Suffolk County Community College, Grant Campus Department of Communications and Arts

PL11: ISSUES IN PHILOSOPHY

Prof. Marc R. Fellenz

/

PL11-6661, Spring 2005

Email:
/ Office:
Sagtikos 110, 851-6539
Mailbox: Sagtikos 201 / Office hours:
ú  M/F: 12:30-1:45
ú  T/Th: 12:30-1:45, 5:00-6:00
ú  W: by appointment

I. COURSE OUTLINE

§  Course Objectives: Through historical and critical analyses, the student will:

ú  get a sense of the history of Western philosophy, and the fundamental issues it has dealt with;

ú  learn the principal ideas of some of the major figures in the tradition;

ú  understand the systematic nature of philosophical thinking;

ú  develop the basic skills of critical analysis.

§  Texts:

ú  Steven M. Cahn, Classics of Western Philosophy, 6th edition (required).

ú  Donald Palmer, Looking at Philosophy (recommended).

§  Requirements:

ú  Attendance: Since the material for all assignments and exams will come primarily from class lecture and discussion, attendance is extremely important. You will be withdrawn if you have more than two unexcused absences; if you are not passing at the time you last attended you will receive an F for the class.

ú  Assignments (51% of the final grade): These include three 4-page papers. These assignments will challenge you to form positions concerning the readings and lectures. They will not test your ability to summarize or recall the material covered in class, nor are they research projects. Clarity and originality of thought, quality of argument and writing will be the criteria for grading the assignments. They must be typed, and will not be accepted after their designated due dates.

ú  Exams (each worth 15% of the final grade): There will be midterm and final exams. They will be in-class, essaystyle exams that will test your comprehension of the course material.

ú  Class participation (19% of the final grade): This means active participation, including initiating discussion, answering questions, and seeking help (in class, during office hours, or by email). You may also earn credit by participating in Philosophy Club meetings. Mere class attendance does not qualify as participation!

§  Academic honesty:

§  The rise in popularity of the Internet and other electronic research tools has led to an alarming rise in plagiarism. Your work in this and all classes is expected to be your own. Any student caught submitting plagiarized work will receive a failing grade for the assignment, and will be referred for academic discipline.


PL11-6661 Spring 2005

II. SYLLABUS

Dates / Topic / Reading
2/1, 2/8 / Introduction: Opinion, knowledge, and wisdom. The nature of philosophy and its relationship to other activities that attempt to give an account of reality. The fundamental areas of philosophy. The nature of a philosophical system. / Looking at Philosophy:
Introduction
2/15 / Socrates: The search for wisdom. Philosophy vs. mythology. The early Platonic dialogs. The Socratic method of philosophical examination. The value of the examined life. Assignment #1 will be handed out 2/15. / LAP: Chapters 1-2; Classics of Western Philosophy: Apology
2/22, 3/1 / Plato and metaphysics: Is there more to reality than the world around us? Plato and Socrates. The later dialogs. The metaphysical theory of the Forms. Plato's anthropology, epistemology, and ethics. Assignment #1 due 3/1. / LAP: Chapter 2;
CWP: Republic
3/8, 3/15 / Aristotle and ethics: What does it take to be a good person? Aristotle and Plato. Aristotle's critique of the Platonic forms. Aristotle's anthropology and epistemology. The details of Aristotle's ethical philosophy in The Nicomachean Ethics. Assignment #2 will be handed out 3/8. / LAP: Chapter 2;
CWP: Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics.
3/22 / Review of ancient philosophy. Midterm exam.
3/29 / No class.
4/5 / Descartes: The modern revolution. Review of the structure of traditional philosophical systems. Modern science and the quest for certainty. The turn to subjectivity in The Meditations. Assignment #2 due 4/5. / LAP: Chapter 5; CWP: Meditations on First Philosophy
4/12, 4/19 / Kant and epistemology: What do we really know about the world? Modern science and the problems of traditional epistemology. Kant's revaluation of traditional metaphysics. A priori synthetic knowledge and its importance. The “Copernican revolution.” Assignment #3 will be handed out 4/12. / LAP: Chapter 5; CWP: Critique of Pure Reason
4/26, 5/3 / Existentialism: What is the meaning of human existence? The tension between ancient and modern philosophy. Nietzsche and the Twilight of the Idols. Sartre's atheistic existential analysis of human freedom and responsibility. Assignment #3 due 4/26. / LAP: Chapters 6-7; CWP: Twilight of the Idols; Humanism of Existentialism
5/10 / Review of ancient philosophy. Final exam.