Philosophy 110:
Human Nature and Values
Spring 2006
Syllabus
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Professor: |
John Nolt |
Office Phone: |
974-3255 |
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Office: |
818 McClung Tower |
E-mail: |
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Office Hours: |
10:15-11:15 MW and 11:15-12:15 R |
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Graduate Assistant |
Sections |
Office |
Office Hours |
E-mail |
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Meghan Beard |
002, 003 |
Golden Roast |
10:30-11:30 W |
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Greg Bock |
004, 007 |
Starbuck’s |
10:30-11:30 F |
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Joel MacClellan |
006, 009 |
Golden Roast |
11-12 W |
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Jeppe von Platz |
005, 008, 018 |
Golden Roast |
11:30-12:30 W |
Required Text
Peter Singer, Animal Liberation, HarperCollins
All other sources will be available on Blackboard. See Course calendar below.
About the Course: This is a beginning course in
philosophy. Philosophy may be roughly defined
as the study of those fundamental questions that we have no scientific
techniques to answer. This has two
important implications: (1) philosophy
is a field of lively debate, not of settled facts, and (2) philosophy is
tremendously diverse. Some of the
questions we will deal with in this course are: What is morality and how is it justified? Is there some sort of ultimate truth. If so, can we know it and is it worth
knowing? Is there a God? Do we survive death? Might some of our fundamental beliefs and
practices be utterly wrong? How can
life have meaning? What should we live
for? … And so on!
This course will not give you THE
ANSWERS to these questions. We don't know the answers. Nobody does. What we hope you will get from the course are: (1) a better understanding of the questions
themselves, (2) knowledge of what some of the best minds in history have
thought about their possible answers,
(3) increased skill in reasoning, (4) a deepened appreciation of the
limitations of human knowledge, and (5) a renewal of that philosophical wonder
that we all experienced as children.
You will benefit most from the course if you get personally involved,
challenging and re-examining your own ideas on the topics we discuss, and
voicing your views in discussion sections.
Controversy and debate are the lifeblood of philosophy, and these we aim
to encourage!
Grades: Grades will be based on three kinds of work:
Tests 20% each; 60%
total
Reading quizzes 15% total
Two papers Short one 10%; long one 15%;
25% total
Tests: There will be two during the semester plus a
final exam. These will consist of essay
and short-answer questions. The
questions will require you to explain some idea or perspective that we have
discussed in class, or perhaps to compare several different points of
view. Dates are listed in the course
calendar below. I'll provide study
sheets for the tests. If you miss a test during the semester, you must contact
me within a week to arrange a make-up.
Make-ups may be harder than the original test.
Reading Quizzes: Many classes will begin with a brief
true-false quiz over the day's reading assignment. These quizzes provide incentive to read the assignments before
coming too class. Since quizzes are
given at the beginning of class, it is important for you to be there on time.
Papers: These provide an opportunity for you to
think creatively, to develop your own ideas, and to exercise your reasoning
skills. A short one (about 4 pages)
will be due on February 24; the second, which is longer (about 6 pages), will
be due on April 7. We'll provide
instructions and lists of suggested topics well in advance of these dates.
Missed Work, Leaving Class, Late Work and Incompletes:
There are no
make-ups on quizzes, even with a medical excuse, but to allow for unavoidable
absences we will not count the three lowest quiz grades. Please note that it is extremely rude to
us and to other members of the class to take the quiz and then leave. If you plan not to stay for the class, don’t
bother coming.
Grades will be
reduced substantially on late papers not accompanied by a legitimate and
documented excuse—the later the paper, the greater the reduction.
Your final grade
will be based on work turned in by the time of the final exam. We do not give grades of I (Incomplete),
except in extraordinary circumstances — and, even then, only if arrangements
are made before the final exam.
Class Structure: Lecture classes will be held on Mondays and
Wednesdays. Discussion classes are on
Fridays. Clarifying questions are
always welcome in the lecture classes.
The discussion classes (also called recitation sections) are for more
detailed discussion, debate and exchange of ideas.
Office Hours: You (or your parents) pay our salaries, and
part of our job is to be available to talk with you outside of class. Take advantage of what you have paid
for! I and my assistants hold regular
office hours and can also see you at other times by appointment. If you are having trouble with the course,
ask for help. If you're not having
trouble but just want to talk philosophy, you are welcome to stop by our
offices.
Blackboard
Your backboard account should list two separate course items, one
for your discussion section and one entitled “Philosophy 110 Lecture.” Class readings will be found under Course
Documents in Philosophy 110 Lecture. Your grades and any information your TA might distribute will be
found under your discussion section.
Course Calendar
The calendar for the entire semester is given below. Reading assignments should be completed by
the date for which they are listed. For
the logic assignment, you can just click on the link for 1/3. You will then see the reading assignment,
which you can save, print, or just read as it is. Other readings will be available on Blackboard (online.utk.edu) under the heading
