Community College of
Philadelphia hdmochowski@ccp.edu
Introduction to
Philosophy (PHIL 101) home
phone: (610) 527-1341
Internet Course /
Distance Education Spring, 2007
Dr. Hank Dmochowski
Systematic critical examination of some fundamental problems of philosophy. Focus on the nature of philosophy and philosophical analysis. Examples from the major areas of philosophy: metaphysics, epistemology, political philosophy, aesthetics, philosophy of religion, and ethics. (3 credits)
James A Gould & Robert J. Mulvaney, Classic Philosophical Questions , 12th edition; Pearson / Prentice Hall, pp. 619,(ISBN # 0-13-194961-6). Purchase only the twelfth edition.
Final grades will be assigned according to the following formula: A (100-90), B (89-80), C (79-70), D (69-60), F (< 60). Written assignments will be graded using letter grades. These letter grades are convertible into the following numerical values: A (95), A- (92), B+ (88), B (85), B- (82), C+ (78), C (75), C- (72), D+ (68), D (65), D- (62). The student`s final letter grade for the course is determined by the student`s total numerical average. To calculate your total average, I will multiply the numerical average of all weekly assignments (lowest score is dropped) by 7, the numerical grade of your first paper by 1, the numerical grade of your second paper by 1, the numerical grade for your participation in ‘Web Study’ discussions by 1. The four numbers are added together for your total average and a decimal point is placed before the last number of the series.
Weekly Assignments: (70%); Reaction Paper One (10%); Reaction Paper Two (10%); Routine involvement with Web-Study ‘Forum’/’ The Campus’ chat room discussions (10%).
Responses to questions in the “To Study” section at the beginning
of each reading should be between five and ten sentences in length and contain no quotations. I will drop your lowest weekly assignment grade. Please carefully proofread your weekly assignments. Assignments are to be submitted in a timely manner. A late assignment will be dropped a half grade if they it is one day late and a full grade if the it is two days late. After this no late assignment will be accepted and a grade of zero will be recorded.
Week 1- What Is Philosophy? Socrates of
Week 2- What Is The Value of Philosophy? Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) -Reading 3. Assignment: answer question # 5 on p. 36 & write a one page reaction/analysis to any one quote found in the “To Think About” section on p. 40. [ Due date: January 26 ]
Week 3- What Is The Best Approach to Philosophy? Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914) - Reading 4. Assignment: answer questions # 5, 6, 7, & 8 on p. 43. [ Due date: February 2 ]
Week 4- What Is The Best Approach to Philosophy? Herbert Feigl (1902-1988) - Reading 5. Assignment: answer questions # 6 & 7 on p. 53. [ Due date:February 9 ]
Week 5- Are Artistic Judgments Subjective? Curt John Ducasse (1881-1969) and
Week 6- Is Reality General/Universal or Particular? Plato of
Week 7- Can We Prove That God Exists? St. Anselm of
Week 8 – Mid-Term Break – ‘Reaction Paper One’ [ Due date: March 9 ]
Week 9 - What Is Freedom? John Stuart Mill
(1806-1873) and Martin Luther King (1929-1969) -
Week 10 - Are Ethics Relative or Absolute? Ruth
Benedict (1887-1948) and Walter T. Stace (1886-1967) -
Week 11 - Are Humans Always Selfish? Plato of
Week 12 - Which Government Is Best? Karl Marx (1818-1883)
and Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) -
Week 13 - Which Is Basic in Ethics?
Aristotle of
Bentham (1748-1832), and Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) - Readings 19, 20 & 21 Assignment: answer questions # 4 & 5 on p. 169, questions # 1 & 2 on p. 178 & questions # 2,5, & 8 on p. 188. [Due date: April 13]
Week 14 - What Is Existentialism? Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900),
Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980), & Albert Camus
(1913-1960) -
Week 15 - ‘Reaction Paper Two’. [Due date: April 27]
Choose one quote from the “To Think About” section on pp. 102-03 & write a two page personal comment/analysis on that quote. Then choose one quote from the “To Think About” section on pp. 111-12 & write a two page personal comment/analysis on that quote. In your response to these two quotes you must give evidence that you have carefully read the selections by Hume and Hick and thoughtfully reflected upon their ideas and the philosophical arguments used to develop those ideas. You must use two quotations from each of the readings along with a page citation at the end of your quote in parentheses in both of your responses. e.g. “What is pleasing to the gods is pious, and what is not pleasing to them is impious”( 5 ). Quotes must be carefully selected and be no more than four lines. [Due date: March 9]
7. Reaction Paper Two Topic: Applied Social and Ethical Problems ( pp 511- 552).
There are four interesting essays in this section. Read over the brief introductory comments and the “To Study” questions at the start of each essay. Select one essay that interests you. Select two or three specific ideas in this essay that seemed particularly important to you and write four pages on those ideas. You must use three quotations from the essay being discussed along with a page citation at the end of your quote in parentheses. Quotes should be carefully selected and be no more than four lines. Identify your selected points/ideas in your first sentence. [Due date: April 27.]