Philosophy of the Human Person (Phil 115)

Philosophy of the Human Person (Phil 115)

Professor Michael Rota Office Hours:

Office: John Roach Center, 233 Monday 9:40—10:30

Office phone: 651 962-5392 Monday 3:30—4:30

Home phone: 651 698-3326 (Not after 9 pm.) Wednesday 9:40—10:30

Email: and by appointment

Course Description:

This introductory philosophy course is focused on what is sometimes called philosophical anthropology, which is the philosophical study of human beings and their nature. Since it is likely to be your first philosophy course, however, we will begin with a brief section on logic, the sub-discipline of philosophy devoted to general principles of reasoning and argumentation.

Next, after a brief introduction to the nature and method of philosophy, we will examine several issues grouped under the heading “The Human Condition.” We will discuss (i) various threats to human fulfillment and (ii) the purpose (or meaning) of human life. Since questions about the purpose of human life might be answered quite differently depending on whether or not God exists, we will engage in a brief exploration of philosophical arguments concerning the existence of God.

Finally, we will take up several issues which lie at the core of philosophical anthropology. In this—the “Human Nature” section of the course—we will consider various philosophical views and arguments relating to the following questions: Is a human person simply a complicated material object, or is there an immaterial component to the human person? What do philosophers mean by “intellect” and “will”, and how do the faculties of intellect and will relate to the emotions? And lastly, do human beings have freedom of choice, or are all their choices ultimately settled by things outside their control?

Required Texts:

(1)  A Rulebook for Arguments, Anthony Weston, 3rd edition

(2)  Minds, Brains, and Science, John Searle

(3)  Making Sense of It All: Pascal and the Meaning of Life, Thomas V. Morris

(4) The Last Days of Socrates, Plato

(5) Occasional articles (to be photo-copied or printed off the web by you)

a) Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, available at

http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/allegory.html

b) Selection from The Lord of the Flies, William Golding (on reserve)

c) “The New Slavery,” Kevin Bales (on reserve)

d) Summa theologiae, St. Thomas Aquinas, available at

http://www.newadvent.org/summa/

e) The Blank Slate, ch. 18, Steven Pinker (on reserve)

Assignments & Grading:

Quizes and Homework 25%

Logic test 10%

Paper #1 20%

Paper #2 20%

Final Exam 25%

Class Participation and Effort Borderline grades

Final: The final will be cumulative, so take good notes from day one.

Level of difficulty: In calibrating the difficulty of my grading, I bear in mind the philosophy department’s expectation that “the GPA in a typical non-honors section of a philosophy core course will not exceed a straight B (2.85 - 3.15)." I aim for an average GPA of 3.0 or slightly lower in a typical course.

Grading scale: A 93% and up

A- 90 up to 93

B+ 87 up to 90

B 83 up to 87

B- 80 up to 83

C+ 77 up to 80

C 73 up to 77

C- 70 up to 73

D+ 67 up to 70

D 63 up to 67

D- 60 up to 63

F below 60

Note:

1.  I encourage you to ask questions in class and to speak up regarding the issues we are discussing. It is not possible for you to lower your grade by participating in class in these ways – it can only help!

2.  Attendance is mandatory. Starting with your third absence, each unexcused absence will lower your course grade 2 percentage points. For example, if you miss 4 classes total, and your course grade would have been a 90% (A-), you’ll get an 86% (B) instead. I determine whether or not an absence counts as excused. If you know you are going to miss a particular class day, contact me so I can determine beforehand if the absence will count as excused or not.

3.  Sometime within the first three weeks of class, I would like each of you to come by my office hours or make an appointment to have a brief meeting with me. In addition, you should always feel free to come to office hours or make an appointment if you have any questions relating to the course or the material we’re covering.

4.  This syllabus is subject to change in accordance with the needs of the course.

5. I will punish plagiarism, cheating and other forms of academic dishonesty to the maximum extent allowed by the university. It is your responsibility to learn and understand what counts as academic dishonesty. The “Disciplinary Rights and Procedures” section of the Undergraduate Student Policy Book contains relevant information on this score. The Undergraduate Student Policy Book can be found online at http://www.stthomas.edu/policies/student_policy_book/default.asp

6. Classroom accommodations will be provided for qualified students with documented disabilities. Students are invited to contact the Enhancement Program – Disability Services about accommodations for this course within the first two weeks of the term. Telephone appointments are available to students as needed. Appointments can be made by calling 651-962-6315 or 800-328-6819, extension 6315. You may also make an appointment in person in O’Shaughnessy Educational Center, room 119. For further information, you can locate the Enhancement Program on the web at http://www.stthomas.edu/enhancementprog/

SCHEDULE

DATE TOPIC READING

PART I LOGIC AND INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY

M 1/30 Introduction to the course

W 2/1 Logic Weston, Chs I-V

F 2/3 Logic

M 2/6 Logic Weston, Ch. VI

W 2/8 Logic Weston, Ch. X, Appendix

F 2/10 Logic Plato, Apology

M 2/13 Logic test

W 2/15 Introduction to philosophy Plato, Euthyprho

F 2/17 The allegory of the cave Plato, Allegory

PART II THE HUMAN CONDITION

M 2/20 The enemy within Lord of the Flies

W 2/22 Man’s inhumanity to man The New Slavery

F 2/24 Depersonalization and the consumer society

M 2/27 Ultimate questions Morris, chs 1-3

W 3/1 God and the meaning of life Morris, ch. 4

F 3/3 Skepticism and epistemology Morris, ch. 5

M 3/6 Skepticism, epistemology, and religious belief Morris, ch. 6

W 3/8 Divine hiddenness and Pascal’s wager Morris, ch. 7

F 3/10 Pascal’s wager Morris, ch. 8

M 3/13 Interlude: writing argumentative papers

W 3/15 Theistic argumentation—The cosmological argument

F 3/17 Theistic argumentation—Swinburne’s cumulative case argument

M 3/20 NO CLASS (Mid-term break)

W 3/22 NO CLASS (Mid-term break)

F 3/24 NO CLASS (Mid-term break)

M 3/27 Theistic argumentation—Swinburne’s cumulative case argument

PART III HUMAN NATURE

W 3/29 The metaphysical status of human beings

F 3/31 The metaphysical status of human beings First paper due

M 4/3 Arguments for materialism Searle, ch. 1

W 4/5 Arguments for materialism; The Chinese room Searle, ch. 2

F 4/7 Arguments against materialism—consciousness

M 4/10 Arguments against materialism—free will

W 4/12 Introduction to St. Thomas

F 4/14 NO CLASS (Easter break)

M 4/17 NO CLASS (Easter break)

W 4/19 Thomistic philosophy of nature

F 4/21 Thomistic philosophy of nature ST I.75.1-2

M 4/24 Aquinas on the soul ST I.75.4-6, I.76.1

W 4/26 Aquinas on intellect and will

F 4/28 Aquinas on the passions ST I-II.24.1, ST I-II.38-39,

ST I-II.59.2

M 5/1 Aquinas on the virtues Second paper due ST I-II.61.2-3

W 5/3 Freedom—Searle Searle, ch. 6

F 5/5 Freedom—medieval views ST I.82.1-2, I.83.1

M 5/8 The four temperaments

W 5/10 Gender differences: nature or nurture? Pinker, pp. 337-358

F 5/12 Review for final

Final exam schedule Date and time of final

MWF 10:55 course……………………………………….Tuesday 5/16, 10:30-12:30

MWF 12:15 course……………………………………….Friday 5/19, 8:00-10:00am

MWF 1:35 course………………………………………...Wednesday 5/17, 10:30-12:30