Important Note: This page is NOT to be used for Distance Education courses. If you are enrolled in the online version, please refer to the website listed on your syllabus. There are significant differences between the course requirements.

• Syllabus Spring 2006

·       Note: Some of these handouts or "study guides" are informational. Others outline some of the topics covered in lecture and discussion. Thus, you will want to bring study guides to lecture as we will discuss elements contained in them. They are meant to supplement the readings, lecture, and discussion. They are not meant to substitute for any of these. I have classified Guides into 4 categories: “Required”, “Strongly Recommended”, “Recommended”, and for web dictionaries: “Some [Terms] are recommended”.

o     Guides listed as “Required” (in bold) must be printed out. You could get by with these only but your note-taking in class will be much easier with others. Those listed with an asterisk (*) will be handed out in class. Those marked with three asterisks *** are required reading for those expecting an "A".

o     Outside web-help is “Recommended”. I suggest printing out all guides except for the web dictionaries listed as “Terms” (in which case you should merely read the relevant ones listed on our website).

o     All others are “Strongly Recommended” guides that I have created for your benefit. Many step-by-step arguments covered in slide shows are listed here. Thus, following the arguments in class will be much easier with these.

• For those skeptical about the "Lexus Game Show" shown on the first day of class (i.e., Should you switch doors?), try it yourself at this interactive site: http://torrez.net/projects/MakeADeal/

Study Guides:

Study Guide 0 - Suggestions on how to incorporate readings, guides, and class

SG 1a- Presentation Format (Required)

• SG 1b - Presentation Topics (Required)
• SG 1c - Presentation Grade Sheet (Required: Staple to your presentation)
• SG 1d - Student Sample
• SG 1e* - 5 Criteria for Evaluating Web Pages (Kapoun, C&RL News, 1998)

SG 2: Journal: Directions + Questions (Required)

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SG 3a- Philosophy: Metaphysics, Axiology, Epistemology, and Logic

• SG 3b* - Philosophy Poll (inspired by Schick and Vaughn, Doing Philosophy, 2002) + Poll Results of 2 previous class sections
• SG 3c* - Philosophers on Philosophy (Aristotle and Russell)

• SG 3d - James Christian: “What Do You Mean Philosophy???”*** http://www.zeroaltitude.org/philosophy/intro/readings/what_do_you_mean_philosophy.htm

• SG 3e - Russell: "The Value of Philosophy" http://philosophy.hku.hk/think/phil/russell/15.php

• SG 3f - Web-Help: Terms: Philosophy Terminology - See: metaphysics, epistemology, a priori, a posteriori, rationalist, empiricist, Argument, Premises, Conclusion, Inductive, Deductive, Valid, Sound, Atheism, Agnosticism, Theism, Pantheism (Recommended)
• SG 3g - Web-Help: Terms: Philosophy Terminology II - See: deductive, atheism, agnosticism (Recommended)
• SG 3h - *Practice Quiz: Philosophy Questions

 SG 4a - Socratic (Dialectical) Method

• SG 4b* - All the Right Questions (Anita Hamilton, Time Magazine, 5/5/04)
• SG 4c* - Out and About (Philosophers Magazine, 1^st Quarter, 2003)

• SG 4d - Plato's Euthyphro Intro p. v., 1st Definition of Piety, bottom of p.4 to 7 and bottom of 16. (If you do not have the Euthyphro, it is also at: http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/euthyfro.html)

• SG 4e - Scientific Method vs. Socratic Method
• SG 4f - *Conditionals and Possibles

SG 5a - Logic: A Brief Summary

• SG 5b - Argument Exercises (Answers)
• SG 5c - Argument Validity
• SG 5d* - Philosophical Health Check
• SG 5e - Logic: http://web.nmsu.edu/~jvessel/Philosophy/Baby%20Logic-aw.html

• SG 5f - Web-Help: Terms: Basic Terms of Logic - See: argument, proposition, premise, conclusion, validity, sound, deductive, inductive

• SG 5g *- Prediction (Ellen Langer, Psychology Today, January/February 2001)

• SG 5h - Web-Help: Deductive and Inductive, Validity and Soundness

SG 6a - Descartes: Meditations on First Philosophy, 1^st*** and 2^nd Meditations http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/descartes/meditations/meditations.html

