Shortcut Links to Phil 1001 Course Webpages
Phil 1001-121: TT 9:30-10:45 Cudahy Hall 140
Syllabus Part 2 of 2: Detailed Course Syllabus
TU 16 Jan: class canceled due to instructor illness. First class will be TH 18 Jan.
TH 18 Jan (i) My brain and how I want to help to develop student brains; (ii) Heraclitus? (iii) Introduction to the course & its syllabus; (iv) Note taking; (v) Preview: Plato’s Apology and outlining arguments. Plato’s Apology: Text with audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZhloHrVlZM; Text only: https://classics.mit.edu/Plato/apology.html
TU 23 Jan (i) discussion of Apology & Student Notes Sheets; (ii) the value of outlines (iii) sample quiz; (iv) Preview of Plato’s Crito.
TH 25 Jan (i) Plato’s Crito: Text of Crito with audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z10lSBGlP94; Text only: https://ia802207.us.archive.org/8/items/plato_the_crito/plato_the_crito.pdf or https://classics.mit.edu/Plato/crito.html
TU 30 Jan (i) Republic Book 1, Student Notes Sheets; (ii) Preview Republic Book 2.
TH 1 Feb (i) Republic Book 2, Student Notes Sheets; (ii) Preview Republic Book 3.
TU 6 Feb (i) Republic Book 3, Student Notes Sheets; (ii) Preview Republic Book 4.
TH 8 Feb (i) Republic Book 4, Student Notes Sheets; (ii) Preview Republic Book 5.
TU 13 Feb (i) Republic Book 5, Student Notes Sheets; (ii) Preview Republic Book 6.
TH 15 Feb (i) Republic Book 6, Student Notes Sheets
TU 20 Feb (i) Quiz 4 on Republic 6; (ii) Continued discussion of Republic Book 6, No Student Note Sheets Due.
TH 22 Feb (i) Republic Book 7, Student Notes Sheets; (ii) Preview Republic Book 8.
TU 27 Feb (i) Republic Book 8, Student Notes Sheets; (iii) Preview Republic Book 9.
TH 29 Feb (i) Republic Book 9, Student Notes Sheets; (iii) Preview Republic Book 10.
TU 5 Mar (i) Republic Book 10, Student Notes Sheets; (iii) preview of Exam #1
TH 7 Mar Exam 1
11-15 Mar Spring Break
19 Mar (i) Class discussion of Plato’s Account of Cities and Characters and Contemporary Politics in Our World Today. Reading assignment: Read some of the articles at this site: https://www.cnn.com/politics. And do the homeworks on two (2) of those articles.
21 Mar (i) Augustine, On Free Choice of the Will book 1; Student Notes Sheets. How to get the book via Marqcat: Go to Raynor Library online Marqcat PLUS and search for “On Free Choice of the Will.” Download for your use THIS VERSION: The Teacher; The Free Choice of the Will; Grace and Free Will, By: Saint Augustine. Series: The Fathers of the Church: a New Translation, v. 59. Washington, D.C. : Catholic University of America Press. 2004. eBook. You can download a PFD of the book.
26 Mar (i) Augustine, On Free Choice of the Will 2; (ii) Student Notes Sheets: these are due on 2 April. Also, if you will not be in class for this day, watch these two videos by MU’s Dr. Gregory B. Sadler: Book 1 (LINK) short video and also Book 2 (LINK) a longer video, both by permission of Dr Sadler.
28 Mar Easter Break
April modifications have been made to the original syllabus.
2 Apr (i) Augustine, On Free Choice of the Will, Book 2; (ii) Student note sheets due; (iii) Introduction to Deontology and Kant.
4 Apr Absolute value: (i) Kantian Deontology: Go to Raynor Library online Marqcat PLUS and search for “Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals: With an Updated Translation, Introduction, and Notes” by Allen W. Wood. Download this book. Read Only The First Section. [Do NOT read the Preface. Only Section 1.] (ii) Watch this helper: Link; (iii) Then watch this video lecture: Link. (iv) Student Notes Sheets due.
9 Apr I will be unavailable on this day. So this class will be taught by Paul Quesnel, one of our finest graduate student teachers with whom I have been working for 3 years. Topic: Absolute value: (i) Kantian Deontology: Section Two of Kant’s work is tough going and you are welcome to download it and read it, but I will not require it. But I have a 28 minute video on it for you: Link. You should watch it twice because it is hard thinking and you should take notes. (ii) Student Notes Sheets due.
11 Apr Relative value: (i) J. S. Mill, Utilitarianism, I recommend you read Chapter 1 (Link), but I require you to read Ch. 2 (Link); (ii) also watch these two videos: Taylor (Link) and Crash Course Phil (Link); (iii) Student Notes Sheets.
16 Apr Exam 2 (20%) (X2) on Augustine, Kant and Mill. Information on the exam forthcoming.
18 Apr (i) Exam returned; (ii) Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics: Video lecture. This lecture is 49 minutes long. I recommend that you take a break in the middle. That will help you focus better. And I require that you watch it twice and (iii) do your notes sheet on this.
23 Apr Three Topics: (i) Moral Relativism (video Link 1 and video Link 2) and (ii) Ethical Egoism (video Link). (Hint: Key notions are the kinds of Egoism [Psychological, Ethical, Rational] and the kinds of Moral Relativism [Descriptive, Metaethical, Cultural].) (iii) Student Note Sheets due.
25 Apr No Morality: Jean-Paul Sartre, “Existentialism is a Humanism” (1946), available at Link. Student Note Sheets due. Preview Singer.
30 Apr Uncomfortable Morality: Peter Singer, “Famine, Affluence, and Morality,” Philosophy & Public Affairs, Spring, 1972, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Spring, 1972), pp. 229-243. How to get this article: (i) Go to Marqcat and search for the journal “Philosophy & Public Affairs;” (ii) Scroll to the 1970s section and open it; (iii) select the article for download. Student Notes Sheets due.
2 May Final class review and discussion of final exam.
8 May (Wednesday) 8-10 am in regular classroom.