Philosophy
110 Lecture in the Course Documents folder.
|
Date |
Topic |
Assignment |
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1/11 |
Introduction |
— |
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1/13 d* |
Introduction to logic |
Read selection and think through
the problems; come to discussion section prepared to ask about anything you do
not understand |
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1/16 |
No Class—MLK Holiday |
— |
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Ancient Greek Philosophy: Plato’s Phaedo |
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1/18 |
Philosophy and death |
Plato’s Phaedo (a Course
Document on Blackboard listed under “Philosophy
110 Lecture”) — Read to the words, “end of first reading.” |
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1/20 d |
Discussion on the Soul and
Immortality |
__ |
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1/23 |
Arguments for immortality |
Plato’s Phaedo. Read to the words, “end of second reading” |
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1/25 |
Arguments for immortality |
Plato’s Phaedo. Read to the words, “end of third reading” |
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1/27 d |
Arguments for immortality |
Plato’s Phaedo. Read to the words, “end of fourth reading” |
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1/30 |
Nature of the afterlife |
Plato’s Phaedo. Read to the end of the dialogue. |
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Medieval Scholastic
Philosophy: Thomas Aquinas’ Summa
Theologiae |
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2/1 |
Arguments for the existence of
God |
Aquinas on Blackboard. Read section entitled “Question
2; Concerning God, Whether God
Exists” |
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2/3 d |
Review |
— |
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2/6 |
First Test |
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Enlightenment Philosophy: David Hume’s “On the Immortality of the
Soul” |
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2/8 |
Arguments against immortality |
Hume on Blackboard. Read Essay II “On the Immortality of the Soul” |
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2/10 d |
Discussion of arguments against
immortality |
— |
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Enlightenment Philosophy: Immanuel Kant’s Fundamental Principles
of the Metaphysic of Morals |
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2/13 |
Metaphysics and morals |
Kant on Blackboard. Read Preface. |
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2/15 |
Kant’s basic principles and
categorical imperative |
Kant on Blackboard. Read First Section. |
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2/17 d |
Discussion |
— |
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2/20 |
Duty and experience; the various
kinds of imperatives |
Kant on Blackboard. Read Second Section through the
paragraph ending “the following of this law is duty.” |
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2/22 |
Justification of Categorical
Imperative |
Kant on Blackboard. Read Second Section from the
paragraph beginning “With the view of attaining to this,” to the end of the
Second Section. |
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2/24 d |
Discussion |
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19th Century
British Philosophy: John Stuart
Mill’s Utilitarianism |
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2/27 |
What utilitarianism is |
Mill on Blackboard. Chapters 1-2 |
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3/1 |
Sanctions |
Mill on Blackboard. Chapter 3. |
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3/3 d |
Discussion |
— |
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3/6 |
Proof of Principle of Utility |
Mill on Blackboard. Chapter 4. |
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3/8 |
Justice |
Mill on Blackboard. Chapter 5. |
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3/10 d |
Review |
— |
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3/13 |
Second Test |
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19th Century
Russian Existentialism: Leo Tolstoy’s
Confession |
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3/15 |
Encounter with Nothingness |
Tolstoy on Blackboard. Chs. I-VII |
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3/17 d |
Reason and faith |
Tolstoy on Blackboard. Chs. VIII-XVI |
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3/20 |
No Class—Spring Break |
— |
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3/22 |
No Class—Spring Break |
— |
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3/24 |
No Class—Spring Break |
— |
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19th Century German
Existentialism: Friedrich Nietzsche’s
Beyond Good and Evil |
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3/27 |
Philosophy and the will to power |
Nietzsche on Blackboard. Preface, First article |
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3/29 |
The free spirit |
Nietzsche on Blackboard. Second article |
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3/31 d |
The religious spirit |
Nietzsche on Blackboard. Third article |
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4/3 |
Natural history of morals |
Nietzsche on Blackboard. Fifth article |
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20th Century
Analytic Philosophy: Ludwig
Wittgenstein’s “Lecture on Ethics” |
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4/5 |
Is
ethical language meaningful? |
Wittgenstein on Blackboard. Lecture on Ethics. |
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4/7 d |
Discussion |
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Contemporary Ethics: Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation |
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4/10 |
The principle of equality |
Animal Liberation, Ch. 1. Note this
is the one reading not available on the web.
You have to get the book. |
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4/12 |
Factory Farms/Vegetarianism |
Animal Liberation, Chs. 3-4 |
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4/14 |
Good Friday—No Class |
— |
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4/17 |
Speciesism today |
Animal Liberation, Ch. 6 |
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Contemporary Ethics: Rosemary Tong’s Feminine and Feminist
Ethics |
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4/19 |
Feminine and Feminist Ethics |
Tong on Library Course
Reserve. Pp. 1-24. Note: all readings from Tong are on
e-reserve in Library. Click here to get to them. Click on
Course Reserves, then find the readings under Nolt Philosophy 110. Then click on the first of the two URL
addresses (the reading is in two parts; later readings are under the second
address). To access the reading, you will need to click on the blue
icon and give your net ID and password. Note: once you get
to the reading, you may have to rotate the image
clockwise to read it--or you can simply print it. |
|
4/21 d |
Feminine metaphysics and
epistemology |
Tong on Library Course
Reserve. Pp. 49-77. |
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4/24 |
Care ethic |
Tong on Library Course
Reserve. Pp. 80-104. |
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20th Century
British Philosophy: Bertrand
Russell’s The Problems of Philosophy |
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4/26 |
The value of philosophy |
Russell on Blackboard. Read Ch. XV only. |
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4/28 d |
Review Session |
— |
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5/1 |
Study Day—No Class |
— |
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5/5 |
Final Exam, 8-10 a.m. |
Click here for study guide. Note: You must
attend on this date; we cannot schedule extra finals in a class this large. |
*The letter ‘d’ after a date
indicates a discussion section.
DISABILITIES: Students who
have a disability that requires accommodation should make an appointment with
the Office of Disability Services (974-6087) to discuss their specific needs
and schedule an appointment with me during my office hours.