Course Syllabus
Philosophy 4
Introduction to Philosophy: Knowledge and its Limits Stephan Johnson
Email: sjohnson@ccsf.edu
Office Hours: Via Zoom through Canvas by appointment
Required Text: All readings for this course will be available online on Canvas in the Modules section of the course. You may print these off or not as you wish. Any additional readings will be similarly placed on the site.
Online Resources
Canvas
Personal Philosophy Wiki
(http://ccsfphilosophy.editme.com/)
On the Canvas site for this course, you’ll find all readings, assignments, notes, rubrics, etc., for this course. All interactions will be on Canvas either through the site itself (for assignments and exams) or through ConferZoom (a Zoom interface within that platform).
On my personal site, you’ll find additional resources for you related to this course, and all the philosophy courses I teach at City College.
Course Description: These are the central concerns of this class: What is there? What’s it like? And what can we know about it? These concerns will form the backbone of our discussion of the following topics: Is there a God? How could there exist evil in a God-created universe? What is consciousness? Could a computer ever think? What is the basis for one’s continued identity through time (if you think that you indeed are the same person you were 10 years ago)? Are we, as physical beings, truly free, and if so, in what sense? What is the essence of the ordinary objects you take yourself to know about? To what extent is reality dependent or independent of our observation of it?
The means by which we will investigate these difficult issues is discussion. I will talk and then ask questions of you; then you will talk and ask questions of me. To the best of my knowledge, there has been no improvement on this method since it was first used so effectively by Socrates some 2400 years or so ago. Unfortunately, because these are some of the hardest questions that exist, it’s doubtful we’ll come up with any really satisfactory answers. All the same, it is infinitely better to struggle with difficult and important questions and reach no final conclusion then to waste one’s time with the kinds of questions some people seem overly concerned with (‘I wonder what kinds of clothes/hairstyle/shoes/car I should have?’). Philosophy is not easy, but then again neither is life. It’s a professional prejudice (again dating back to Socrates), but we in the philosophy business really think that worrying about the one makes you better at the other.
ConferZoom Policies: As this course material (what we used to call lectures in the good old days) will be presented exclusively through Zooms, I will do Zoom meetings on the appointed time and day the course would normally meet were these normal times. That is, at the catalog time and date. Announcements for these will go out to automatically through Canvas and all meetings will be recorded.
There’ll be no attendance taken during the Zooms (time is of the essence) but I will be able to monitor your engagement with them and the course material will become increasingly difficult if you don’t view the Zooms regularly in a timely fashion.
We will also use the Zooms to explain all course assignments and go over these after they’ve been graded and sent back to you via Canvas.
Since we’re all fairly new to this, Zoom netiquette is a bit of work in progress so I won’t have heavy requirements for participation or punish muting, etc. Good discussion is helpful though, so if you feel comfortable commenting during the Zoom, please do. I will use the WhiteBoard template in Zoom and present the lectures via Slides (also available on Canvas) and I’ll screenshot these WhiteBoard markups and post them after every Zoom session.
One thing that can/will happen is internet connectivity may be a problem. In those cases, we’ll try to get through it and, if the problem persists, I’ll post a note on Pronto (on Canvas) letting you know that I know and how we’ll proceed. In general, I won’t do make up sessions; we’ll just try again the next scheduled session.
Prerequisites: This class is very conceptual and will require a high degree of critical thinking, both in writing and verbally. While there are introductory classes in philosophy, there are no beginning classes in philosophy. The materials you will read and the presentation you will receive will be what you would get were you in any philosophy course at any reputable institution of higher learning. As this class is fully transferable and indeed modeled on courses offered at UC, that will set the standard for this course, in all respects. As far as a good initial mindset goes, if you’ve always been of the questioning sort and enjoy critical discussion and argument, this class ought to fit you well. So, in terms of prerequisites, there are no formal ones. All the same, if you aren’t the least bothered about very basic questions that life throws up, this class may well not fit you. On the other hand, if you still remember those questions you had as a small child and at least some of them still perplex you, you could well be in the right place.
Course Requirements: The determiners of your grade for the course are of three types: a) Weekly Take Home Reading Analyses; b) Two In Class Mid Term Exams; c) an In Class Final Exam. How this will work will be as follows:
Weekly Take Home Reading Analyses: On Tuesday of each week starting the second week of classes, I will announce on Canvas a brief passage from the readings that you are to analyze in a brief (no more than one typed page) paper that will be due on Canvas on the first day of the following class week.
