V2301

Philosophy 001: Introduction to Philosophy

University of California, RiversideFall 2015

TR 12:10 01:30 PMUniversity Village, THE10This course is an introduction into the problems, methods, and scope of philosophical inquiry by reading key texts in the Western tradition. In particular, we will explore what philosophy is through its relation to various forms of skepticism. Some of the questions we will ask are: What counts as knowledge? Can we know that there is an external world? Can we know certain necessary features of this world? And what would it be to know moral truths, truths about what we ought to do? With these questions in mind, we will read texts by Plato, Descartes, Hume, Kant, and Nietzsche.ProfessorAndreja Novakovicandreja.novakovic@ucr.eduOffice: HMNSS 3210Office Hours: T 9 11 AM (or by appointment)Teaching AssistantsStephanie Allen (stephanie.allen@email.ucr.edu)

Office: HMNSS 3204/ Office Hours: M 2 4 PM

Daisy LaForce (daisy.laforce@email.ucr.edu)

Office: HMNSS 3217/ Office Hours: R 2 4 PMDavid Shope (david.shope@email.ucr.edu)

Office: HMNSS 3204/ Office Hours: R 2:15 4:15 PM

Eric Walker (eric.walker002@email.ucr.edu)Office: HMNSS/ Office Hours: TR 2 3 PMYour TA is here to help you with the course material. If you have a question about the requirements, readings, or lectures, do not hesitate to contact your TA. Contact your TA first before you contact the professor.Required Texts:

Plato, Five Dialogues (Hackett)

Ren Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy and Discourse on Method (Hackett)

Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (Cambridge)

Friedrich Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morality (Hackett)[The assigned sections of David Humes An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding will be posted to iLearn.]Course Website: https://ilearn.ucr.edu. The syllabus and other materials and announcements will be posted to this site. I will be posting my powerpoint presentations after class. You are also expected to take notes during class.Requirements Lecture Attendance (10%)

Lecture attendance is required and will make up 10% of the final grade. You have three free absences. After three absences your attendance grade will drop by 30% for each absence (even in the case of emergencies). We will be using clickers in class. I will be asking review questions at the beginning and at the end of class to be used to document your presence in class. You have to be answer the questions at the beginning and at the end of class in order to count as present in class that day. If you have a legitimate reason to leave early or arrive late, let your TA know.

If you forget your clocker or your clicker runs out of batteries (or otherwise fails to function), then at the end of class hand your TA a sheet of paper that includes the answers to the clicker questions, your name, sections, and the date. This will be allowed two times. After that, if your forget your clocker, or if you clicker runs out of batteries (or otherwise fails to function), you will be market as absent for the day.

Section Attendance and Participation (10%)

You are expected to attend and participate in the discussion in your assigned section. You are allowed three free absences. After three absences your attendance grade will drop by 30% for each absence (even in the case of emergencies). You are also expected to participate in the discussion will be factored into your grade.

Paper (30%)You will be asked to write one 3-4 paper in response to prompts, which will be posted to iLearn at least one week before the due date, November 12. The paper will be worth 30% your final grade. Note that late papers will be penalized by 1/3 of a letter grade for every 24 hours after the deadline. Papers that are more than 7 days late will not be accepted. Exams (25% each)

There will be a midterm (October 27) and a final exam (December 3). Both exams will be given in class. Please note that the final exam will not be during the finals period, and it will only cover the material since the midterm. Each exam will be worth 25% of your final grade.Policies

