PHIL
1000-3Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 1100-3
Ethics
PHIL 1600-3
Philosophy and Religion
PHIL 4040-3
Studies in Twentieth-Century Philosophy
Your instructor, Barbara Morriston, received her B.A. degree from Goucher College in 1967 and her Ph.D. in Philosophy from Northwestern University in 1974. In graduate school, she specialized in phenomenology and analytic philosophy of mind. More recently, her interests have been turning toward ethnics and history of ideas.
Ms. Morriston taught part-time at the University of Colorado during the early ‘70s and from 1975-1977 taught at Kenyon College, in Ohio. Returning to Boulder, she knocked about the Engineering School for a number of years, receiving a M.S. in Applied Mathematics in 1984, two months before the birth of her second child. Since that time most of her energy has gone to taking care of children.
Like a good Boulderite, Ms. Morriston rides her bicycle about 100 miles a week. She tries to spend a little time every day practicing her recorder, which she has been teaching herself to play for more years than you would believe if you heard her.
Plato, Defense of Socrates, Euthyphro, Crito; translated by David Gallop; Oxford
University Press, 1997. ISBN 0-19-282335-3 (pbk).
Plato, Symposium and Phaedrus; Dover Publications Inc., New York, 1993. Dover Thrift
Edition. ISBN 0-486-27798-4 (pbk).
Descartes, Rene, Meditations on First Philosophy, Lawrence Lafleur, Trans., Prentice
Unit 1 An Historical Introduction
Unit 2 Plato's Euthyphro
Unit 3 Plato's Defense
Unit 4 Plato's Crito
Unit 5 Plato's Symposium
Unit 6 Descartes' First Meditation
Unit 7 Descartes’ Second Meditation
Unit 8 Final Examination
Philosophy 1000-3, Introduction to Philosophy, is a course designed to introduce the student to the fundamental questions of philosophy through a rigorous study of the ideas of two central and influential Western philosophers, Plato (428-348 B.C.) and Descartes (1596-1650 A.D.).
WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?
It must be admitted that there is no single agreed upon definition of philosophy. Literally, the word means "love of wisdom." This does not, of course, tell us of the subject matter or method of philosophy.
Perhaps one can get an idea of what philosophers attempt to do by inspecting the traditional fields of philosophy. In general, philosophy may be broken down into four major divisions.
1. Metaphysics -- the study of the nature of reality.
2. Epistemology -- the theory of knowledge.
3. Axiology -- the theory of value--Axiology deals with the notion of value in general. It contains the following sub-fields which concern themselves with particular values.
a. Ethics -- the study of moral value, asks such questions as what is right, what is good?
b. Aesthetics --What is art, what is beauty? Are there objective standards by which works of art can be judged?
4. Logic -- the principles of correct reasoning. Logic is the method by which philosophers analyze the problems of metaphysics, epistemology and axiology.
In addition to the above fields there are "second-order" studies of philosophy such as: philosophy of science, philosophy of history, philosophy of education, philosophy of religion, philosophy of law, etc. These are called second-order studies because they are once removed from the subject matter under consideration. A scientist studies science, a philosopher studies the philosophy of science. In this case he/she would attempt to find the underlying principles and presuppositions that science rests upon and that scientists ignore when they pursue their investigations.
In general then, philosophy seeks to answer fundamental questions about the nature of reality and our experience of it. In so doing, it adopts a critical attitude and aims for clarity and rationality.
Philosophy does not pose final solutions but seeks to understand the basic issues of existence (both individual and social issues) and to present living systems of thought that are rational and cohesive.
In designing this course, the authors had several options available to them. One was to choose an introductory textbook which has the advantage of presenting all the branches of philosophy in an understandable and readable manner. However, little, if any, reading of actual philosophers is possible and this was considered a serious drawback. Another possibility was to read widely from the Western philosophical tradition. This is ideal but pragmatically impossible in an introductory course.
Remaining undaunted, the authors decided to grasp the horns of this dilemma and immerse the reader into the waters of two of the greatest and most important philosophic minds the West has produced, Plato and Descartes. It is hoped that the commentaries in the syllabus will serve as an extra motivation (and lifeline when needed) to those who wish to sample the joys, frustrations and rewards that are philosophy. Good swimming.
NOTE TO READER
A commentary precedes each written assignment, which provides help on the more difficult concepts to be mastered, suggestions for further reading where appropriate, and a writing assignment to be sent to your instructor for evaluation. All written assignments, except for the final exam, are "open book", and you may help yourself to whatever materials you need in preparing them. Please stay within the limits of space defined in the assignment. The emphasis is on clear, concise, careful writing, not on writing a lot. As one old professor used to say,
"In
many cases, verbosity is inversely proportional to intelligence."