Syllabus
Making Sense of Ourselves
Philosophy 26
Instructor: Meg Wallace
Syllabus
Office: Caldwell
206B
Office Phone: 919-926-3330
Office Hours: MW 10am-11am
Email: megw@email.unc.edu
Course Webpage: http://www.unc.edu/~megw/Phil26S06.html
Where: Caldwell 103
When: MWF 9:00-9:50 am
Texts
Plato, The Trial and
Death of Socrates (trans., Grube)
Dostoyevsky, The Grand
Inquisitor
Nietzsche, On the
Genealogy of Morals
Descartes, Meditations
on First Philosophy
Perry, A Dialogue On
Personal Identity
Plato, The Symposium
All of the above texts should be available in the student
book store. Other readings will become available throughout the
duration of the
course, and will be posted on my website.
Course Description
Philosophy 26 is an introductory course designed to deal
with fundamental philosophical questions that help us understand
ourselves and
the world around us. This section will be divided into four main
topics: The
Existence of God, Knowledge and Skepticism, Personal Identity, and Love. Below is a brief description of each
section.
In Section I, The
Existence of God, we will examine various arguments for the
existence (or
non-existence) of God. This will include investigating such questions
as: Must
there have been a first cause or creator of the universe? Does a world
that
seems to exhibit order (such as ours) indicate or admit of an
intelligent
designer? Is the concept of God alone
enough to prove his existence? We will also discuss the difficulty of
believing
that God exists while simultaneously admitting that there is evil in
the world,
as well as considering whether (and how) the existence of God and
morality are
connected.
In section II, Knowledge
and Skepticism, we will be grappling with such questions as: what
exactly
do we know, and how do we know it? To illustrate, it seems that we are
all
pretty sure that we are here in this room right now, reading the
syllabus. But
what proof, the skeptic might ask, do can we offer to show that we
aren’t
dreaming, hallucinating, or being deceived by an evil demon? In light
of such a
challenge, we will then explore different ways of responding to the
skeptic.
In section III, Personal
Identity, The Mind-Body Problem,
and Identity Over Time, one of the topics we will try to
understand is what it is
that makes the same person
over time. For example, we are fairly certain that a little boy at 2
could age
and change into an old man of 90. But what is it that makes him the same person? All of his cells could have
changed and transformed and been replaced, his memory may have
declined, and he
may not even recognize himself if given a picture of himself as a
little boy.
But many of us would still be inclined to think that, nonetheless, the
old man
is the same person as the little boy. We will explore how this could be
so, and
why.
Finally, in Section IV, Love,
we will read Plato’s Symposium and discuss various different
conceptions of
what love is. (This section will be more developed depending on how
pressed we
are for time at the end of the semester.)
Course Requirements
(i) 3 Papers
There will be 3 short paper assignments, one on each of
the first 3 sections. They must be turned in on the due dates on the reading schedule. Papers will be
expected to be approximately 3-5 pages in length.
(ii) 1 Final
There will 1 final at the end of the semester. It will cover all four
sections and will be in short answer/essay format. Date: TBA.
(iii) Participation
You are expected to read the assignments, think carefully
about the readings, and come to class prepared. Part of what makes
philosophy
so engaging is being able to discuss various views with others. My hope
is that
this course will provide you with a forum where such discussion can
take place.
Thus a small part of your grade will be allotted for participation,
which
includes coming to class, taking part in class discussions, turning in
class
assignments, coming to office hours, etc.
Grades
Your final grade in this course will be broken down as
follows:
First Paper
25%
Second Paper
25%
Third Paper
25%
Final
20%
Participation
5%
General Advice
Philosophy is oftentimes difficult. You may find
that you
need to read an article several times before you even have a sense of
what the
article is about. Please don’t get frustrated—you’ll discover that
having
patience and working through such arduous material will be incredibly
rewarding. However, chances are that even reading and re-reading the
material
will not be enough. That is why I encourage every single one of you to
see me in
my office hours whenever you feel you need the extra help. I have two
hours a
week specifically allotted for meeting with students, but feel free to
make an
appointment with me if another time would be more convenient. Also, I
am open
to having group meetings or study sessions outside of class time
whenever you
feel such a meeting would be beneficial (I have in mind here
review-like
sessions prior to a paper due date, but I leave it to you to decide
when you
might be in need of such sessions).
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Page Last Updated: Jan. 19, 2006