philosophy 160 philosophy of human nature哲学160人性哲学

philosophy 160 philosophy of human nature哲学160人性哲学

PHIL160PHILOSOPHYOFHUMANNATURELoyolaMarymountUniversity,Fall2009UniversityHall1218Instructor:Dr.JasonBaehrEmail:jbaehr@lmuWebpage:http://myweb.lmu.edu/jbaehr/Phonenumber:310.338.4486Office:UniversityHall3749Officehours:M/W12-2,F10-11,andbyappointmentI.COURSEOVERVIEWANDGOALSA.Textbooks:PhilosophicalProblems:AnAnnotatedAnthology,secondedition,eds.LaurenceBonJourandAnnBaker.B.WelcometoPHIL160PhilosophyofHumanNature.Thisisanintroductorycourseinphilosophy.Thecourseiscomprisedoffivemainunitseachofwhichrevolvesaroundoneofthefollowingquestions:WHATISPHILOSOPHY?HOWISKNOWLEDGEPOSSIBLE?WHATMAKESYOUYOU?AREYOUFREE?AREYOUYOURBRAIN?Astheabovequestionssuggest,philosophydealswithsomeofthe“deeper”andmorepuzzlingaspectsofhumannatureandexistence.C.Ihopeyou’llgetthefollowingoutofthiscourse:1.Knowledge.Ihopeyou’llacquireaveryfirmgraspofvariousphilosophicalquestionsconcerningknowledgeandreality,howthesequestionshavebeenansweredbyphilosophersthroughouthistory,thereasonsthathavebeengiveninsupportoftheseanswers,andsomeofthestrengthsandweaknessofthesereasons.Ialsohopeyou’llcometograsphowthesequestionsandanswershangtogetherinahistoricalcontext:e.g.howtheviewsandargumentsofeachauthorarerelatedtoandinfluencedbytheviewsandargumentsofotherauthors.2.Skills.Inadditiontobeingasubjectmattertobestudiedandknown,philosophyisalsoanactivity—itissomethingthatpeopledo.AccordinglytherearevariousintellectualskillsassociatedwithphilosophythatIhopeyouwilldevelopandhone.Centralamongtheseistheabilitytoidentifyandevaluateargumentsinsupportofanswerstophilosophicalquestions.Muchofwhatwedointhecoursewillbeaimedathelpingtrainyourmindtoidentifyandunderstandwhatexactlyanauthorisclaiming,whatreasonss/heisofferinginsupportofthisclaim,andwhatthequalityofthesereasonsis.Ialsohopeyou’llsharpenthefollowingskills:theabilitytoreadinacareful,critical,andfairmanner,toreflectpatientlyanddeeply,andtowritewithgreatclarityandprecision.\n1.Personaltransformation.Ihopethecoursewillalsomakeyouamorecuriousandintellectuallyengagedperson.Ihopeyouwillleavethecoursecaringmoredeeplyaboutphilosophicaltruth.Becausewhoyouareandthequalityofyourpersonalcharacterarelargelydeterminedbywhatyoucareabout,Ihopeyouwillleavethecourseadifferentandbetterperson.II.COURSEREQUIREMENTSA.Yourgradeinthiscoursewillbedeterminedonthebasisofthefollowing:weeklyreadingquizzes(130pointsorappx.25%);threeexams(70points,100points,and100pointsorappx.55%total);onepaper(80pointsorappx.15%);andclassparticipation(20pointsorappx.5%).B.Quizzes.Youwillhaveareadingquizona(moreorless)weeklybasis.Thequizzeswillusuallyconsistofsixmultiplechoice,true/false,orfill-in-the-blankquestions.Youwillbeaskedtoanswerfiveofthesixquestions.Yourtwolowestquizscoreswillbedroppedattheendofthesemester.Note:Idonotgivemake-upquizzes—period.Pleasedonotaskmetomakeanyexceptions.Iallowyoutodroptwoquizzesinlightofthefactthatonsomeoccasionyoumayneed(forgoodreasononly)tomissaquiz.Finally,ifyoushowuptoclasslateandthequizhasalreadybeengiven,donotasktomakeitup.C.Exams.Youwillhavetwomidtermexamsandafinalexam.Theexamswillconsistmostlyofacombinationofshort-answerandessayquestions.Approximatelyoneweekbeforeeachexam,youwillbegivenastudyguidethatincludesalonglistofquestions,somecombinationofwhichwillthenappear(inoneformoranother)ontheexamitself.Therefore,ifyoumasterthematerialcoveredonthestudyguides,youshoulddoverywellontheexams.Unlessarrangementshavemadewellinadvance,makeupexamswillnotbegiven.D.Paper.Youwillbeaskedtowriteonepositionpaper(appx.5pages.)ononeofthethreeorsocentraltopicswecoverpriortotheduedateofthepaper(12/7).Thepaperwillaskyoutostakeoutapositionrelativetotheissueinquestion,toargueforit,andtoentertainandrespondtoobjectionstoyourargument.Note:anyformofplagiarismonthisassignment(e.g.,fromthepapersofotherstudents,frombooks,onlineresources,etc.)isabsolutelyprohibited.Iwillbeonthelookoutforallkindsofplagiarismandwilltakeanypossibleorsuspectedcasestotheadministrationoftheuniversity.Thereisnoexcuseforplagiarism,especiallyonanassignmentlikethis.Latepaperswillbedocked10%foreachdaytheyarelate.E.Classparticipation.Yourinvolvementandparticipationisalsoimportanttoyouroverallperformanceinthecourse.Classparticipationispartlyamatterofbeinginclassandbeingthereontime.Attendancewillbecloselymonitored.However,goodattendanceisnotsufficient.Youmustalsorevealinotherwaysthatyouareactivelyengagedwiththematerial(e.g.bycontributinginthoughtfulandinformedwaystoclassdiscussion).III.OTHERITEMSA.Cellphonesandcomputersareprohibited.Yourphonemustbeoffandputawayforthefulldurationofeveryclass.Youarenotpermittedtouseyourlaptopsduringclass.B.Otherexpectationspertainingtoclassroometiquetteareasfollows:1.Gettoclassandbepreparedtostartlistening,takingnotes,etc.,ontime;2.Ifyoucomeinlate,takeaseatquietlyandinthebackoftheroom;3.Listenrespectfullytootherpeopleintheclass;4.Donottalkwhen\nsomeoneelseistalking;5.Onlygetuptousetherestroomorgetadrinkwhenitisgenuinelynecessary;etc.Inshort,justdowhatyoualreadyknowisrespectfulandright.A.AcademicIntegrity.Ihaveextremelystrongviewsandstrictstandardsregardingacademicintegrity,thatis,regardingstudents’engagingtoanyextentinanykindofcheatingorotherformofacademicdishonesty.Inshort,Iwillnottolerateanyofit.Iwillbeonthelookoutforplagiarismandanyotherformofcheatingoracademicdishonesty.IfIdiscoveranyhintofit,Iwillnotoverlookit.YoucanbeassuredthatIwillpursuetheissue,thattheuniversityadministrationwillbenotifiedoftheincident,andthatyouwilljustlypenalized(whichmightinvolveanythingfromimmediatefailureofthecoursetoexpulsionfromtheuniversity).Ifyoudonotknowwhat“counts”asplagiarismorwhatmightconstituteanyotherformofacademicdishonesty,itisyourresponsibilitytoconsultthe“LMUHonorCodeandProcess”sectionoftheStudentHandbookand/orUndergraduateBulletin.Ishallassumethatyouknowwhatiscontainedtherein.B.Disabilitysupport.Fromthe2003-04LMUUndergraduateBulletin:“TheDisabilitySupportServices(DSS)Officeprovidesspecializedassistanceandresourcesthatenablestudentswithdocumentedphysical,learning,and/orpsychologicaldisabilitiestoachievemaximumindependencewhiletheypursuetheireducationalgoals.Studentswithadisabilitythatsubstantiallyimpactstheirabilitytolearnandperformtothebestoftheircapacitymaybeeligibleforavarietyofservices.Tobeeligible,documentationofthedisabilitymustbeprovidedfromanappropriatelicensedprofessional.Torequestaformassistingyouwithprovidingthecompletedocumentationand/orifyourequirefurtherinformation,youmaylocatemoreinformationfromourwebsite:http://www.lmu.edu/dss/,orcontacttheDSSofficeat(310)338-3535”(p.75).C.Holidays.Classwillnotbeheldonthefollowingdates:M9/7LaborDay;F10/16AutumnDay;W11/25andF11/27Thanksgiving.\nIV.COURSESCHEDULEThefollowingscheduleismerelytentativeandislikelytoberevisedatleasttosomeextent.Attendingclassistheonlywaytobesureofwhatisduewhenandwhatwe’llbereadingordiscussingnext.UnitI.Whatisphilosophy?(8/31-9/11)Whatisphilosophy?Whyisitworthstudyingordoing?Readings:articlesfromCh.1byBaker,Plato(Apologyonly),andRussell.UnitII.Howisknowledgepossible?(9/14-10/2)Couldn’tallourbeliefsbemistaken?Whythinkwecantrustoursenses?Whatkindofjustificationisthereforourstandardwaysofknowing?Howcanweknowanythingatall?Readings:articlesfromCh.2byDescartes,Locke,Berkeley,Reid,andBonJour.Exam#1:F10/2UnitIII.Whatmakesyouyou?(10/5-10/16)Howorinvirtueofwhatareyouabletoremainthesamepersonovertimeandthroughvariouschanges?Whatreallymakesyouthepersonyouare?Readings:articlesfromCh.4byLocke,Reid,Williams,andParfit.UnitIV.Areyoufree?(10/19-11/13)Areanyofyouractionsgenuinelyfree?Whatwoulda“genuinelyfree”actionevenbe?Howcanyoubegenuinelyfreeifyourbodyandbrainarepurelyphysicalandthebehaviorofphysicalmatterisalwaysdeterminedbystrictphysicallaws?Canyouractionsbebothdeterminedandfree?Ifso,inwhatsense?Readings:articlesfromCh.4byBlatchford,Hume,Stace,Edwards,Frankfurt,Campbell,Nozick,andKane.Exam#2:F11/13UnitV.Areyouyourbrain?(11/16-12/16)Whatisthenatureofthehumanmindandconsciousness?Isthereanythingtoyourmentalstates“overandabove”thecorrespondingbrainstates?Couldyourthoughts,beliefs,desires,andemotionsjustbestatessystemsofneuronsfiringinyourbrain?Readings:articlesfromCh.3byFoster,Smart,Fodor,Turing,Searle(both),Nagel,andJackson.Paperdue:M12/7Finalexam:W12/16at11AM