KNOWLEDGE, EXISTENCE AND VALUES
Instructor: Gustavo Ortiz-Millán
gmo9@columbia.edu
Instructor: Gustavo Ortiz-Millán
gmo9@columbia.edu
Semester: Spring 2003
Office hours: Wednesdays 6:15-7:15 or by appointment
Office: Philosophy Department, 3311 Boylan Hall
This course introduces the general nature of philosophical thought, and its basic methods and goals. The material covered includes selections by both historically important and current philosophers on such classic philosophical topics as the possibility of knowledge, the nature of mental states, and theories of ethics. Through our readings and discussions we will also attempt to reach a clearer understanding of ourselves (personhood), of our relationship to other people, and of our relationship to the world around us. Some of the general skills students will develop include the formulation and defense of theoretical positions and the ability to think critically about difficult and abstract issues.
| 1/27 | Introduction | Suggested readings: Russell, The value of philosophy (pp. 9-12)
Nagel, What does it all mean?, chap. 1. |
| 1/29-2/3 | Knowledge | Descartes, Meditations on first philosophy (116-139)
Nagel, What does it all mean?, chap. 2. |
| 2/5 | Locke, Some further considerations concerning our simple ideas of sensation (139-144) | |
| 2/10 and 19 | Berkeley, Three dialogues between Hylas and Philonous (145-176) | |
| 2/12, 17 | HOLIDAYS. NO CLASSES | |
| 2/24-26
3/3 |
Hume, Of skepticism with regard to the senses (176-190)
Hume, An enquiry concerning human understanding (190-216) |
|
| 3/5 | Minds, Bodies and Persons
Knowledge of Other Minds |
Russell, The argument from analogy from other minds (314-316)
Nagel, What does it all mean?, chap. 3. |
| 3/10 | The Mind-Body Problem | Ryle, Descartes’s Myth (316-323)
Nagel, What does it all mean?, chap. 4. |
| 3/12 | Armstrong, The nature of mind (324-331) | |
| 3/17 | Midterm exam
Midterm paper due |
Midterm exam with correct answers |
| 3/19 | Churchland, Eliminative materialism (349-353) | |
| 3/24-26 | Freedom, Determinism,
and Responsibility |
Campbell, Has the self "free will"? (417-426)
Hume, Of liberty and necessity (426-436) Taylor, Freedom and determinism (437-449) Frankfurt, Freedom of the will and the concept of a person (450-459) |
| 3/31-4/2 | Personal Identity | Perry, A dialogue on personal identity and immortality (396-416) |
| 4/7 | Morality
Moral relativism |
Nagel, What does it all mean?, chap. 7.
Harman, Ethics and observation (765-768) |
| 4/9 | Subjectivism | Mackie, The subjectivity of values (753-764) |
| 4/14 | Self-interest | Feinberg, Psychological egoism (photocopy) |
| 4/16-23 | NO CLASSES. SPRING BREAK | |
| 4/28-30 | Utilitarianism | Bentham, The principle of utility (483-486)
Mill, Utilitarianism (486-502) Carritt, Criticisms of utilitarianism (503-505) Smart, Extreme and restricted utilitarianism (505-512) Williams, Utilitarianism and integrity (512-520) Singer, Famine, affluence and morality (521-528) |
| 5/5-7 | Kantian ethics | Kant, Groundwork of the metaphysics of morals (529-545)
O’Neill, Kantian approaches to some famine problems (546-551) Nagel, War and massacre (552-563) |
| 5/12-14 | Virtue ethics. Aristotle | Aristotle, Nichomachean ethics (564-579)
Nagel, Aristotle on Eudaimonia (580-584) Hursthouse, Virtue theory and abortion (584-597) |
| May 27 | Final exam and final paper
1:00-3:00 p.m. 1141 Ingersol Hall |
Optional paper
Paper for extra credit. Due April 28.
Exams.
There will be a Midterm exam on March 17.
The Final exam will be during the examination period at the
end of the course. Exams cannot be made up without advanced notice for
a legitimate reason.
Occasionally I will have pop quizzes on the reading for that day. If you have done the reading, the questions on these quizzes should present you no problem. I just want to check your comprehension of the texts, and make sure that you are reading the texts. These quizzes may affect your grade depending on the results.
Note on plagiarism. Plagiarism is the naive, careless or dishonest presentation of somebody else’s ideas or words as if they were your own. It will result in an automatic F on the assignment. If I catch you, there is a good chance you will fail the course. One of our objectives is that you learn how to present your own ideas in your own words. There are some links in the course web page to places on the web where you can learn more about how to argue and how to write philosophy papers.
Class attendance. Attendance will be taken each day at the start of class. If you are unable to attend class due to any reason (e.g., medical, traffic accident, sports travel, job interview, etc.) you must provide a written note informing me of the reason you were absent. You are allowed up to 4 excused absences. Each absence over the limit will make you lose points from your final grade. It is my decision, as professor, whether an absence is to be excused or not. Note that an excessive number of absences may cause you to fail this course.
I plan to start class on time and expect that you will be there. Occasionally, you may find it necessary to be late. In that case, I would certainly prefer that you come after class has started rather than miss the entire hour. However, tardiness should never develop into a pattern and I may deduct point from your grade if you keep coming late.
Eating and cell phones are not allowed in class.
| Requirements | Percent of Final Grade |
| Midterm Exam (March 17) |
25%
|
| First Paper, 5-7 pages (March 17) |
25%
|
| Final Exam (May 27) |
25%
|
| Second Paper, 8-10 pages (May 27) |
25%
|
For those of you who haven't written philosophy papers before, here
you have links to websites that
tell you how to write your first philosophy paper.
Department
of Philosophy Web Page