Course Syllabus

Introduction to Philosophy

Instructor: Charles Wallis	Office Phone:

Office:	E-mail: cwallis1 @ mediaone.net

Office Hours: MW 12:30-1:30

Web Site: http :// people.we.mediaone.net / cwallis / phil100 / phil100 . htm

Books

John Perry and Michael Bratman (ed.) Introduction to Philosophy: Classic and Contemporary Readings

Reading and Other Assignments

WK 1 General Introduction to Course

Readings: "The Value of Philosophy", "The Province of Philosophy", "The Absurd" pp. 2-21

WK 2 What is Philosophy?

Readings: "The Value of Philosophy", "The Province of Philosophy", "The Absurd" pp. 2-21

Doings: Monday September 6th, no class due to labor day holiday

WK 3 Reason and Religion: Good and Evil

Readings: Introduction, "The Ontological Argument"(pp.39-40), "The Existence of God Proven" (pp.41-2),

"God, Evil, and the Best of all Possible Worlds" (pp.29-30), "Must God Create the Best?" (pp. 31-38)

WK 4 Reason and Religion: Good and Evil

Readings: "Why I am not a Theist" (pp. 25-28), "Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion" (pp. 43-77)

WK 5 First Test

Reason and Religion: Faith and Subjectivity

Readings: "The Wager" (pp.78-81), "Pascal's Wager" (handout)

WK 6 Reason and Religion: Faith and Subjectivity

Readings: "Against Objectivity in Religion",

" Kierkegaard 's Arguments Against Objective Reasoning in Religion" pp. 82-10

WK 7 Knowledge and Reality: Introduction

Readings: "Meditations on First Philosophy" pp.112-136

Doings: Columbus day Monday October 11th

WK 8 Second Test

Knowledge and Reality: Classics in Epistemology

Readings: "Some Further Considerations Concerning Our Simple Ideas of Sensation", "Three Dialogues

Between Hylas and Philonous " pp. 137-173

WK 9 Knowledge and Reality: Classics in Epistemology

Readings: "Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous " pp. 143-173

WK 10 Knowledge and Reality: Classics in Epistemology and Induction

Readings: and "An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding" and

"The Problem of Induction" pp. 189-214, 228-248

WK 11 Mind and Body: Freedom and Determinism

Readings: "Has the Self 'Free Will'"?, "Of Liberty and Necessity," and

"I Could Not Have Done Otherwise--So What?" pp.436-456, 480-488

WK 12 Catch-up or further assignment

Possible Readings: "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" and "Minds, Brains, and Programs" pp. 358-383

WK 13 Test #3 Wednesday December 8th

Course Requirements

Tests: I will base seventy-five percent of your grade upon three tests (twenty-five percent for each test). The first two tests will occur within the first eight weeks of the course. The third test will occur during the last class meeting. I will base the remaining twenty-five percent of the course grade upon twelve short weekly assignments. These assignments will be handed out on the class previous to their due date. I base these assignments upon your readings and the paradoxes listed at the end of your book. Grades for weekly assignments will be on a scale of 1-10.