INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
RP1010 (section 3) — Spring
Semester 2002
Lecturer:
Dr. Stephen Palmquist
“What way do I have
of knowing that if I say I know something I don’t really
not know it?”
— Chuang Tzu
“The unexamined life is not worth
living.” — Socrates
(Plato’s Apology)
Objectives
What is philosophy, and how can it be
relevant to life at the outset of the twenty-first century? Working towards an
answer to this question is the overall objective of this class. Each student
will be expected to work towards this objective in two very different, but
equally important, ways: (1) by studying and evaluating the ideas of past philosophers; and (2) by discussing and
reflecting on interesting, self-imposed questions, in order to learn the skill of having philosophical insights.
Our study of the ideas of past
philosophers will be divided into four parts, based on the four main types of
philosophical inquiry:
Metaphysics, as the recognition of ignorance,
Logic, as the understanding of words,
Science, as the love of wisdom,
and Ontology, as the wonder of silence.
The last three of these areas correspond
to the traditional philosophical ideals of truth, goodness, and beauty, while the
first area corresponds to humility,
which establishes the foundation for the other three. Through reading,
discussion, and reflection on various philosophical theories, each student
should attempt in this class to begin the task of realizing these ideals.
Using these four categories to
understand the nature of philosophy will help us not only to organize the
theories of other philosophers,
but also to learn how to have insights of our own. The best way to begin thinking philosophically is
humbly to assume we are ignorant but desire to know. By learning to understand
how words get their meaning, we can then gradually know more and more of what
is true. When such an inquiry leads on to a love of wisdom, our life becomes
more and more good. And when it leads from there to a sense of the wonder of
silence, then our life becomes more and more beautiful. At its deepest level,
the philosophical insight each
student will be expected to practise in this class requires us to pass through
all four of these stages.
Requirements and Grade Assessment
1. Begin recognizing ignorance: attend the lectures and small group discussion
sessions regularly! Participate in philosophical discussions both inside and
outside of class. The class will be divided into 5 discussion groups with 10-11
students in each. Starting in Week Four, these groups will meet separately on
Thursdays to practise doing philosophy together for at least 75 minutes. Each
group must compile a book/journal of short reports, summarizing what you discussed; these should be
handed in at the lecturer’s office (CEC905) by 5pm each Thursday. Each
group should choose at least two separate issues to focus on each week. Topics
may be chosen from the following: issues raised in class that your group finds
interesting; anything the lecturer specifically asks the small groups to discuss
that week; the “B” questions listed at the end of each chapter. As
you struggle to express and defend your ideas in the face of opposing views,
these sessions should give you plenty of opportunity to recognize your
ignorance. 10% of your grade will
be based on your overall attendance and on the quality of your group’s
written reports.
2. Continue understanding words: read the textbook during the first three weeks of
the semester and, after that, read as many of the “Recommended
Readings” as possible (see below). Think about their meaning and share your thoughts with
classmates during the small group discussions. To encourage everyone to read
the whole book at the beginning of the semester, there will be a one hour test
given on the textbook at the end of the third week (31 January).
3. Practise loving wisdom: learn to think philosophically, and apply
philosophical ideas to your own life. After Week Four, the Wednesday lecture
sessions will be devoted to class discussions of whatever philosophical issues arise
from student discussions and papers. The examination (probably consisting of
one long essay and several short essay questions) will require you not just to
repeat the theories learned during the semester, but to criticize them from your own point of view, and to share your
own insights. The Wednesday sessions will be your primary opportunity to learn
how to do this. Grades will be based on the clarity, completeness, and creativity of each
essay. The exam is worth 50% of
your grade.
4. Experience silent
wonder: put aside several blocks of
time (or at least one period of
15 minutes) each week in order to
ponder some philosophical problem, or meditate on something beautiful, etc. Of
course, these times of silent wonder cannot be graded, even though they are actually
one of the most important parts of this class; so it is up to each individual
student to use them wisely. During these times, write down in a rough form any
questions, ideas, etc., that come to your mind. Later, choose one of these topics to analyse more carefully as the
basis for an “insight paper”
(IP). You will be required to hand in five IPs during the semester (see below for schedule). The procedure
for writing IPs is described in more detail in Chapter I (pp.8-13) of the
textbook. Hand in your IP at the beginning of the Wednesday class session. Late papers will not be accepted
without a good excuse. I will read your first IP and return it with comments.
Three of your other IPs must be critiqued by a groupmate before they are submitted. One (uncritiqued) IP will be
presented at two special Thursday sessions each group will hold in my office
(CEC905); the group that meets in my office will not need to hold a separate small group discussion that
week (see schedule below). Bring an extra copy of your uncritiqued IP (the one due that week) when
your group meets in my office. You will read this paper to your classmates,
then lead a short discussion on that topic. (You should take 10-12 minutes to
read and discuss your IP. Due to
the tight schedule, anyone arriving late will have points deducted.) Each of
your IPs will be worth 5 points, and each of the 3 IPs you critique will also
be worth 5 points. So altogether the IPs are worth 40% of your grade (8x5).
