Philosophical Problems 120FSpring 2009, M-W 10-11.30 am

Earth & Planetary Sciences 203I n s t r u c t o rMariska LeunissenEmail: mleuniss@artsci.wustl.eduOffice: Wilson Hall Rm. 112 / 935-4753Office hours: W 11.30am-1.30pm or by appointment

Emily CrookstonEmail: emcrooks@artsci.wustl.eduOffice: Wilson Hall Rm. 116Office hours: Mo 11.30am-l2.30pm and Th 3-4pm

Course DescriptionThis course serves as an introduction to philosophy in the western analytic tradition. Weshall discuss some of the most significant problems in epistemology, the philosophy ofmind, and ethics by analyzing some of the key texts in these fields. The course will place astrong emphasis on learning how to read philosophical texts and how to assess and producephilosophically compelling arguments. Monday classes will generally proceed by lecture;Wednesday classes will generally be devoted to a discussion of the reading questions and togroup discussion sessions.

Course Requirements

1) Three summaries (2-3 pages; pick three out of the following four):

Descartes Meditation IHume Enquiry section 4Peirce Fixation of BeliefRorty Science as Solidarity

due: 1/26 5%due : 2 /2 5%due : 2 /9 5%due: 2/16 5% [total: 15%]

2) Three essays (3-4 pages; pick three out of the following four):

Plato PhaedoDescartes Meditation VIPutnam Brains and BehaviorNagel What is it like to be a Bat?

due: 3/2 10%due: 3/16 10%due: 3/23 10%due: 3/30 10% [total: 30%]

3) One term Paper (5-6 pages; use any combination of the following texts)

Aristotle Nicomachean EthicsKant Foundation for the Metaphysics of MoralsMill UtilitarianismDe Waal How Morality evolved due: 4/30 40% [total: 40%]

4) Course participation 15% [total: 15%]

Note: You must complete all seven assignments to receive credit for this course. Inaddition, regular attendance and class participation are expected. Please bring assignedreadings to class.

L i t e r a t u r e

1) Plato's Phaedo (Hackett Publication)

2) Frans de Waal, Primates and Philosophers: How Morality EvolvedISBN-10: 0691124477ISBN-13: 978-0691124476Publisher: Princeton University Press (September 5, 2006)

3) Reading Packet (on E-reserve; password 'belief)

COURSE SCHEDULE (subject to adjustment)

Section One: EpistemologyTheory of knowledge; rationalism — empiridsm; induction; skeptidsm; pragmatism

Weekl1/12; 1/14

Course IntroductionPlatoMeno

Week 21/21

PlatoMeno (continued)

Week 31/26; 1/28

DescartesMeditations on First Philosophy I-II

Week 42/2; 2/4

HumeAn Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding sections 4 & 5

Week 52/9; 2/11

PeirceThe Fixation of Belief (1877)How to Make Our Ideas Clear (1878)

Week 62/16; 2/18

GettierIs Justified True Belief Knowledge?RortySdence as Solidarity

Section Two: Mind - BodyDualism; Behaviorism; Functionalism; Consdousness

Week 72/23; 2/25

PlatoPhaedo 72d-107d; 114d-118a

AristodeDeAnima II. 1-3

Week 83/2; 3/4

DescartesMeditations VT and The Passions of the Soul (selections)

3/9; 3/11 Spring Break

Week 93/16; 3/18

PutnamBrains and Behavior

Week 103/23; 3/25

NagelWhat is it like to be a bat?

Section Three: EthicsVirtue; deontology; utilitarianism; ethics e ° evolution

Week 113/30; 4/1

AristoUeNicomachean Ethics, book I

Week 124/6; 4/8

KantThe Foundation for the Metaphysics of Morals, Preface & Section 1

Week 134/13; 4/15

M i l lUtilitarianism, chapters 1-2

Week 144/20; 4/22

DeWaalPrimates and Philosophers: How Morality Evoked (part 1, without appendices)

Grading Pol icy Phi losophical Problems 120F:

For each of the summaries you can earn 5 points; for each of the essays you can earn 10points; for the final paper you can earn 40 points, and active participation in class may earnyou 15 points. The total of points to be earned is thus 100. Summaries and short papers areto be turned in on the assigned date at the beginning of class. The final paper is to be turnedin on the assigned date before 5 p.m. in the instructor's email-box.

Unless special permission is obtained from the instructor in advance, late papers will not beaccepted without grade penalty, and incompletes will not be given. Permission will only begiven in case there is a genuine emergency or the circumstances are exceptional in someother way. When papers are turned in late without special permission, one-third of a lettergrade will be deducted (e.g., an A will become an A-) for each 24h that the paper is late.

Plagiarism will be punished as severely as the university allows. Please make yourself familiarwith the university's policies on plagiarism.

Grading policies per writing assignments:

General policy:No drafts will be accepted, BUT you are strongly encouraged to visit office hours todiscuss paper topics and/or outlines with the T.A. or the instructor.Rewrites will be accepted, but note that in order to get a better grade you will have todo more than just fix the problems noted by the T.A. or the instructor.

