Problems of Philosophy

Lecturer:		James Shaw
Teaching Assistants:		Justin Blank
		Preston Stovall
		Sam Floyd (Writing TA)

Announcements

• (12/2) **Final Exam Questions have been distributed** These will not be posted online. Check with me or your TA to get a hard copy.
• (11/18) **Third Paper Due Date Extended: Thursday December 3rd (at 5PM)!**
• (11/11) Third Paper Topics Posted below!
• (10/25) Second Locke reading no longer assigned.
• (10/25) Second Paper Topics Posted below!
• (9/29) First Paper Topics Posted below!
• (9/12) The reading for Wednesday Sept. 30 *has changed* from a selection of Locke to the article "Epiphenomenal Qualia" (which, as usual, you can find below).

Course Description

The goal of this course is to have you gain some familiarity with the methods and subject matter of philosophy by looking at a series of classic questions, including the following: Do we have free will? Do we have minds or souls that are distinct from our bodies? What makes us who we are? Are there universal truths, or is truth just relative?

Graded work for the class consists in a series of three (relatively) short papers, a written final exam, and recitation participation. Some readings for the class are drawn from the following books which you can obtain from the university bookstore. I've also given the links to Amazon in case you want to buy them online.

• A Contemporary Introduction to Free Will (Kane)
• A Dialog on Personal Identity and Immortality (Perry)

There are also some articles which you can find further down in this website. You'll need a password to get them, which can be found on the syllabus I handed out on the first day of class. Check out Blackboard to find the password if you are in the class and haven't yet got a password.

Syllabus

• Syllabus
• Syllabus (updated)

Handouts

• Introduction
  • Handout 1 (Argument Structure)
• Mind Body Problem
  • Handout 2 (Dualism v. Materialism)
  • Handout 3 (Leibniz' Law)
  • Handout 4 (Causal Problems for Dualism)
  • Handout 5 (Identity Theory)
  • Handout 6 (Functionalism I)
  • Handout 7 (Functionalism II: Einstein's Brain)
  • Handout 8 (Knowledge Argument)
• Free Will
  • Handout 9 (Problem of Free Will)
  • Handout 10 (Classical Compatibilism)
  • Handout 11 (Consequence Argument)
  • Handout 12 (Further Troubles for Compatibilism)
  • Handout 13 (Libertarianism I: Simple, "Extra Factor")
  • Handout 14 (Libertarianism II: Event- and Agent-Causation)
  • Handout 15 (Hard Determinism and Skepticism)
• Personal Identity
  • Handout 16 (Problem of Personal Identity)
  • Handout 17 (Dualist and Somatic Theories), [Put us together again?]
  • Handout 18 (Psychological Theories)
  • Handout 19 (Fission Cases)
  • Handout 20 (Psychological/Somatic Finale)
  • Handout 21 (Parfit on Survival)
  • Handout 21.2 (Summary of Views)
• Moral Relativism
  • Handout 22 (Relativism: First Steps)
  • Handout 23 (Cultural Differences Argument)
  • Handout 24 (Harman's Argument from Disagreement)
  • Handout 25 (Attacks on the Argument from Disagreement)

Articles and Other Readings

You will need a password for most of the documents in this list. If you didn't get a password on the first day of class, you can find one on Blackboard. If that fails, contact your TA. (The downloads sometimes take a while, so please be patient.)

• How To Write Philosophy, Pryor
• Meditations on First Philosophy (selection), Descartes
• Dualism and Physicalism (selection), van Inwagen
• An Unfortunate Dualist, Smullyan
• Sensations and Brain Processes, Smart
• Nature of Brain States, Putnam
• A Conversation with Einstein's Brain, Hofstadter
• Essay Concerning Human Understanding (selection 1), Locke
  *No longer assigned, instead read "Epiphenomenal Qualia" (below)*
• Epiphenomenal Qualia, Jackson
• Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (selection), Hume
• An Argument for Incompatibilism, van Inwagen
• Are We Free to Break the Laws?, Lewis
• Freedom and Determinism (Selection), Taylor
• Impossibility of Moral Responsibility, Strawson
• Stanford Encyclopedia Entry on Personal Identity (read sections 1-2)
• Essay Concerning Human Understanding (selection 2), Locke
  *No longer assigned* (take a break)
• What We Believe Ourselves to Be (Selection), Parfit
• The Self and the Future, Williams
• Personal Identity, Parfit
• Theaetetus (selection), Plato
• Interlude: Relativism, Williams
• Challenge of Cultural Relativism, Rachels
• Moral Relativism and Moral Objectivity (Chs. 1 and 2), Harman
• Ethical Relativism and the Problem of Incoherence, Lyons

Writing Assignments

• First Writing Assignment
  Due Tues Oct 13th by 5PM in the mailboxes of your TA (Cathedral 10th floor)
• Second Writing Assignment
  Due Mon Nov 9th by 5PM in the mailboxes of your TA (Cathedral 10th floor)
• Third Writing Assignment
  **Extension: Due Thurs Dec 3rd by 5PM in the mailboxes of your TA** (Cathedral 10th floor)

Disabilities

If you have a disability that requires special testing accommodations or other classroom modifications, you need to notify both your TA and the Disability Resources and Services no later than the 2nd week of the term. You may be asked to provide documentation of your disability to determine the appropriateness of accommodations. To notify Disability Resources and Services, call 648-7890 (Voice or TTD) to schedule an appointment. The Office is located in 140 William Pitt Union.