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PHILOSOPHY 100 TTH (SPRING 2017) – INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
Instructor: Dr. Ted Stolze
Office: SS-132
Office Phone: 562-860-2451, extension 2774
Office Hours: MW 12:30-1:30pm, TTh 9-9:30am
E-mail:
Webpage: www.cerritos.edu/tstolze
“Courage, the determination not to be overwhelmed by any object, however frightful, enables us to stand up to any fear. Many of our fears are not mere snakes under the carpet. Trouble is a reality in this strange medley of life, dangers lurk within the circumstance of every action, accidents do occur, bad health is an ever-threatening possibility, and death is a stark, grim, and inevitable fact of human experience. Evil and pain in this conundrum of life are close to each of us, and we do both ourselves and our neighbors a great disservice when we attempt to prove that there is nothing in this world of which we should be frightened. These forces that threaten to negate life must be challenged by courage, which is the power of life to affirm itself in spite of life's ambiguities. This requires the exercise of a creative will that enables us to hew a stone of hope from a mountain of despair.”
--Martin Luther King, Jr., The Strength to Love (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2010), pp. 123-124
“There are three words for love in the Greek New Testament. First, there is eros. In Platonic philosophy eros meant the yearning of the soul for the realm of the divine. It has come now to mean a sort of aesthetic or romantic love. Second, there is philia, which means intimate affection between personal friends. Philia denotes a sort of reciprocal love; the person loves because he is loved. When we speak of loving those who oppose us, we refer to neither eros nor philia; we speak of a love which is expressed in the Greek word agape. Agape means understanding, redeeming goodwill for all men. It is an overflowing love which is purely spontaneous, unmotivated, groundless, and creative. It is not set in motion by any quality or function of its object. It is the love of God operating in the human heart.
Agape is disinterested love. It is a love in which the individual seeks not his own good, but the good of his neighbor (I Cor. 10:24). Agape does not begin by discriminating between worthy and unworthy people, or any qualities people possess. It begins by loving others for their sakes. It is an entirely ‘neighbor-regarding concern for others,’ which discovers the neighbor in every man it meets. Therefore, agape makes no distinction between friend and enemy; it is directed toward both. If one loves an individual merely on account of his friendliness, he loves him for the sake of the benefits to be gained from the friendship, rather than for the friend’s own sake. Consequently, the best way to assure oneself that love is disinterested is to have love for the enemy-neighbor from whom you can expect no good in return, but only hostility and persecution.”
--Martin Luther King, Jr., From Stride toward Freedom, reprinted in The Radical King, edited by Cornel West (Boston: Beacon Press, 2015), pp. 51-52.
Transfer Credit:
CSU, UC
Course Description:
In this course we’ll develop philosophical concepts by investigating a wide variety of problems, systems of thought, and cultural perspectives. We’ll be reading carefully and critically selected philosophers and philosophies from ancient Greece up to contemprary Europe and the United States.
Texts:
· David Roochnik, Thinking Philosophically (Wiley, 2016) = TP
· Andrew Collier, Marx (Oneworld, 2004) = M
· Roy Scranton, Learning to Die in the Anthropocene (City Lights, 2015) = LDA
Student Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this course you should be able to do the following:
· Explain Socrates’ statement, “The unexamined life is not worth living,” by applying the statement in at least two of the following areas: ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics.
· Demonstrate a basic understanding of methods of philosophy.
· Demonstrate an enhanced ability to articulate ideas about philosophical issues.
· Use philosophical methods, assumptions, and principles to analyze philosophical ideas and positions, including contemporary problems and issues.
· Evaluate philosophical arguments, methods, assumptions, and principles for coherence, relevance, truth, sources, and limits of knowledge.
· Explain philosophical arguments, methods, fundamental assumptions, and principles about the nature of reality, self, and freedom.
· Explain philosophical arguments, methods, and evaluate fundamental assumptions and principles of various ethical theories, including Deontology, Utilitarianism, and Virtue Ethics.
· Evaluate your own philosophical presuppositions, as well as the philosophical presuppositions of others in order to assess the merits of these assumptions.
Course Requirements:
1. Show up regularly and on time. Be prepared to discuss the readings. You should carefully read the assignment before class, noting difficult passages and writing down any questions you’d like to pose in class. You should also briefly reread the assignment after class to confirm that you now understand the author’s main points. You may keep phones and tablets on your desk (except during exams), but there is absolutely no texting permitted during class. Students who violate this policy may be asked to leave class. I also reserve the right to drop any student who is absent for more than six class sessions during the course. If you leave class early without permission, you will be considered absent for that session.
2. Write a 250-500 word critical response to Roy Scranton's book. Discussion questions on this book - and serving as the basis for your response - will be provided to you. Your essay is worth 10% of your grade and is due on March 2.
3. Take three exams, each of which is worth 30% of your final grade.
4. Cheating and plagiarism are ethically unacceptable and will result in automatic failure for a particular assignment. For the official Cerritos College Academic Honesty/ Dishonesty Policy, see http://cms.cerritos.edu/academic-affairs/academic-honesty.
5. If you have a disability for which you would like to request an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both me and the Disabled Student Programs and Services at (562) 860-2451 ext. 2335, as early as possible in the term.
6. If you are a veteran and would like to take advantage of such support services as counseling and tutoring, please contact the Veterans Resource Center on campus (TE-8), 562-860-2451 ext. 3716 (http://cms.cerritos.edu/va/veterans-resource-center.htm).
7. Aretē—The Center forReadingand Writing in Philosophy—offers academic support to students enrolled in philosophy classes in the areas of:
· Writing philosophy papers
· Readingprimary sources
· Reviewing logic concepts relevant to PHIL 106 classes
· Guiding students in completion of homework
· Drop by on an as-needed basis for help!
Information & Contact: Greg Spooner, Philosophy Instructor &Aretē Coordinator ()
Standards for Classroom Behavior and Discussion:
Our goal in this course is to achieve respectful philosophical dialogue in which everyone feels that his or her ideas and contributions to the class are respected. This means not only that we should speak in certain ways, but also that we should listen in certain ways. Respectful philosophical dialogue demands that even if we strongly disagree with others, we should be very careful not to speak in a way that demeans them or their ideas. We should instead engage in active listening—a technique that helps us to be less defensive in responding to criticism or disagreement. Mindful, active listening requires each of us to focus on the words of the person speaking rather than on what we ourselves might want to say, and to reserve judgment until he or she has finished speaking and we are sure that we really understand his or her perspective. At the very least, active listening requires the following respectful behavior:
· No sleeping in class—but daydreaming is okay!
· If you are tired or ill, please stay home and get some rest.
· No body language that is disrespectful (e.g., sighs, eye-rolling, muttering under your breath, throw-away comments after a speaker is finished).
· The use of electronic devices in class is distracting, both for the user and for the rest of the class.Even thepresence of such devices is distracting, given the temptation to use them.It affects the whole atmosphere of the class when you are seen to be texting, surfing the Internet, checking email, and so forth—even if you believe that you are still listening and participating.As a result, the use of cell phones and other electronic communication devices is not allowed in class.
Weekly Topics and Reading Assignments:
1/10 Introduction
1/12 TP, pp. 1-26
1/17 Review
1/19 TP pp. 27-42
1/24 TP, pp. 42-64
1/26 Review
1/31 TP, pp. 65-81
2/2 TP, pp. 81-97
2/7 Review
2/9 TP, pp. 98-113
2/14 TP, pp. 114-126
2/16 Review
2/21 Exam #1
2/23 TP, pp. 127-136
2/28 TP, pp. 136-144
3/2 Review + critical response to Scranton is due
3/7 TP, pp. 145-161
3/9 TP, pp. 161-174
3/13-17 No Class – Spring Recess
3/21 TP, pp. 175-178
3/23 TP, pp. 178-190
3/28 TP, pp. 190-205
3/30 Review
4/4 Exam #2
4/6 M, 1-38
4/11 Review
4/13 M, pp. 39-58
4/18 M, pp. 59-76
4/20 M, pp. 77-94
4/25 Review
4/27 M, pp. 95-114
5/2 M, pp. 115-130
5/4 M, pp. 131-146
5/9 M, pp. 147-164
5/11 M, pp. 165-182
5/18 Exam #3 (12-2 for 12:30-1:45 section; 2-4 for 2-3:15 section)