Grading scale (in %):A94 100

A - 90 93

B+87 89

B84 86

B -80 83

C+77 79

C74 76

C -70 73

D+67 69

D64 66

D -60 63

Funder 60

Attendance. Regular and punctual attendance is required for this course, both at the lectures and at your assigned discussion section. This is not the kind of material that you can learn on your own from reading other peoples notes. If you are more than 10 minutes late to class, you will be counted as absent. If you need to leave class early, you need to ask for permission in advance. You must attend the section to which you have been assigned and it will only be possible to change your section assignment through arrangement with your TA. Electronic devices. You are expected to bring your clickers to each lecture. Aside from your clickers, no other devices are permitted (without special permission). This counts for laptops, cell phones, iPods, iPads and other electronic devices. Turn off all of your devices as soon as you enter the classroom and leave them off until the end of class. If you have special needs, come talk to the professor at the start of the term. Adding the course. No one will be permitted to add the course after the first two weeks of the quarter. You may add this course during the first two weeks of the quarter through the Philosophy Department office, and only if there is space in both lecture and a section. If there is no space, you may be added to a waiting list. But if you want to enroll in this class, you must attend all lectures, including those during the first two weeks of the quarter. Requirements. You must submit the required paper and take the midterm and final in order to pass the course. If you fail to submit any of the written work, you will fail the course, regardless of your average grade for the other assignments. You will not be able to take the exams on any other day than on the days scheduled (October 27 and December 3) except in cases of a documented medical emergency. Keep in mind the late penalty for papers. Incompletes. An I will be given in this course only in the case of documented inabilities to complete the course on time, in accordance with University guidelines. If you have questions about these guidelines, you can find out about them in the Catalogue of Courses. Plagiarism. Plagiarism is the attempt to pass off someone elses work as your own. It includes failure to acknowledge or footnote a source that you have used, either printed or from the Internet. If you have any questions about what counts as plagiarism, or when acknowledgment of a source is needed, please ask your TA right away. Plagiarism is a form of dishonesty that is incompatible with the ideals of the University and is therefore unacceptable. Anyone caught violating this policy will fail the course and will be referred to Student Judicial Affairs for disciplinary action.To use someone elses clicker in class is considered cheating. To walk out of the classroom after attendance has been taken is considered cheating. If you are caught doing either of these things, you will be reported to the Student Judicial Affairs for disciplinary action.Schedule

9.24Introduction

9.29Plato, Euthyphro (pp. 2 20)10.1Plato, Apology (pp. 22 44)10.6Plato, Phaedo (pp. 94 132)10.8Plato, Phaedo (pp. 133 154)10.13Descartes, Meditations I & II (pp. 59 69)

10.15Descartes, Meditations III (pp. 69 81)10.20Descartes, Meditations IV & V (pp. 81 92)

10.22Descartes, Meditations VI (pp. 92 103)

10.27MIDTERM10.29Hume, Sections IV & V of An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (pp. 15 37)11.3Kant, Groundwork, Preface (pp. 1 6)11.5Kant, Groundwork, Section I (pp. 7 18)

11.10Kant, Groundwork, Section II (pp. 19 46)

11.12Kant, Groundwork, Section II & III (pp. 47 66)

PAPER DUE11.17Nietzsche, Genealogy, Preface (1 8) & First Essay (1 4, 10 14)11.19Nietzsche, Genealogy, Second Essay (1, 2, 4 8, 10, 12, 16)

11.24Nietzsche, Genealogy, Third Essay (1, 7, 9 15, 23, 24, 27, 28)

11.26Thanksgiving (NO CLASS)

12.1Review

12.3FINAL EXAMGeneral Advice

A philosophy course does not present you with a set of facts. Rather, it presents you with a set of questions and concepts. It examines how different philosophers have analyzed these concepts and have attempted to answer these questions. But the aim of a philosophy course is to help you engage with these questions and to stimulate you to think through them on your own, or with your peers, and to form your own conclusion about how they are best answered. Preparing for class and active participation in class are important for understanding the issues. Active participation includes asking questions in lecture and section and contributing to class discussion. But it also includes reading the material carefully and thinking critically about what is said in lecture. You should do the reading before it is discussed in lecture. Ideally you would read it again after it has been discussed in lecture. You should prepare for section by reviewing the material from the last week and thinking about questions or points that you want to discuss. Questions are welcome in both lecture and section, and if you feel that you do not understand some part of the course material, you are encouraged to contact your TA or the professor.