Two Honors sections of PHIL 1101 will be offered in Fall 2014.
PHIL 1101-001 (Donald Baxter)
The purposes of Philosophy 1101 H are:
- to introduce students to some of the great thinkers and great issues of western philosophy.
- to train students in critical thinking, complex reasoning, and clear, persuasive speaking and writing.
- to promote reason and civil discourse in debates with others.
The course emphasizes that the sort of discussion taught in philosophy classes is an essential way of inquiring into matters of value, and so is important for coming to wise decisions on the personal, political, moral, religious, social, etc. issues faced by everyone in their lives. Topics include God and Religion, Mind, Self, Freedom, Morality, and Ethical Problems. The textbook will be John Cottingham, ed. Western Philosophy: An Anthology, 2nd Edition. Students are strongly encouraged to participate in class discussion, which will takes issues beyond the elementary exposition of non-honors sections.
PHIL 1101-002 (Mitchell Green)
Philosophy is the replacement of intellectual habit with intellectual discipline. One who knows how to philosophize is in possession not so much of a body of knowledge as a skill, namely, the skill to think critically and circumspectly about issues that science alone is unable to settle but that nevertheless daily confront anyone who purports to live an examined life. In that spirit, this course is intended as a general and non-technical introduction to the main traditional problems of metaphysics, ethics, and the theory of knowledge as they are to be found in the writings of historical figures (such as Plato, Descartes, Pascal, Leibniz, Hume, and John Stuart Mill) and contemporary authors. Among our questions will be: Can we be rationally justified in believing in the existence of a divine being? How can the will be free in a world governed by physical law? Is the rightness or wrongness of an act a matter of the conventions of the society in which that act is performed or can morality transcend social norms? Is there a difference in principle between knowledge as it is conveyed by science and beliefs or opinions that we might form in other ways, for instance on the basis of intuition? Is the mind so related to the body that it could survive the latter’s death or are “mind” and “brain” two ways of referring to the same thing? This course is intended for those making a first approach to the subject, either to gain an idea of its scope or in order to lay a foundation for further study.
Prerequisites: None.
Requirements: Two papers, a midterm examination, a final examination, and active participation in discussion.