Description
This is an introduction to philosophy. It covers the central problems in ethics, political philosophy, philosophy of religion, philosophy of mind, metaphysics and epistemology.
- Syllabus
- Readings: there are two Course Readers: BOTH are required. Part of the course materials are available online from Early Modern Texts, Gutenberg Project, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and YouTube.
- Course Reader I (purchase here)
- Course Reader II Introduction to Philosophy - Course Reader
- the course Bibliography is available.
Lectures
- starred readings [*] are required
| Methodology: What is Philosophy and How to do it. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Art, Rhetoric and Religion |  | [*] Sophocles. Antigone Film: Antigone (1961) |
| Science and Pseudo-Science | | [*] Richard Feynman. Lectures on Physics SEP. Scientific Method SEP. Science and Pseudo-Science |
| Philosophy: Definition | | [*] Plato. Apology [*] G. Belic. Definition and Analysis |
| Philosophy: Argument | | [*] G. Belic. Argumentation Bertrand Russell. 1912. The Value of Philosophy from Problems of Philosophy |
| Ethics: What should we do? How should we live? | ||
| Relativism | | [*] James and Stuart Rachels. "The Challenge of Cultural Relativism" Bernard Mandeville. 1714. Fable of the Bees Gilbert Harman. 1975. Moral Relativism Defended Joel Feinberg. 1978. "Psychological Egoism" |
| Utilitarianism | | [*] Vsauce. The Trolley Problem in Real Life [*] John Stuart Mill. 1861. Utilitarianism Jeremy Bentham. 1789. An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation |
| Deontology | | [*] Immanuel Kant. Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals [*] David Velleman. Reading Kant's Groundwork |
| Virtue Ethics | | [*] Aristotle (384-22 BCE). Nicomachean Ethics: Books I and II [*] Elizabeth M. Anscombe. 1958. Modern Moral Philosophy |
| Famine Relief | | [*] Peter Singer. 1972. Famine, Affluence and Morality [*] Onora O'Neill. 1980. "Kantian Approaches to Some Famine Ethics" |
| Animal Welfare | | [*] Peter Singer. 1977. Animal Liberation [*] Peter Singer. Animal Liberation, Forty Years On Will Kymlicka. Membership Rights for Animals SEP: The Moral Status of Animals |
| Political Philosophy: What is a just state or society? | ||
| Libertarianism | | [*] Robert Nozick. 1974. Anarchy, State Utopia (excerpts) [*] Milton Friedman. TAKE IT TO THE LIMITS: Milton Friedman on Libertarianism. Hoover Institution SEP. Libertarianism SEP. Robert Nozick's Political Philosophy SEP. Neo-Liberalism |
| Socialism | | [*] Karl Marx. 1848. Communist Manifesto SEP. Socialism |
| Liberalism | | [*] John Rawls. 1971. A Theory of Justice (excerpts) SEP. Liberalism |
| Freewill and Causal Determinism: Do we ever act freely or make choices? | ||
| Freewill Libertarianism | | [*] C. A. Cambpell. 1938. In Defence of Freewill |
| Hard-Determinism | | [*] D'Holbach. 1770. XI. Of the System of Man's Free Agency from The System of Nature Blatchford. 1908. Not Guilty |
| Compatibilism | | [*] Ayer, A.J. 1972. Freedom and Necessity in Philosophical Essays Harry Frankfurt. 1969. "Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility," Journal of Philosophy, 46: 829-839. |
| Philosophy of Mind: What is a mind and mental phenomena? | ||
| Dualism | | [*] Rene Descartes. 1641. Meditations [*] Richard Swineburne. 2009. Substance Dualism, Faith and Philosophy SEP. Dualism |
| Behaviorism and Innatism | | [*] B. F. Skinner. 1957. Verbal Behavior (excerpts) [*] Noam Chomsky. 1967. Review of B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior in Language 35:1 |
| Identity Theory | | [*] J. J. C. Smart. 1959. Sensations and Brain Processes, Philosophical Review, 68: 141–156. |
| Functionalism | | [*] Ned Block. 1980. What is Functionalism? SEP. Functionalism |
| Can Computers Think? | | [*] Alan Turing. 1950. Computing Machinery and Intelligence, Mind, 59(236): 433-60. [*] John Searle. 1980. Minds, Brains and Programs, Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 3: 417-57. Nick Bolstrom. Future Progress in Artificial Intelligence: A Survey of Expert Opinion Nick Bolstrom. 2016. Ethical Issues in Artificial Intelligence Nick Bolstrom. 2011. The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence |
| Philosophy of Religion: Does God Exist? | ||
| Ontological Argument for God | | [*] Saint Anselm. 1078. Proslogion [*] Gaunilo. 10??. On Behalf of the Fool Immanuel Kant. 1781. Existence is not a predicate from Critique of Pure Reason - The Dialectic |
| Cosmological Argument for God | | [*] Saint Thomas Aquinas. 1273. Summa Theologica |
| Design Argument for God | | [*] William Paley. 1802. Natural Theology [*] David Hume. 1779. Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion Roger Penrose. On Universe Fine-Tuning Leonard Suskind. Is the Universe Fine-Tuned for Life and Mind? SEP. Fine-Tuning Argument SEP. Teleological Arguments |
| Pragmatic Argument for God | | [*] Blaise Pascal. 1660. Pensees SEP. Pascal's Wager |
| The Logical Problem of Evil | | [*] J. L. Mackie. 1955. Evil and Omnipotence |
| The Inductive Problem of Evil | | [*] David Hume. 1779. Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion SEP. The Problem of Evil |
| Epistemology | ||
| Skepticism | | [*] William Clifford. 1846. Ethics of Belief [*] William James. 1896. The Will to Believe Sextus Empiricus. ~100AD. Outlines of Skepticism. |
| External World Skepticism | | [*] Rene Descartes. 1641. Meditations I, II Nick Bolstrom. 2003. Are you living in a computer simulation?. More here |
| The Problem of Induction | | [*] David Hume. 1740. A Treatise of Human Nature: Abstract David Hume. 1748. Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding |
| Innate Knowledge or "Tabular Rasa" | | [*] Plato. ~400BCE. Meno [*] John Locke. 1689. Essay on Human Understanding - Book I |
| A priori Knowledge | | [*] Bertrand Russell. 1912. Problems of Philosophy, Chapter VII and VIII. [*] A. J. Ayer. 1936. Language, Truth and Logic. A priori |
| Metaphysics | ||
| Realism | | [*] Bertrand Russell. 1912. Appearance and Reality from Problems of Philosophy [*] John Locke. 1689. Essay on Human Understanding: Book II, Book IV |
| Idealism | | [*] George Berkeley. 1710. The Principles of Human Knowledge (excerpts) |
| Truth | | [*] Bertand Russell. 1912. Truth in Problems of Philosophy William James. 1909. VIII. The Pragmatist Account of Truth in The Meaning of Truth |