PHL 107-F

PHL 107-F: Critical and Historical Introduction to Philosophy

Fall 2009 M W F 12:30–1:20 pm Prof. Stephens
Humanities Center 308

office hours: M W 1:25–2:45 pm, F 1:25–2:30 pm, and by appointment

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

Course Description

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
Physicalism, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Plato, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Thomas Nagel, “Death” from Mortal Questions

Requirements* and Course Grade Calculations

1. Quizlets and class participation	15%
2. Quiz on logic	7%
3. Exam #1 on Meno and Taylor Intro., Chapters 1 and 2	16%
4. Exam #2 on Apology, Crito, and Epicurus	17%

5. Exam #3 on Augustine & Hume	18%
6. Quiz on Taylor Chapters 3, 4, and 6	9%
7. Take-home Final Exam	18%

Standards of Evaluation for Letter Grades

F “Failure – no credit” (<60% average)

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 <70% 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.
77 to <80% average for a C+; 70 to <77% 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.
87 to <90% average for a B+; 80 to <87% 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.
90% average or above.

Class Participation and Attendance

Regular and punctual class attendance is a necessary but not sufficient condition for a good class participation grade. Six (6) or more absences (the equivalent of two weeks) will result in an AF (failure due to excessive absence) for this course. Each absence fewer than six 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) face-to-face (or telephonic) philosophical conversations with Prof. Stephens outside the classroom, whether in his office, in the hallway, or anywhere else, and (b) philosophically substantive electronic messages, e.g. emails to Prof. Stephens or posts (or replies) in 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 written electronic messages. 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 everyday you bring to class your book containing that day’s reading assignment.

In the event of disruption of normal classroom activities due to an H1N1 flu outbreak, the format for this course may be modified to enable completion of the course. In that event, you will be provided an addendum to this syllabus that will supersede this version. Moreover, in the event of an H1N1 flu outbreak, you will be granted up to 3 days of missed class attendance without a doctor’s note so long as you inform Prof. Stephens immediately when you become ill. If you miss more than 3 class days, you must provide a doctor’s excuse.

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. Use of electronic devices in class is PROHIBITED. These devices include laptop computers, handheld computers, iPods, Blackberries, cameras, audio recorders, cell phones, and similar devices. If you choose to bring such devices to the classroom, they must be stored away and kept off 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

If you plagiarize any part of a written assignment, then you will receive an F for that assignment. Students are required to produce their own original work in their assignments, including all ideas, arguments, and sentences. Students may NOT work with others, and may NOT borrow from others, when writing the sentences of their assignments. However, students are encouraged to discuss ideas pertaining to their papers with other students in the course and with other people not taking the course. Cheating will be punished with at minimum an F (zero) on that assignment. In cases of cheating Prof. Stephens judges to be flagrant, the punishment is an F for the course. See the Creighton College of Arts & Sciences Academic Honesty Procedures.

Keep in Contact with the Instructor throughout the Course

If you have any problem that hinders you from attending class, doing the assigned reading, studying for the exams, or completing your assignments, please come see Prof. Stephens or call him or send him e-mail or leave him a note in his mailbox or under his office door. Whatever happens, it is your responsibility to keep in contact with Prof. Stephens.

Schedule of Assignments*

Aug. 26	Introduction to philosophy, argument, and logic
Aug. 28	logic; read Lewis Vaughn, “How to Read Philosophy” and “How to Read an Argument”
Aug. 31	logic
Sept. 2	more logic
Sept. 4	Quiz on logic
Sept. 7	Labor Day – no class
Sept. 9	Mass of the Holy Spirit – no class
Sept. 11	Cooper’s intro. (pp.58–59) and Meno 70a–78c (pp.59–68)
Sept. 14	Plato, Meno 78c to 81e (pp.68–71)
Sept. 16	Plato, Meno 82a to 89e (pp.72–82)
Sept. 18	Plato, Meno 89e to end (pp.82–92)
Sept. 21	Taylor, Introduction and Ch. 1: The Need for Metaphysics (pp.1–8)
Sept. 23	Taylor, Ch. 2: Persons and Bodies (pp.9–17) Review Guide for Exam #1
Sept. 25	Exam #1 (Meno and Taylor, Intro. through Ch. 2)
Sept. 28	Plato, Introduction and Apology 17a to 30b (pp.21–34)
Sept. 30	Plato, Apology 30c to end (continued)
Oct. 2	Plato, Apology (continued)
Oct. 5	Plato, Apology 36c to end (p.40–44)
Oct. 7	Plato, Introduction and Crito (pp.45–57)
Oct. 9	Plato, finish Crito
Oct. 12	Epicurus, The Epicurus Reader: Intro. (p.vii–xv), Text 1: The Life of Epicurus, Text 2: the Letter to Herodotus (pp.3–19), and
	Text 4: the Letter to Menoeceus, (pp.28-31)
Oct. 14	Epicurus, Text 5: The Principal Doctrines, Text 6: The Vatican Sayings (pp.32–40) Review Guide for Exam #2
Oct. 16	Exam #2 (Apology, Crito, and Epicurus)
FALL RECESS
Oct. 26	Augustine, “On the Immortality of the Soul”
Oct. 28	Augustine concluded
Oct. 30	David Hume, “Of the Immortality of the Soul” (metaphysical arguments)
Nov. 2	Hume (cont’d) (metaphysical arguments); for fun read Thomas Nagel, “Death” from Mortal Questions
Nov. 4	Hume (cont’d) (moral arguments)
Nov. 6	Hume (cont’d) (moral arguments)
Nov. 9	Hume (cont’d) (moral arguments)
Nov. 11	Hume (cont’d) (finish moral arguments and begin physical arguments)
Nov. 13	Hume (cont’d) (physical arguments)
Nov. 16	Hume (physical arguments) concluded Review Guide for Exam on Augustine and Hume
Nov. 18	Exam #3 (on Augustine and Hume)
Nov. 20	Taylor, Ch. 3: Interactionism (pp.18–24)
Nov. 23	Taylor, Ch. 4: The Mind as a Function of the Body (pp.25–34)
	Thanksgiving Recess
Nov. 30	finish Taylor, Ch. 4; begin Taylor, Ch.6: Fate (pp.54–67)
Dec. 2	Ch.6: Fate (cont’d) Review Guide for Taylor Chs. 3, 4, and 6 (ignore 13)
Dec. 4	Quiz on Taylor Chapters 3, 4, and 6
Dec. 7	Taylor, Ch.13: Metaphysics and Meaning (pp.131–141)
Dec. 9	Taylor, Ch. 13 (cont’d)
Dec. 11	Last class

The somewhat comprehensive take-home final exam is DUE at 9:00 am on TUESDAY, December 15.
Late exams will be penalized 20 points (equivalent to two letter grades) per every period of between 1 and 60 minutes late.
For example, an exam submitted between 9:01 and 9:59 am = -20 pts., between 10:01 and 10:59 am = -40 pts., and so on.
LOCATION: Deliver exams under Prof. Stephens’ office door, D. H. Humanities Center 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 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 of the Take-home Final Exam assignment.

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