Textbook and Readings
Each student should buy a copy of the
textbook, the fourth edition of The
Tree of Philosophy ($80 from the Bookshop). Also, two copies of the book, Introductory
Readings in Philosophy, will be on two
hour reserve in the library
throughout the semester. This book contains many of the “Recommended
Readings” listed at the end of each chapter in the textbook. Most of
these readings can also be found in other books in the college library.
Students should be familiar with these Readings, though no one is expected to read every selection. IMPORTANT: At least one of your five IPs
must explicitly discuss something
from these Readings; be sure to state
the source, but talk about more
than just the title!
Schedule for Readings, Small Group
Discussions, IPs, and IP Special Sessions
The textbook, The
Tree of Philosophy,
contains in written form the content of my lectures for this subject. Since
students are now able to read what used to be said in the lectures, I will provide only
brief reminders of some selected topics in class. In this way, more class time
can be devoted to discussions of questions (from students or the lecturer)
concerning: (1) the content of the written lectures and/or recommended
readings; and (2) issues raised in selected IPs and/or group discussion
reports. This means you will need to read ahead in the textbook, and come to
lectures and group discussions prepared with questions about the text. Otherwise, you might
not be able to follow what is happening. The reading schedule is listed below,
along with the dates for handing in IPs* and attending special IP sessions in
my office:**
Read
syllabus on 16
January Buy
textbook.
Read Chapter 1 by 17
January Watch
film; divide into groups & discuss.
Read Chapters 2-6 by 23
January Discuss
questions on Parts I-II (optional)
Read Chapter 7-9 by 24
January Discuss
questions on Parts II-III (optional)
Read Chapters 10-12 by 30
January Discuss
questions on Parts III-IV (optional)
Review
whole book by 31
January Test
(attendance required!)
Read Rec. Readings by 6
February All
groups hand in IP#1; returned 7 Feb.
(No class 13 and 14 February due to Lunar New Year holidays.)
Read Rec. Readings by 21
February IP#2
Groups 1B & 3; Group 1A in
C905.
Read Rec. Readings by 28
February IP#2
Groups 2B & 4; Group 2A in C905.
Read Rec. Readings by 7
March IP#3
Groups 3B & 5(IP#2); Group 3A in
C905.
Read Rec. Readings by 14
March IP#3 Groups 1
& 4B; Group 4A in C905.
Read Rec. Readings by 21
March IP#3 Groups 2
& 5B; Group 5A in C905.
Read Rec. Readings by 28
March IP#4 Groups 1A
& 3; Group 1B in C905.
(No class 3 and 4 April due to Easter
holidays.)
Read Rec. Readings by 11
April IP#4
Groups 2A & 4; Group 2B in
C905.
Read Rec. Readings by 18
April IP#5
Groups 3A & 5(IP#4); Group 3B
in C905.
Read Rec. Readings by 25
April IP#5
Groups 1 & 4A; Group 4B in
C905.
on 1
May (WED) IP#5
Groups 2 & 5A; Group 5B in
C905.
on 2
May Review;
grades distributed.
* IPs 2-5 are due at the beginning of the Wednesday class session, unless it is your
group’s week to meet in CEC905 (then two copies are due at the beginning of that
meeting). They will normally be returned at the end of the next
Wednesday’s session. The 3 IPs that are critiqued should be read and
commented on by your classmate before they are handed in. Each student must hand in and collect
his/her own IPs.
Do not give your IP to a classmate to hand
in, and do not ask a classmate to collect your IP
for you. Anyone caught doing this will be given a zero on that paper. If you know you will
be unable to come to class when your IP is due, please submit it in advance at my office. If you cannot collect
your paper at the lecture session, pick it up as soon as possible from me.
** Membership of small groups will be
determined during the first and second week of the semester. Exact meeting
times for Thursday discussion groups can be decided by the members of each
small group on their own. Meeting times for special sessions in CEC905 will be
3:45am-5:00pm, unless otherwise stated by the lecturer.
Office Hours (and other ways of
contacting the lecturer outside of class)
My office hours this semester will
be Tuesdays from 1:30pm to 4:20pm and Thursdays from 12:30pm to 3:20pm. I will
(normally) be in my office (CEC905) during those hours, so you may come without
a prior appointment if you wish to discuss anything with me. If you need
(or would prefer) to see me at a different time, please make an appointment
first (phone: 2339-7289). Alternatively, you may send questions or
comments to me by email (stevepq@hkbu.edu.hk)—though if my response
is relevant to the whole
class, I might
wait to answer
your question until the next
class session. Alternatively, I might reply by email to the whole class,
using the address set up for that purpose (i.e., &R.P.1010-00004@net1.hkbu.edu.hk).
NOTE: submitting
classwork by email is NOT ALLOWED; please use email only as a method of
communicating, not to hand in assignments.
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This
page was last updated on 20 June 2002.