1 Summaries (3: total of 15 credit points'):The purpose of writing these summaries is to make you familiar with the strategies toread, deconstruct and analyze philosophical texts. The overall impact these summarieswill have on your final grade is relatively low, but they provide useful exercises for the

The scale used is:1 point = Well, you handed in something, and it looks like a summary.2 point = This summary has serious problems: the author has completely

misunderstood the reading, and the writing is very unclear and unorganized.3 points = It is clear that you read and studied the text, but there are some major

problems: either you misunderstood what the philosopher is saying, or theway you organized the material is less than optimal.

4 points = This is a good summary, but there are some minor flaws: you may havemisrepresented the philosopher's views on one or two occasions, or there areminor problems in your writing.

5 points = This is a very good summary: it is clearly written, and it captures the mostimportant views of the philosopher. You should be really proud to haveearned 5 credit points for it.

• Essays (3: total of 30 credit points'):These essays are exercises for you to learn how to integrate philosophical interpretation(= summary skills: how to read and carefully represent the views of the philosopher) andcritical reflection (= some of the skills we practice during the discussions). Focus on oneissue in the readings that you think is interesting, problematic, or worth thinking about:give a fair representation of what the philosopher has to say about this issue, and thenoffer your opinions, analyses, argumentations, etc. This is an exercise that prepares youto write philosophical essays of considerable length and depth.

• Final Essay CI: total of 40 credit points'):This essay is the most important assignment in this class, and it will way heaviest uponyour final grade: this is where you demonstrate to able to handle (= read, understand,summarize, think, form opinions and write about) philosophical texts:

your representation of the philosopher(s) you are discussing is precise, fair, careful,to the point, and clearly written (= summary skills);you are able to reflect critically about the readings and formulate your own opinionabout them in a well-structured and clearly written way (= essay skills + groupdiscussion skills).

This is a rough description of the grading scale for essays:

A+ This is a truly outstanding essay. It is clearly written, well-argued, and original (i.e. original ascompared to your fellow students; you're not expected to do groundbreaking philosophicalwork in an intro to philosophy-class). An essay that just gives a straightforward or 'obvious'response to some philosophical or interpretative problem would not merit an A+, even if itis clear. An A+ essay does something extra - but not at the cost of a clear treatment of theproblem. If you receive an A+ on an essay you have reason to feel extremely proud of yourwork.

A/A- This is a really good essay, one that operates at an advanced level. It is clearly written. (Ifthere are any significant problems with the writing or the organization of the essay, then itwon't merit an A. This is because good clear writing and organization are not separable fromgood philosophical thinking.) The essay may have a couple of minor mistakes or confusions,or it may fail to unpack some of its arguments sufficiendy. It may have an original argumentor interpretation, but if so, that will be offset by some other flaw. For example, in a longeressay, perhaps there is too litde philosophical back-and-forth (considering objections andchallenges, and responding to them). Or perhaps it is not as engaged with the texts as itshould be. The gravity and amount of the minor flaws determines whether it will be an A oran A- essay.

This is a well-written essay with nothing terribly wrong. The writing may have some smallproblems, or it may be flawless. The essay may make some mistakes or have someambiguities that have to be sorted out, but overall it will be a good essay. It will show morepromise or originality than a B essay, but nothing will make it stand out like an A/A- essay,or it won't be operating at as advanced a level as an A/A- essay. (Or perhaps the essay wouldstand out if some of its ideas were properly developed, but as it stands they aren't.)

This is a solid essay, with some notable mistakes or obscurities, but no seriousmisunderstandings. The writing may not be super-clear. To earn a B, the essay needs tomake it clear why the problem addressed in the essay is a problem, and offer some responseto it. (It may be a straightforward or unoriginal response; it may not be a decisive response;the essay may even end by showing that a certain response doesn't work. But the essay mustput forward or examine some response to the problem.) A B essay does not seriouslymisrepresent the views of other philosophers.

There are starting to be some serious problems. Perhaps the writing is really unclear or theessay is poorly organized. Or perhaps there are straightforward mistakes andmisunderstandings about what the problem is, or about what other philosophers say. Orperhaps the essay presents the problem correcdy, but doesn't really address it. Still, there isan effort. The author has some understanding of the problem and of the relevant texts. Shedoes offer some argument. An essay with no argument won't merit a B-.

There are more serious problems. Either the writing is really hard to get through; or theessay has no discernable structure; or the author doesn't understand the text or the positionsshe is discussing; or the essay doesn't really attempt to offer any argument.

Essays with more problems will earn grades of C or below.It is difficult to give a general gloss on those grades since the problems that beset theseessays are quite varied.

Grading Policies for Class participation (total of 15 credit points'):

• Group discussion sessions C5 sessions: total of 15 credit points'):For each time you participate actively and constructively in a group discussion session,you earn three credit points. There will be five of these group discussion sessions duringthe semester. In order to earn full credit for participation, class attendance will thus berequired.

• Class participation (bonus: maximum of 3 credit points'):I give extra participation credits (a maximum of three over the whole semester) to thoseof you who are active and involved in class, i.e. ask questions, answer reading questions,challenge the views of the philosopher we discuss, etc. These extra credits will be addedas bonus to your total score.

GRADING SCALE: