PHL 107-K: Critical and Historical Introduction to Philosophy

Spring 2011              Tu Th 11:00 am–12:15 pm       Prof. Stephens
DHHC 301

office hours:  Tues. Thurs. 12:50 to 3 pm and by appointment

office: DHHC 116       phone (with voicemail): 280-2632      email: stphns at creighton dot edu

This course is an introduction to philosophy through the reading of a variety of original texts in the history of Western thought, the practice of good (logical) reasoning, and open, critical discussion.  We will study all of three short Platonic dialogues.  These selections contain an argument that everyone desires the apparent good, an argument for the immortality and reincarnation of the human soul, an argument that virtue is knowledge and so it is teachable, and an argument that virtue is not teachable.  We will also read about Socrates’ divine mission, his belief that no harm befalls a good person, his reasons for believing that the unexamined life is not worth living, and his argument for not fearing death.  Then we will study Epicurus’ philosophy according to which the good is pleasure, his arguments that death is not to be feared, and his reasons for thinking that it’s fairly easy to live happily.  From the medieval period we will examine a couple of Augustine’s arguments for the immortality of the human soul.  Then in close detail we will work through the 18th century philosopher David Hume’s short but dense essay on the soul. Interspersed with these readings will be several chapters from the 20th century metaphysician Richard Taylor on persons and bodies, mind-body interactionism, fate, and what makes life meaningful.

Required Texts

• Lewis Vaughn, “How to Read Philosophy” and “How to Read an Argument” from Writing Philosophy: A Student’s Guide to Writing Philosophy Essays (Oxford Univ. Press, 2006)
• Plato, Five Dialogues (Grube tr./Cooper rev., Hackett, 2nd ed. 2002) ISBN 0-87220-633-5
• Epicurus, The Epicurus Reader (Inwood & Gerson trans., Hackett, 1994) ISBN 0-87220-241-0
• Augustine, “On the Immortality of the Soul”
• David Hume, “Of the Immortality of the Soul”
• Richard Taylor, Metaphysics (Prentice Hall, 4th ed., 1992) ISBN 0-13-567819-6

Internet Resources Augustine, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Dualism, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Epicurus, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Epicurus, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Fatalism, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy David Hume’s Writings on Religion,Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy David Hume on Miracles Physicalism, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Plato, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Thomas Nagel, “Death” from Mortal Questions

Requirements* and Course Grade Calculations

• Extreme lack of clarity or lack of coherence of argument or expression of thought.
• Disregard for the requirements of the assignment.
• Irrelevant use or failure to use relevant course readings.
• Submission of another’s words or thoughts as if they were your own, whether in the form of plagiarism or failure to acknowledge the source of an idea.
• Very poor class attendance with no participation in discussions.

D    “Work of inferior quality, but passing” (60 to <68% average)

• Unclarity or incoherence of argument or expression of thought.
• Failure to satisfy the requirements of the assignment.
• Poor or inadequate understanding or use of relevant course readings.
• Improper acknowledgment or citation of the sources of your ideas.
• Poor class attendance with little or no participation in discussions.

C    “Satisfactory work”

• Basic clarity and coherence of argument and expression of thought.
• Satisfaction of the assignment’s basic requirements.
• Fair or adequate understanding of the major views and theories in the relevant course readings and the arguments presented in support of those views and theories.
• Minimally clear and coherent evaluation of the views and arguments in the relevant course readings.
• Minimally proper acknowledgment and citation of the sources of your ideas.
• Generally consistent class attendance with occasional participation in discussions.
• 73 to <78% average for a C+; 68 to <73% average for a C.

B    “Noteworthy level of performance”    Demonstrates all of the qualities of satisfactory work plus:

• Good, above average clarity and coherence of argument and expression of thought.
• Clear, logical organization of the essay’s introduction, body, and conclusion.
•  Clear, detailed, and accurate understanding of the major views and theories in the relevant course readings and of the arguments presented in support of those views
  and theories.
• Good attempt to provide argumentative support for your evaluation of the views, theories, and arguments presented in the relevant course readings.
• Regular, consistent class attendance with regular, good participation in discussions.
• 83 to <88% average for a B+; 78 to <83% average for a B.