• SG 6b - Epistemology
• SG 6c* - Windows onto the Universe (Philosophy, Macmillian, 1976)
• SG 6d - Matrix Topics
• SG 6e - Descartes' Method
• SG 6f - Web-Help: Descartes and the Wax (Artist unknown: formerly from Brocku.ca)
• SG 6g - *Practice Quiz: Knowledge, Belief, and Skepticism

SG 7a - Locke: An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Bk II Ch VIII #1-17 http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/locke/locke1/Book2a.html#Chapter%20VIII

• SG 7b - Locke's Empiricism
• SG 7c - Locke's Secondary Quality Distinction
• SG 7d* - Blind Spot: http://www.yorku.ca/eye/blndspo1.htm

SG 8 - Exam 1 Topics

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SG 9a - Freedom: Paul d’Holbach: The System of Nature:  “Of the System of Man’s Free Agency”***, http://faculty.uca.edu/~rnovy/Meta%20DHolbach.htm

• SG 9b - Free Will and Determinism
• SG 9c - Ree: Determinism and the Illusion of Moral Responsibility  http://www.zeroaltitude.org/philosophy/intro/readings/ree.htm
• SG 9d - Ayer: Freedom and Necessity http://www.zeroaltitude.org/philosophy/intro/readings/ayer.htm
• SG 9e - *Free Will Quiz plus suggested answers

SG 10a - Descartes: 6^th Meditation (sections 9-13 only) http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/descartes/meditations/Meditation6.html

• SG 10b* - “Scientists Teleport not Kirk, but an Atom” (KENNETH CHANG, New York Times, 6/17/04)
• SG 10c - Descartes' Dualism
• SG 10d - Web-Help: Splitting the Human Brain
• SG 10e - Web-Help: A.L.I.C.E.'s Transcripts (Only the first 2 pages)
• SG 10f - Web-Help: Deep Blue
• SG 10g - "Zombie Dogs" (STEPHEN MIHM, New York Times 12/11/05)
• SG 10h - "When are the souls handed out?" (DAVID BARASH, LA Times 7/18/05)

SG 11a - Mind-Body Theories

• SG 11b - Mind-Body Theories continued
• SG 11c - John Searle: “Minds, Brains, and Programs”*** The Behavioral and Brain Sciences, vol. 3. 1980 Cambridge. Only the 1^st 4 pages (of 14) http://members.aol.com/NeoNoetics/MindsBrainsPrograms.html up to “The Systems Reply”
• SG 11d*- “Of Ants and Brains” (PHIL STOKES, Philosophers Magazine, 1^st Quarter, 2003)
• SG 11e - Eliminative Materialism http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/materialism-eliminative/
• SG 11f* - Mind-Body Positions (Cartoon by Prof. Chisholm)

SG 12 - Exam 2 Topics

• SG 12b Quiz for Exam 2

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SG 13a - “Does God Exist” Question 2: Article 3: 1^st and 4^th Ways only  from Aquinas' Summa Theologica http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/aquinas1.html

• SG 13b - Proofs for God's Existence
• SG 13c - Paley: Natural Theology, http://www-phil.tamu.edu/~gary/intro/paper.paley.html
• SG 13d - Anselm’s Ontological Argument: http://www.anselm.edu/homepage/dbanach/anselm.htm
• SG 13e - Pascal's Wager
• SG 13f - Outline of Mackie’s version of the Logical Problem of Evil http://instruct.westvalley.edu/lafave/problem_of_evil.htm
• SG 13g - The Problem of Evil
• SG 13h - "Why I'm happy I evolved" (OLIVIA JOHNSON, New York Times 1/01/06)

SG 14a - Ethics

• SG 14b - Web-Help: Ethics Terminology - See ethics, normative (also see the equivalent: “general normative ethics”), applied normative ethics (We’ll call this “applied ethics”), ethical absolutism, ethical relativism, meta-ethics, hedonism, psychological egoism, ethical egoism (see the equivalent: “egoism” or “universal ethical egoism”) (Recommended)
• SG 14c - Web-Help: Ethics Terminology II - See absolutism, altruism, nihilism, psychological egoism, relativism, skepticism, subjectivism (Recommended)

SG 15a - Extra Credit: Book Report

SG 16a - Analysis Paper: Run Lola Run or ???

• SG 16b - Analysis Paper Rubric
• SG 16c - Tips on Writing a Philosophy Paper

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