Professor: Dr. David Beisecker

Office: 526 FDH

Phone: 895-4038

Office Hrs: MWF 2:00-3:00

E-Mail: beiseckd@nevada.unlv.edu

Website: www.scsv.nevada.edu/~beiseckd

Course Objective: Welcome to this wide-ranging, historical introduction to philosophy. In this course, we will read and discuss several of the "old warhorses" (and some young ones too) with whom any student of philosophy (as well as any well-educated individual) ought to be familiar. As I like to put it, philosophy is the investigation of the normative in its various guises. By the end of the term, you ought to be able to articulate just what that dark slogan means. More importantly, you should develop several skills for reasoning effectively about different kinds of "ought" claims. Finally, this course is designed to prepare you for more advanced philosophical pursuits, should you wish to continue any such endeavors when I am finally finished with you.

Required Texts: Plato, Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phaedo (Prometheus, 1988)

Perry and Bratman, Introduction to Philosophy, 3^rd edition (Oxford, 1999)

Both should be available at the University Bookstore. Acquire them ASAP!

I also reserve the right to assign some additional readings, which will be passed out in class. It is your responsibility to be there to receive them.

Course Requirements: There will be two (in class) exams and a short 3-4 page paper, each comprising 20% of your final grade, along with a final worth 30%. You must take all the exams to pass the course! The remaining 10% will be split between attendance, participation, quizzes, and general deportment. You will be expected to come to class regularly, having read the assigned material and being able to participate in class discussions. As always, borderline cases will be decided at the whim of the instructor.

If you have a documented disability that requires assistance, you will need to go to Disability Services (DS) for coordination in your academic accommodations. DS is located in the Reynolds Student Services Center, room 137. The DS phone number is 895-0866 or TDD 895-0652.

Class Schedule (tentative, subject to change): I have tried to keep the length of assigned readings to a minimum (approximately 10-15 pages per meeting). However, a word of caution: we will be covering some very difficult texts, perhaps more abstract than any you have ever been assigned before. And we will be discussing them in some depth. It is thus a good idea to read your assignments at least twice through before class meets, and to review them again shortly after we’ve talked about them.

Aug. 25 General Introduction

Aug. 27 Plato, Euthyphro (pp. 9-25)

Aug. 29 ‘’

Sep. 3 Plato, Apology (pp. 27-53)

Sep. 5 ‘’

Sep. 8 Plato, Crito (pp. 55-68)

Sep. 10 Plato, Phaedo (pp. 69-138)

Sep. 12 ‘’

Sep. 15 Review

Sep. 17 First Midterm Exam

Sep. 19 Aquinas, The Existence of God (pp. 47-49)

Sep. 22 Descartes, Meditation I (pp. 116-118)

Sep. 24 ‘’

Sep. 26 Meditation II (118-121)

Sep. 29 Meditation III (121-127)

Oct. 1 Meditation IV (127-130)

Oct. 3 Anselm, The Ontological Argument (pp. 45-46)

Oct. 6 Descartes, Meditations V, VI (130-139)

Oct. 8 Meditation VI

Oct. 10 Review

Oct. 13 Second Midterm Exam

Oct. 15 Plato, The Republic, Book I (679-694)

Oct. 17 Singer, Famine, Affluence, and Morality (521-528)

Oct. 20 O’Neill, Kantian Approaches to Some Famine Problems (546-551)

Oct. 22 Hursthouse, Virtue Theory and Abortion (584-597)

Oct. 24 Carritt, Criticisms of Utilitarianism (503-5)

Oct. 27 Williams, Utilitarianism and Integrity (512-520)

Oct. 29 Short Paper Due (Topics and details to be announced)

Nov. 3 Hume, Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Sections II-V (193-205)

Nov. 5 ‘’

Nov. 7 Goodman's New Riddle of Induction (791)

Nov. 12 Ayer, The Argument from Illusion (217-220)

Nov. 14 ‘’

Nov. 17 Russell, The Argument from Analogy for Other Minds (314-316)

Nov. 19 Ryle, Descartes's Myth (316-323)

Nov. 21 Searle, Minds, Brains, and Programs (368-381)

Nov. 24 ‘’

Nov. 26 Perry, A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality, The First Night (396-403)

Dec. 1 The Second Night (403-410)

Dec. 3 The Third Night (410-416)

Dec. 5 REVIEW

Dec. 10 Final, 10:00 am