What I’m looking for in these analyses is a demonstration that you understand the text, to some reasonable degree of depth. In class we’ll go over the format and expectations of this assignment type in more detail, but briefly, what I’m looking for is a demonstration that (a) you understand the thesis of the passage; (b) you are able to surmise the author’s principle reasons or argument for this point; and (c) that you can, concisely, discuss this passage as to the degree of support provided for the main point.
The grading policy for these analyses will be to score them on a three-point scale. The first point is tied to how well you concisely and accurately state the central point or thesis of the passage. The second point is tied to how well you state the reasons or argument the author provides in support of that central point or thesis. The third point comes from accomplishing the first two goals, and then critically assessing the extent to which the author’s reasons or argument do, in fact, actually support the central point.
Giving out one assignment per week yields 15 assignments for the entire semester. The total number of points you may earn in this portion of the course, though, is 25 points. So the goal is for everyone to earn the full compliment of 25 points. My advice is not to wait until later in the semester to start handing in analyses, for reasons that will become even more clear below.
Late assignments will be penalized .5 points for each day after the due date listed on Canvas
Mid Term Exams
There will be two mid term exams, both on Canvas, and both will be of exactly the same sort of thing as the take home weekly analyses. Each mid term exam is worth 24 points, more or less corresponding to the 3 point scale for the weekly assignments (i.e., 8 points for getting the thesis correct; 16 points for accurately detailing the argument provided in the passage; 24 points for doing both of those and also providing good critical commentary on the arguments’ success in supporting the central thesis of the passage.)
Date of the Mid-Term Exams
Mid-Term 1: 9/22
Mid-Term 2: 11/4
Late exams will be penalized 2 points for each day after the official exam day.
Final Exam:
Due on Canvas on 12/18 using the exact same form and point value as the Mid- Terms.
Grade Scale: The total possible points for the course are 97. Your point total will be a function of your Weekly Analyses (25 points possible), your Mid-Term Exams (48 points possible), and your Final Exam (24 points possible). The grading scale will be as follows:
A: 92-100%
B: 82-89%
C: 65-79%
D: 50-64%
F: 0-49%
Point totals that fall between grades will be re-subject to the influence of the kinds of things discussed above. There is no extra credit available. If you want to do well, show up and study hard.
Academic Misconduct: You must be the sole author of all work that appears under your name. Do not be tempted to copy material from another student or other source (i.e., the internet). It is the easiest thing in the world to catch. For those so tempted, any or all of the following may result: disciplinary action by the College; an F on the assignment: an F in the course. If you have any questions about proper citation and/or quoting or paraphrasing, consult me or a reputable writing guide (MLA Guide to Style; The Elements of Style—both available in the College Library).
Note Extremely Well: If I suspect that you have engaged in academic misconduct, in any way, I reserve the right to test your mastery of the course material in an alternative way.
Class Participation: I don’t consider myself to be a particularly Zoom presenter, if by that one means delivering a set presentation with no give and take from the audience. My strength, such as it is, lies in responding to questions from the class and using these to present issues that hopefully generate further questions, etc. Hence, for this course to be all that it can be, student participation in the form of questions, challenges, etc., is essential. Nor is this modus operandi merely personal preference; there are good philosophical reasons (Socratic ones, no less) that I hold dear for thinking this to be the best pedagogical method ever developed. Now, as the rubber meets the road, class participation is not a requirement. All the same, the halo effect mentioned above can be multiplied greatly if your attendance is married to class participation.
Accommodations
Students requiring accommodations for exams or other work are encouraged to contact DSPS in Rosenberg Library 323
Drop Policy: I will not drop any students.
Schedule of Topics: This schedule is approximate; exigencies and what may necessitate some flexibility, which may include the dropping or rearranging of topics. All of the following readings are available through links on my course Wiki page
Module 1: The Nature of God, The Possibility of Evil
Readings: Anselm; Aquinas, Paley, Hume; Russell; Leibniz; Mackie
Module 2: Minds, Bodies, Programs, and Consciousness
Readings: Descartes Meditations 1-3; Ryle; Armstrong; Dennett; Lewis; Block; Churchland; Turing; Searle; Nagel; Jackson
Module 3: Personal Identity Readings: Perry
Module 4: Freedom and Determinism Readings: Taylor; Campbell
Module 5: The Meaning of Life Readings: Nagel; Taylor
MAJOR LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR PHILOSOPHY 4
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Identify and evaluate major metaphysical theories of sustaining influence.
- Identify and evaluate major epistemological theories of sustaining
influence. - Fluently communicate philosophical arguments, both in writing and in oral
contexts. - Apply critical reading skills to philosophical writings, including identifying
presented arguments and assumptions, and preparing to discuss those arguments verbally or in writing.