PHIL 26 – History of Philosophy

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Spring 2018

Instructor

Professor Gale Justin, Department of Philosophy

Office: Mendocino Hall #3024

Office Hours: TTh. 1: 30 – 3:00 PM and by appointment

Email: justin@csus.edu

DSL: http://www.csus.edu/indiv/j/justing

Class Meetings

TTh. 10:30 AM – 11:45 AM. Class attendance is not required for students in either section of the course. But if a student wants to attend all or any one of the actual classes, then the student should come to Library 53. If you choose not to attend the actual class, you must watch each class lecture via Blackboard from which you access My Media Site. Once on Media Site, disregard the section # of the link to Philosophy 26 presentations. The listed presentations are for both sections of this class.

Note: The essay exams are based entirely on my lectures and the class readings. So anyone who is registered for the class must have access to Media Site and anyone who wants to get a passing grade in the class needs to watch the lectures and do the assigned readings.

Class Practices

• Ordinary courtesy behavior must be displayed in the studio classroom. Impermissible behavior in class includes, but is not limited to, eating or drinking in the studio classroom, cell phone use, texting, pager use, non-classroom related computer activity, habitual tardiness, leaving early, or leaving and returning during the class, doing outside homework or outside reading in class, any form of discourtesy to other students or to the teacher. Any type of impermissible behavior will result in the offender(s) being asked to leave the studio classroom, giving you only the videos on Media Site as your source of the lecture material. Students are also required to bring the Philosophy 26 Reader to each class.
• Office hour appointments work best, if you email me to schedule a time for you either during my office hour or at some other mutually convenient time. If you need to cancel, you must notify me (not just fail to appear), if you wish me to reschedule an appointment for you.
• To contact me, use only my justin@csus.edu email address. In the subject line, indicate the class of mine that you are taking. In the body of the email, state immediately your name-e.g. the name under which you registered for the class. Then briefly indicate the reason for your email. But note questions that I have answered in class pertaining to the mechanics of the course will not be answered on an individual basis. You must watch the class videos and read the syllabus for your answers.

Course Content

This course acquaints students with several connected themes characteristic of Western philosophy, the idea of soul, the existence of a divine being, the nature of moral good and evil, and the trustworthiness of human knowledge. We shall trace the continuities and distinctive features of these themes as they appear in philosophical works of the period from ancient Greece through the modern era. Students will be encouraged not only to master the philosophical material and the methods of philosophical argument but also to pay attention to the historical and cultural context within which these themes develop.

Required Texts (from Bookstore)

Phil. 26 Reader (Reader is cited as Reader in the Reading Schedule.)

Early Greek History Document (click here)

Course Requirements

3 Essay Exams (the average of which equals) 85%

Historical Knowledge Test 15%

100%

1. Each essay exam consists of two parts: an essay (roughly 3-4 pages) and 15 multiple choice questions. Both parts of each exam are to be completed at home. For submission practices see below. Absolutely no email submissions. No exceptions.

2. Write your name on the first page of the essay. No cover sheets, please. Write your name on the 882E scantron. Either place both parts of your exam in the drop box outside of my office (Mendocino 3024) or slide it under the door of my office or hand it to the Philosophy Department secretary in Mendocino 3000. NO late exams will be accepted. NO email submissions. Use only an 882E scantron. NO EXCEPTIONS in any of these three cases.

3. All essays must be typed or word-processed.

4. Each of the three essays MUST follow the stylistic format that is specified on the essay “prompt” that states the essay question for the exam. If you fail to follow the stylistic format for essay, you will lose 15 points at the outset of the grading process. Please also note the essay question is a single question with multiple parts each of which you must explicitly answer, basing your answers exclusively on the lectures in conjunction with the reading. In other words, the questions are not to be answered primarily through your own reflection on the question and your own interpretation of the readings or on what you may have learned in previous classes. Also, your essay must display a solid grasp of college level English.

