Course Syllabus

Philosophy 101 - Introduction to Philosophy

Fall 2012

Instructor: Tim Linnemann

206-919-6934

Course Description: The field of philosophy is diverse and unique. If we consider philosophy in the most general sense of the word, it refers to the study of two basic questions: how should we think and how should we act. Thus, its domain includes subjects pertinent to every area of study in the sciences and in the arts and humanities. You will not find a field with a wider scope of application, but it would be a mistake to consider philosophy as a substitute. Philosophy is at its best when it serves as handmaiden to other subjects – in particular, philosophy has much to offer to anyone who, in the course of their studies, engages in any degree of theorizing. Being one of the most challenging and rigorous theoretical fields, studying philosophy is a great way to sharpen your analytic tools (and maybe develop some new ones!) no matter what area you plan to specialize in or what shape your life takes.

Philosophy can also be considered in a more narrow way when it is defined in terms of the tradition of western analytic philosophy. The material in this course will be limited to work done in this tradition. This is an academic tradition that begins with the Pre-Socratics in ancient Greece, follows work done in Europe up through the 17^th-19^th Centuries, and has had its modern manifestation in the 20^th and 21^st Centuries by thinkers predominantly from Britain, the United States, and Australia (although other French, German, and Russian philosophers are still very much a part of the discussion). Analytic philosophy is characterized by more formal and rigorous intellectual standards, but there is a lot of creative diversity within the field and it would be a huge mistake to take the style as evidence of a dogmatic, close-minded attitude.

Philosophy is also sensibly understood as a distinct methodology. Philosophical inquiry values robust argumentation and the dialectical interactions of competing positions. Many disciplines hold intellectual diversity and even conflict as an academic virtue. But in philosophy this is not just a stated value – it is embodied in the style of intellectual engagement philosophy is conducted in. This class intends to familiarize you with the critical environment that is the philosopher’s natural habitat. This can be at times uncomfortable and can even appear threatening, but with practice and some useful tools the format of philosophical debate can be exciting, productive, and at its most ideal, a dynamic place for growth and a powerful expression of mutual respect.

Text: All readings will be available electronically. I will be emailing attachments with the reading selections which you can then print at your discretion.

Objectives & Outcomes: The two main goals of this course are to inspire a philosophical imagination and to provide you with a strong foundation of analytic tools. In pursuit of the first objective, we will be traveling through a wide range of philosophical topics, styles, and historical periods. A fully comprehensive representation of the field of philosophy is impossible, but we will be trying to take as broad a look as we can. In regards to the second objective, the goal is to give you confidence in both reading comprehension and intellectual expression. Philosophy has some of the most challenging academic texts to sort through and we’ll be working to develop strategies for getting the most out of these readings as we can. Philosophy is also quite intimidating to actually do yourself. We will be taking time out of our reading schedule throughout the semester to help give you some guidance in how to write careful, organized, and clear argumentative papers. Articulating thoughts effectively is certainly a skill and the writing elements of this class are primarily designed to develop it. Finally, class discussion is something that should help with all of these objectives and participation is strongly encouraged; we can learn from each other as well as from the philosophers we will be reading.

Grading: Class Participation/Attendance 20% (see note below!)

Journal Entries 20%

Writing Assignments (4) 50% (10% apiece)

Reading Comments 20%

Journal Entries: Each week you will be asked to write a short 1-2 page response on the topic being discussed during class the previous week. The journals are intended to be a forum for you to explore your ideas regarding the issues under consideration and have some practice in articulating them in an argumentative style. You will also be expected to include a short summary of the ideas you are responding to, so the journals will also help you get practice at quickly and accurately explaining the ideas of others. These are less formal then the writing assignments and will be graded only on a simple plus/check/minus system. Journals are due at the start of class on Fridays, and I will have them returned to you by the following Monday. I am willing to comment on journal entries if students are interested – however, I will refrain unless requested to do so. If you would like feedback, just make a note at the top of the journal and I’ll be happy to share my thoughts.

Writing Assignments: The writing assignments will be the primary place in which you will practice philosophical writing. Special classes will help prepare you for the assignment. The first assignment will actually not require you to write a full paper. Instead, you will be instructed to compose a detailed outline. Writing a good philosophy paper requires careful preparation and organization and this assignment serves to emphasize this. The second will ask you to compose a draft of the paper you outlined in the first assignment. If you find out you don’t like your original topic, you may change topics at this point. The third assignment will involve reading one of the papers of your classmates from the second assignment and writing a critical response to it. Finally, in the fourth assignment you will revise your paper to accommodate criticisms – both from the responses in the third assignment but also drawing from ideas outside of that source. Even in its written form philosophy is still a dialogue!

Class Participation: I am making participation part of your final grade to emphasize the importance of philosophic engagement in its social dimension. I will be striving to create a classroom atmosphere where these debates can be pursued productively and comfortably, but I will need your help in realizing this project. Three things will be of particular advantage: mutual respect as a standard for discussion, careful listening, and critical engagement.

For our purposes, respect must not be a conclusion, but rather a premise. Disrespectful engagement is unprofessional and unphilosophical regardless of whether it is offensive. As an example, to consider a certain line of thinking is indicative of a lack of intelligence does nothing to provide a reasonable argument for why we should consider such reasoning philosophically problematic. The disrespectful attitude does nothing to add to the debate (whatever else it does contribute).

Careful listening and critical engagement are very closely connected. To properly respond to an idea, one must first understand it as thoroughly as possible. But just understanding the point of someone’s idea is also not enough – we must analyze its virtues and deficiencies. Our discussions will always be oriented toward gauging the strength of proposed ideas, and in as much as we will contribute ideas of our own, we will be assessing how well our attempts fare as well. When engaging in this way with one another an open audience is as crucial as a critically invested audience – respect helps prepare us for both.

Finally, back by popular demand, if you have 8 or more absences you will automatically fail the course! A lot of this course happens in the classroom, and you’ve got to show up!

Reading Comments: These assignments will be composed of at least 3 questions/comments you have prepared for class discussion after completing the reading for the week. They will be due whenever there is a new reading we are going to discuss in class (at the start of that class). These do not need to be extensively explained, but they should be pursued thoughtfully. Nor is it required that you actually share these contributions in class discussion, but the hope is that in doing these short assignments as you work through the reading, you may find it easier to make contributions in our class discussions.

Student academic conduct: The principle of academic honesty underlies all that we do and applies to all courses at Bellevue College. One kind of academic dishonesty is plagiarism, which may take many forms, including, but not limited to, using a paper written by someone else, using printed sources word-for-word without proper documentation, and paraphrasing or summarizing the ideas of others without acknowledging the source. Plagiarism can also occur when non-written ideas are taken without documentation--using someone else's design or performance idea, for example. In short, plagiarism is passing off someone else's ideas, words, or images as your own; it amounts to intellectual theft--whether or not it was your intention to steal. Bellevue College instructors have access to commercial plagiarism detection software, so please be advised that any work you submit may be tested for plagiarism.

Participating in academic dishonesty in any way, including writing a paper or taking a test for someone else, may result in severe penalties. Dishonestly produced papers automatically receive a grade of "F" without the possibility of make-up. The Dean of Student Services will also be notified of such conduct, and repetition of the behavior will result in progressively more serious disciplinary action (for example, an instructor may recommend that the student fail the course for a second offense or even that a student be expelled for a serious offense, such as stealing an exam).

Grades lowered for plagiarism or other forms of dishonesty may be appealed through the regular channels, and any further disciplinary action taken by the Dean may also be appealed through existing processes.

Information about Bellevue College's copyright guidelines can be found at: http://bellevuecollege.edu/lmc/links/copyright.html

Topics and Reading Assignments

Introduction to the Course

Syllabus

The Code of Intellectual Conduct

Selections from Trungpa

Philosophical Propaganda

Plato - The Republic Book VII

Russell - ‘The Value of Philosophy’

Metaphysics

Personal Identity

John Perry - "A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality"

Derek Parfit - “Personal Identity”

1^st Class on Writing

Epistemology

Foundations for Knowledge

1st Class on Writing

Plato - Theatatus (selections)

Skepticism

Descartes – Meditations on First Philosophy (selections)

Hume - Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (selections)

More Metaphysics

The World

Goodman - Ways of Worldmaking

Bernard Williams - ‘The End of Explanation’

The World…and Science

2^nd Class on Writing

Mumford - ‘Metaphysics’

2^nd Class on Writing

Philosophy of Language

Wittgenstein - Philosophical Investigations (selections)

Ethics (possibly to be revised)

Moral Relativism

Williams - Morality (selections)

Existentialism

Nietzsche - The Gay Science (selections)

Moral Realism

Falk – ‘Moral Perplexity’