Introduction to Philosophy

This course introduces the central problems of philosophy. It considers solutions proposed by the greatest thinkers of the Western philosophical tradition (and some from non-Western traditions as well).

We will begin by asking what it is to be human, and reflect on the importance of this question for how we live our own lives. Are we minds and bodies? Just minds? Just bodies? What difference does it make? What is it to lead a good human life?

We will then move on to questions in the theory of knowledge: What is knowledge? How do we get it? What can we know?

Finally, we will raise some of the basic questions of metaphysics: What is there? What is a thing? Do things have essences? Is reality independent of our minds? Is there a God?

Announcements

You may take the final exam at either of the following times: Thursday, December 14, 9am-12 noon in BEL 328, OR Monday, December 18, 2-5pm, in UTC 2.112A.

There will be a mandatory portion covering the last third of the course, on Metaphysics. You may, if you like, also take optional parts that can replace exam 1 and exam 2. Scores on the optional parts will count only if they help you.

There is a practice exam for the mandatory part of the final online. Answers are also here. Here are also the final review slides from 11:00 and 12:00.

Practice exam two is still available. So are the answers, as well as the review slides from our review session in class. The same is true for practice exam one and its answers.

I will no longer be holding my regular office hours.

Amazing job on the survey! You have earned the full 15 extra points, which will be added to your lowest test or homework score, whichever helps you most. 1,500 people submitted survey responses. Thank you!

For those who took the exam on Thursday: I will not be able to finalize the amount of the curve, or add it in eGradebook, until after everyone has taken the exam on Monday. My guess at this point, however, is that you should add 10 points to your score on the mandatory part; 10 points to your score on the first optional part; and 20 points to your score on the second optional part.

Required Text

Daniel Bonevac, Worldly Wisdom (Mountain View: Mayfield, 2001).

Requirements

There are two paths to a grade in this course. The path of reflection emphasizes the homework writing assignments, though exams are also important. The path of examination emphasizes the exams, though the homework remains important. We will figure your grade according to both paths and assign you the higher grade.

Path of Reflection Path of Examination

Exam 1 15% 25%

Exam 2 15% 25%

Final Exam 15% 25%

Homework 55% 25%

The midterm exams (Monday, September 25, and Monday, October 30) will consist of 55 multiple-choice questions. Roughly half will be quotations; you will have to identify the authors.

The final exam (Thursday December 14, 9 am - 12 noon, OR Monday, December 18, 2-5pm) will consist of a mandatory part, that everyone will have to take, and an optional part, that can replace your first two exam scores if that will help your grade. Both parts will be similar in form to the midterm exams: 55 multiple-choice questions, about half of which will be quotations.

Your homework grade will be based on three papers (max. 1500 words) on topics to be assigned, due on September 22, October 20, and December 1. Email your paper to your reader. Do NOT use Blackboard, and do NOT send it to Professor Bonevac. He is easily confused.

September 22: From a Confucian perspective, critique Plato's conception of the soul in the Republic. In particular, (a) define weakness of will, (b) discuss Plato's conception of it, (c) evaluate Plato's argument for the existence of three parts of the soul, and (d) evaluate the resulting conception of virtue.

October 20: Is the externalist in a better position than the internalist to respond to skeptical arguments? Why or why not?

December 1: How might an idealist reply to the missing explanation argument? Do you think the reply succeeds?

The Professor

Daniel Bonevac is Professor of Philosophy at The University of Texas at Austin. He has been teaching courses in philosophy for more than twenty-five years. His book Reduction in the Abstract Sciences (1982) received the Johnsonian Prize from The Journal of Philosophy. The author of five books and editor or co-editor of three others, Professor Bonevac's recent articles include "Against Conditional Obligation" (Noûs, 1998), "Sellars v. the Given" (Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 2002), "Reflection Without Equilibrium," Journal of Philosophy (July 2004), "Free Choice Permission Is Strong Permission" (Synthese, 2005, with Nicholas Asher), and "The Conditional Fallacy," (Philosophical Review, 2006, with Josh Dever and David Sosa).