Links Essay Exam 1; Essay Exam 2; Essay Exam 3; Guidelines for Writing Philosophy Papers. Please note: crumbled, folded or otherwise damaged scantrons will not be graded.

Important Due Dates (Note: No late work is accepted. All assignments are due by 12 in the afternoon of the date specified below.)

1.30 Early Greek History Test (click here). To be done on an 882E-scantron. Test is based on the Early Greek History Document for which click here. Put your name on the scantron and place the completed scantron in the locked drop box outside my office, Mendocino 3024. Due by 12 pm in the afternoon.

2.27 First Essay Exam by 12 pm in the afternoon.

4.12 Second Essay Exam by 12 pm in the afternoon.

5.10 Third Essay Exam by 12 pm in the afternoon.

Reading Schedule (Note: The actual pace of the class may not be in complete accord with the reading schedule. But all of the listed readings will be covered and it is the student’s responsibility to read the readings at the same pace as they are discussed in class.)

1.23 Introduction: What is the role of Philosophy in the Humanities?

1.25 Early Greek History

Read: Early Greek History: 2000 BC – 300BC

1.30 Socratic/Platonic conception of soul

Plato, Apology, Reader, 1 - 13.

Due: Early Greek History Test (click here)

2.1 Plato, Apology, Reader. 1-13.

2.6 Plato, Phaedo, Reader, 14 - 22 up to 71e.

2.8 Plato, Phaedo, Reader, from p. 23 at 96a – p. 29 at 107a.

2.13 Plato, Phaedo, Reader, from p. 23 at 96a – p. 29 107a.

2.15 Aristotle and the idea of moral good

Nicomachean Ethics, Bk. 1, sec. 1-5, Reader, 30 - 32, and Bk. I, sec. 7, 33 - 35.

2.20 Nicomachean Ethics, Bk. 2, sec. 1, Reader, 36 – 37, and Bk. II, sec. 6, Reader, 38 -40.

2.22Nicomachean Ethics, Bk. 2, sec. 1, Reader, 36 – 37, and Bk. II, sec. 6, Reader, 38 -40

2.27 Differences between the ancient Greek conception of Humanity and that ofChristianity with special emphasis on their differing view of Homosexuality. ESSAY EXAM 1 DUE

3.1 Anselm, Proslogion, Reader, 41, Gaunilo’s Reply, Reader, 42, and Anselm’s 48.Reply, Reader, 43.

3.6 Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Third Article, Reader, 44 - 45.

3.8 Animating Ideas and Values of the Early Modern Period in Western Europe

3.13 Descartes, Meditation I, Reader, 46 -48.

3.15 Descartes, Meditation I, Reader, 46 -48.

3.19 – 23 SPRING BREAK

3.27 Descartes, Meditation II, Reader, 48 – 52.

3.29 Descartes, Meditation III, Reader 52 – 58.

4.3 Descartes, Meditation VI, Reader, 58 - 65.

4.5 Hume, An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Bk. I, Reader, 66 – 69 up to “We now proceed to explain the nature of personal identity.”

4.10 Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature, Bk. I, Reader, p. 69 from “We now proceed to explain the nature of personal identity,” to p. 71,

4.12 No Class

Due: Second Essay Exam

4.17 Kant’s “Refutation of Idealism,” p. 72 -73.

4.19 Kant’s Moral Philosophy

Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (Groundworks), Reader. pp. 74 – 75.

Begin reading the First Section, starting at “There is no possibility of thinking of anything at all in the word . . . except a good will” through first sentence of the last paragraph on p. 75: “Reason, however is not competent . . . as regards . . . satisfaction of all our needs.”

4.24 Kant’s Moral Philosophy

Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (Groundworks), Reader. pp. 74 – 75.

Begin reading the First Section, starting at “There is no possibility of thinking of anything at all in the word . . . except a good will” through first sentence of the last paragraph on p. 75: “Reason, however is not competent . . . as regards . . . satisfaction of all our needs.”

