philosophy - daniel phl 301 unique number 42170, ... jgb 2.324, daniel bonevac, wag 403, m 3–5,...

1 PHL 301 Unique Number 42170, MWF 1:00-2:00, JGB 2.324, Daniel Bonevac, WAG 403, M 35, bonevac@austin.utexas.edu

Introduction to PhilosophyCourse DescriptionThis course introduces the central problems of philosophy. It considers solutions proposed by the greatest thinkers of the Western philosophical tradition, and some from non-Western traditions as well.

We will ask what it is to be human, and reflect on the importance of this question for how we live our own lives. Are we minds and bodies? Just minds? Just bodies? What difference does it make? What is it to lead a good human life? What is a good

person? How should we make decisions?

We will move on to questions in the theory of knowledge: What is knowledge? How do we get it? What can we know?

We will also raise some of the basic questions of metaphysics: What is there? What is a thing? Do things have essences? Is reality independent of our minds? Is there a God?

The course is organized according to three great philosophical traditions:

Classical Empiricism, which in the West begins with Aristotle;

Classical Rationalism, which in the West begins with Plato; and

Idealism, which in the West begins much later, with Berkeley.

A fourth group, the Skeptics, launch attacks against all three traditions.

The unexamined life is not worth livingSocrates

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2 PHL 301 Unique Number 42170, MWF 1:00-2:00, JGB 2.324, Daniel Bonevac, WAG 403, M 35, bonevac@austin.utexas.edu

8/30 Welcome to the course!9/1 The Socratic Method

Classical Empiricism: The Aristotelian Tradition

9/6 Confucius on Virtue2.1, 2.2, 2.3 (3858)9/8 Confucius on Virtue2.1, 2.2, 2.3 (3858)

9/11 Aristotle on Virtue3.3 (8897)9/13 Aristotle on Virtue3.3 (8897)9/15 Utilitarianism5.5 (174184)

9/18 Externalism12.1, 12.2, 12.3, 14.2 (309319, 343348)Paper 1 due9/20 Aristotles Categories18.1, 22.1 (409416, 507511)9/22 Aristotle on Essence19.2 (436448)

9/25 Lockes Empiricism16.2 (377382)9/27 Primary and Secondary Qualities 20.1 (448465)9/29 The Self in Aristotle and Locke9.2, 10.3 (259263, 274282)

10/2 The Cosmological Argument23.3, 24.1, 24.2 (535541, 544555)10/4 The Argument from Design25.4 (582587)10/6 Humes Critique25.5 (587594)

Classical Rationalism: The Platonic Tradition

10/9 Socrates on Virtue3.1 (7583)Paper 2 due10/11 Plato on Virtue3.2, 4.2, 9.1 (8388, 105111, 249259)10/13 Platos Internalism about Knowledge14.1 (334343)

10/16 Platos Forms19.1 (429436)10/18 Skepticism13.1, 14.3, 15.1 (320328, 348363)10/20 Skepticism13.1, 14.3, 15.1 (320328, 348363)

10/23 Augustines Platonism 15.2 (363368)10/25 Descartess Foundationalism10.1, 10.2, 11.1 (264274, 291294)10/27 Descartess Dualism16.1 (373377)

10/30 Leibnizs Rationalism16.3 (382386) Paper 3 due11/1 The Ontological Argument23.2, 25.1, 25.2 (533535, 562578)11/3 Pascals Wager25.2 (562578)

Idealism: Kant and Post-Kantian Philosophy

11/6 Hindu, Daoist, and Jain Ethics1.1, 1.2, 1.6, 2.5 (316, 3136, 6569)11/8 Buddhist Ethics1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 8.3 (1631, 244248) 11/10 Kants Ethics5.3 (157168)

11/13 Kants Ethics5.3 (157168)11/15 Humes Scandals5.2, 16.4 (153157, 386398)11/17 The Critiques of Berkeley and Hume10.4, 20.2 (282290, 465475)

11/20 Hindu and Buddhist Idealism7.1, 7.3, 18.2, 18.3 (223226, 416423)Paper 4 due

11/27 Kants Transcendental Idealism21.1 (476485)11/29 Hegels Historicism21.2 (485491)12/1 Peirces Pragmatism21.3 (491496)

12/4 Relativism21.4 (496502)12/6 Perspectivism18.4, 22.2 (423428, 511515)12/8 Realism21.5, 22.3 (502506, 515524)

12/11 Final Exam ReviewPaper 5 due

12/18 Final Exam, 7:00pm-9:00pm

Required Text

The readings above are section numbers from Daniel Bonevac and Stephen Phillips (ed.), Introduction to World Philosophy. Oxford University Press, 2009. (Page numbers are in parentheses.) The readings include everything in the section, including all subsections.

To view the slides used in class, click on the date of that class session.

Lectures from this course will be posted on a dedicated playlist on my YouTube channel.

Introduction to PhilosophySyllabus

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mailto:bonevac@austin.utexas.edumailto:bonevac@austin.utexas.eduhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/PHL301Syllabus2017.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/PHL301Syllabus2017.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/SocraticMethod.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/SocraticMethod.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Confucius.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Confucius.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Confucius.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Confucius.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Aristotle.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Aristotle.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Aristotle.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Aristotle.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Mill.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Mill.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Externalism.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Externalism.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Categories.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Categories.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Essence.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Essence.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Locke.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Locke.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Qualities.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Qualities.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Identity.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Identity.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Cosmological.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Cosmological.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Design.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Design.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/HumeDialogues.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/HumeDialogues.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/SocratesVirtue.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/SocratesVirtue.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/PlatoVirtue.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/PlatoVirtue.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Internalism.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Internalism.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Forms.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Forms.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Skepticism.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Skepticism.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Skepticism.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Skepticism.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Augustine.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Augustine.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Descartes.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Descartes.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/DescartesMind.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/DescartesMind.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Leibniz.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Leibniz.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Ontological.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Ontological.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Pascal.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Pascal.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Hinduism.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Hinduism.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Buddhism.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Buddhism.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Kant.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Kant.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Kant.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Kant.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Hume.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Hume.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Berkeley.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Berkeley.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/BuddhistIdealism.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/BuddhistIdealism.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/KantCritique.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/KantCritique.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Hegel.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Hegel.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Peirce.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Peirce.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Relativism.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Relativism.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Perspectivism.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Perspectivism.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Realism.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/Realism.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/FinalReview.pdfhttp://philosophical.space/philosophy/FinalReview.pdfhttp://worldphilosophy.infohttp://worldphilosophy.infohttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzWd5Ny3vW3TmAbJH3fYMRjNUptY0uPW8https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzWd5Ny3vW3TmAbJH3fYMRjNUptY0uPW8https://www.youtube.com/user/PhiloofAlexandria/videoshttps://www.youtube.com/user/PhiloofAlexandria/videos

3 PHL 301 Unique Number 42170, MWF 1:00-2:00, JGB 2.324, Daniel Bonevac, WAG 403, M 35, bonevac@austin.utexas.edu

Quizzes. Quizzes (25% of the final grade) will be given through Canvas once a week. You can take them on your own schedulebut, once you open a quiz, you will have only 5 minutes to complete it. They will concentrate on recent material, but anything up to that point in the course is fair game. We have no objection to your working together on quizzes. But their main point is to prepare you for the final exam, so relying on others or on search engines will be self-defeating.

The final exam (Monday, December 18, 7:009:00pm; 25% of the final grade) will consist of 105 multiple-cho