforts in this course, you must notify the instructor
and Dan
Quinlin in the CAD by the end of the second week of classes. I would also appreciate it if athletes,
music and forensic and other students who may be missing classes due to
these
activities get a list of the dates of these misses to me by the second
week of
classes. And regardless of the reason
for your missing, you will be responsible for whatever is covered on
the day
that is missed.
Note
well that if there are too many misses, you might not be able to stay
in this
course! Indeed as you approach 25%
misses, you may be administratively dropped, or if you reach 25% misses
you may
be failed in the course regardless of your performance in other areas
of the
class. Please ask questions regarding
the justification for this policy if it is unclear to you!
If
ever you have any questions, please do not hesitate to either see me
during
scheduled office hours or by appointment, or to call me at the office
or at
home. Office: KSC 104. Office Phone:
x292. Office Hours: MWF -
10-10:50am;MW-3-3:50pm; M-4-5pm; TTH - 4-5 pm
Home: 925
Emmaline Ave., Newton. Home Phone:
283-8135.
One
other thing: Students are expected to
check their e-mail on a regular basis; it is to your advantage to do so
and to
your disadvantage not to do so! Here's
to a good course.
Paul T.
Lewis, Instructor
Notes: