REQUIRED TEXT

Peter Singer, Animal Liberation, HarperCollins

All other sources will be available online. See Course Calendar below.

ABOUT THE COURSE: This is a beginning course in philosophy. Philosophy may be roughly defined as the study of those ultimate 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: Do we survive death? Is there a God? What can we know? What is morality and how is it justified? What is of most value in life? Might our some of our fundamental values, beliefs and practices today still be utterly wrong?

This course will not give you THE ANSWERS to these questions. I don't know the answers. Nobody does. What I 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. Controversy and debate are the lifeblood of philosophy, and these I encourage—though always within the bounds of reason and mutual respect.

GRADES AND POLICIES: Grades will be based on three kinds of work:

Three tests 25% each; 75% total

Two papers 12.5% each; 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 and/or criticize some idea, argument or theory 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 guides 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.

Papers: These will provide an opportunity for you to think creatively, to develop your own ideas, and to exercise your reasoning skills. The papers should be 4-6 pages long. The first is due on October 14, the second on November 25. I'll provide instructions and lists of suggested topics well in advance of these dates. I reduce grades on late papers and do not give incompletes, except in extraordinary circumstances — and even then, only if arrangements are made before the final exam.

OFFICE HOURS: You (or your parents) pay my salary, and part of my job is to be available to talk with you outside of class. Take advantage of what you have paid for! I hold regular office hours and can also see you at other times by appointment. If you are having trouble with the course, it’s your job to ask for help. If you're not having trouble but just want to talk philosophy, you are welcome to stop by my office during office hours.

ABOUT ME: I came to UT in 1978 after receiving my Ph.D. from Ohio State with a dissertation in mathematical logic. After the birth of my daughter in 1985, concern about the world in which my children will live led me into environmental activism, and soon thereafter I began working in environmental philosophy. I have published three books in logic and three on environmental ethics and continue to work in both areas. My non-professional interests include sustainable living, woodworking with old-fashioned hand tools, collecting wild mushrooms, biking, backpacking, and organic gardening.

COURSE CALENDAR

The calendar for the entire semester is given below. Reading assignments should be completed by the date for which they are listed. Assignments written in capital letters will be available under Course Documents for Philosophy 117 in UT’s blackboard system (Online@UT). The only exceptions are the readings from Singer, whose book you must acquire. I have annotated many of the texts in ways that I hope will aid your reading.

Date	Topic	Assignment
8/21	Introduction	—
The Value of Wisdom: Plato’s Phaedo
8/26	Plato’s Metaphysics and Epistemology	PLATO from beginning to the words “end first reading assignment”
8/28	Logic; Arguments for Immortality	LOGIC; PLATO to the words “end third reading assignment”
9/2	More on Immortality and the Afterlife	PLATO to the end; gray backgrounded material is optional
The Value of Knowing God: Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae
9/4	Arguments for and against the Existence of God	AQUINAS entire selection
9/9	Discussion: Can We Prove the Existence or Non-existence of God?	—
The Value of Knowing Oneself: Descartes’ Meditations
9/11	The Method of Doubt and the Ground of Certainty	DESCARTES Synopsis; Meditations I and II
9/16	The Existence of God; Free Will and Error	DESCARTES Meditations III and IV
9/18	The Ontological Argument and the Limits of Human Knowledge	DESCARTES Meditations V and VI
9/23	First Test	—
The Value of Duty: Kant’s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals
9/25	Deontological Morality	KANT Preface
9/30	Rational Knowledge of Morality	KANT First Section
10/2	Metaphysic of Morals	KANT Second Section
The Value of Happiness: Mill’s Utilitarianism
10/7	Utilitarianism	MILL Chapters 1 and 2
10/9	No class; fall break
10/14	Sanction for and Proof of the Principle of Utility	MILL Chapters 3 and 4, First Paper Due
10/16	Justice	MILL Chapter 5
The Value of Power: Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra
10/21	Death of God and the Übermensch	NIETZSCHE Prologue and Part I, secs.1-22
10/23	The Will to Power	NIETZSCHE Part II,secs. 23-44
10/28	Eternal Recurrence and the Creation of Values	NIETZSCHE Part III, secs. 45-60
10/30	Second Test	—
The Value of Faith: Tolstoy’s Confession
11/4	Encounter with Nothingness	TOLSTOY Chs. I-VII
11/6	Reason and Faith	TOLSTOY Chs. VIII-XVI
The Value of Truth: Gandhi’s My Experiments with Truth
11/11	Nonviolence and Truth	GANDHI excerpts from My Experiments with Truth
The Value of Reducing Suffering: Singer’s Animal Liberation
11/13	The Principle of Equality, Factory Farms	Singer, Chapters 1 and 3
11/18	Vegetarianism and Contemporary Speciesism	Singer, Chapters 4 and 6
The Value of Relationship: Tong’s Feminine and Feminist Ethics
11/20	Feminine Ethics, Ontology and Epistemology	TONG pp. 1-24, 49-77
11/25	An Ethic of Care	TONG pp. 80-104, Second Paper Due
11/27	No class; Thanksgiving
The Value of Philosophy: Russell’s The Problems of Philosophy
12/2	The value of philosophy	RUSSELL, Ch XV
12/4	No class	—
12/9	No class	—
12/11	Final Exam, 12:30pm-2:30pm	—

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.

REQUIRED TEXT

COURSE CALENDAR

The Value of Wisdom: Plato’s Phaedo