A    “Outstanding achievement and an unusual degree of intellectual initiative”  Demonstrates all of the qualities of noteworthy performance plus:

• Excellent, superior clarity and coherence of argument and expression of thought.
• Clear, rigorous, and cogent argumentative support for your evaluation of the views, theories, and arguments presented in the relevant course readings.
• Originality and creativity of interpretation, explanation, argumentation, or criticism. 
• Superior class attendance with consistent, excellent, and thoughtful participation in discussions.  
• 88% average or higher.

Class Participation and Attendance

Regular and punctual class attendance is a necessary but not sufficient condition for a good class participation grade.  Five (5) or more absences (the equivalent of two and a half weeks) will result in an AF (failure due to excessive absence) for this course.  Each absence fewer than five will incrementally lower your class participation grade.  You are responsible for all material discussed and all announcements made in every class. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed.  Being tardy twice counts as one absence.  There are two kinds of activities that count as “participation”: inside of class and outside of class.  Inside of class participation is raising your hand to be called on and making comments about the reading or the discussion, or asking questions about the reading or my lecture, or responding to questions I raise or comments made by other students.  Outside of class participation includes (a) philosophical conversations with Prof. Stephens outside the classroom, and (b) philosophically substantive posts to the BlueLine Discussion Forum for the course.  You cannot really learn how to do philosophy by merely listening. You also need to actively think out loud orally inside or outside of class and in BlueLine posts.   Both quality and quantity of oral and electronic remarks count; I record both.  Since we will be closely attending to the readings in our class discussions, it is important that every day you bring to class your book containing or photocopy of that day’s reading assignment.

A necessary condition for a class absence being counted as excused due to illness (or emergency) is email notification or phone call to (402) 280-2632 informing Prof. Stephens BEFORE class begins (at 11:00 am) the day of the absence.  Ordinarily, email (or telephone) notification of illness (or emergency) preventing a student from attending class, given prior to that class, is also sufficient for that absence to count as excused.  But this is ultimately up to the discretion of Prof. Stephens.

Electronic Devices

Our classroom is a community of thinkers cooperating in face to face philosophical inquiry.  Consequently, the two-fold purpose of being in class is (1) to listen to and think about what Prof. Stephens and your classmates say and (2) to orally participate in the discussion.  Taking notes on paper during class is very strongly recommended.  Laptop computers and Ipads are only permitted to be used in the classroom for taking notes.  Students caught using any electronic device in class for any other purpose lose the privilege of using any electronic device in the classroom.  Cell phones must be stored away and kept off at all times during class.

Quizlets

To encourage you to do the assigned reading faithfully before each and every class (and to encourage punctual attendance), Prof. Stephens will sometimes, without prior announcement, at the beginning of class, give a small “pop” quiz on the reading assignment called a quizlet.  Quizlets tend to contain approximately ten true/false items.  Sometimes quizlets have an extra credit question.  If you are late to class or absent, then you miss the quizlet, get a zero for it, and cannot retake it.  Boosting your oral participation in class is the best way to compensate for missing a quizlet.  Occasionally Prof. Stephens rewards students for bringing their books to class by giving an open-book quizlet.  Your scores on quizlets figure into your class participation grade.

Academic Honesty Statement

Keep in Contact with the Instructor throughout the Course

The take-home final exam essay is DUE at 9:00 am on TUESDAY, May 3. Late exam essays will be penalized 20 points (equivalent to two letter grades) per every period of between 1 and 60 minutes late.  For example, an exam essay submitted between 9:01 and 9:59 am = -20 pts., between 10:01 and 10:59 am = -40 pts., and so on. LOCATION:  Deliver essays under Prof. Stephens’ office door, DHHC Room 116. RESOURCES:  Use any books and your class notes as you like.  Provide full, proper citations to all works cited.

LENGTH:  1600 words absolute MAXIMUM. 1300 words MINIMUM.  The quality of the essay is not necessarily improved by increasing its length.
FORMAT:  Neatly typed, single-spaced, pages numbered, your five digit Net ID NUMBER at the top right corner of every page, the exact WORD COUNT at the top left corner of the first page.  A title is optional.  Do not put your name or initials on the exam.
Click here for the CONTENT and PARAMETERS of the Take-home Final Exam assignment.

*Prof. Stephens reserves the right, at his discretion, to make minor changes to this syllabus during the course including due dates, assignments, and requirements.

last updated 26 April 2011
Copyright © 2011 William O. Stephens