4.26 Kant, Groundwork, Reader, pp. 76-77.

Begin reading on p. 76 at the left hand column line 7 “we shall take up the concept of duty” and continue reading through p. 77 at the left hand column line 25, which ends by stating “then for the first tie his action has genuine moral worth.”

5.1 Kant, Groundwork, Reader, pp. 78 -79.

Begin reading on p. 78 at the left hand column, where Kant states “The second proposition is this . . . .” and continue reading through p. 79 at the left hand column line 10, which concludes “that my maxim should become a universal law.”

5.3 Kant, Groundwork, Reader, pp. 82-83.

Begin reading from p. 82 at the left hand column line 8, where Kant states “The will is thought of as a faculty of determining itself to action” through p. 82 at the right hand column, last line which ends on p. 83 at the top with the words “never simply as a means.”

5.8 Kant, Groundwork, Reader, pp. 82-83.

Begin reading from p. 82 at the left hand column line 8, where Kant states “The will is thought of as a faculty of determining itself to action” through p. 82 at the right hand column, last line which ends on p. 83 at the top with the words “never simply as a means.”

5.10 Due: Essay Exam 3 No Class

The marking scale upon which letter grades are assigned is as follows:

A 93-100 (14) C 70-74 (8)

A- 90-92 (13) C- 65-69 (7)

B+ 85-88 (12) D+ 60-64 (6)

B 80-84 (11) D 55-59 (5)

B- 78-79 (10) D- 50-54 (4

C+ 75-77 (9) F below 50% (3)

Academic Honesty

You must not copy another person’s work, use unacknowledged sources. Even if you form a study group to share ideas, the work that you turn in must be your own work. That is, your work must be written in your own words, not in phrasing agreed upon by and common to members of your study group. All incidents of cheating in any form will earn you a 0 on the assignment or an F in the course. See the policy on academic honesty: http://www.csus.edu/umanual/student/STU-0100.htm.

Students with Disabilities or Other Special Needs

If you have a disability and require accommodations, you need to provide disability documentation to SSWD, Lassen Hall 1008, and (916) 278-6955. Please discuss your accommodation needs with me early in the semester

Catalogue Description

An introduction to the history of philosophy, emphasizing such themes as the foundations of knowledge, the nature of reality, the basis of a good life and a just society, the existence of god, and the nature of the self, and tracing the development of these themes from antiquity to the modern period.

Course Goals

As a philosophy course, this course emphasizes the reading and doing of philosophy, through helping students to:

(1) understand how the themes of soul, the existence of a divine being, the nature of moral good and evil, and the trustworthiness of human are interpreted and related by various Western philosophers.

(2) distinguish and state clearly the main ideas that comprise each philosopher’s position.

(3) understand the ways in which the above mentioned themes are transformed in light of the historical situation that lies in the background.

(4) understand methods of philosophical argumentation

(5) maintain and defend with reasons a variety of one’s own theses concerning facets of each philosopher’s position.

(6) demonstrate knowledge of the conventions and methods of the study of the humanities.

(7) develop skill related to Investigating, describing, and analyzing the roles and effects of human culture and understanding in the development of human societies.

(8) compare and analyze various conceptions of humankind.

(9) demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the historical development of cultures and civilizations, including their animating ideas and values.

Area C1 Requirements

This course meets the GE area C1 requirements by (1) situating philosophy as a discipline within the context of the Humanities, (2) surveying the role of African- Semitic-European peoples in the development of the earliest culture of ancient Greece, (3) by comparing and analyzing the difference between the ancient Greek and the Christian conception of a human being with special attention to the effect of this difference on the respective culture’s attitude towards homosexuality and by (4) drawing on the development of science to help explain some of the animating ideas and values of early modern philosophy. http://www.csus.edu/acaf/ge/Area%20D%20Learning%20Outcomes.pdf