Term: Summer - 2001 (20003)

Course Number: PHIL 315A

Instructor: Dr. Eugene Finnegan

Office: Room # 503

Office Phone: 219-473-4252

E-mail: efinnegan@ccsj.edu

Home Phone: 708-720-1177

Office Hours: As needed

Course Time: Monday and Wednesday (1:00 PM - 4:00PM) - Room #309

Course Description: This course will explore a number of related questions in the fields of philosophy traditionally known as epistemology, metaphysics, and the philosophical or natural theology. How do we know anything at all? Can we know first principles? What is the significance of being, essence, and the transcendentals? Does God exist?

Prerequisites: English 103 and Philosophy 200

Textbook: Classic Philosophical Questions - James A. Gould and Robert J. Mulvaney, 10^th edition (Prentice Hall 2001) and Class notes

If an instructor or other Calumet College of St. Joseph personnel find that a student has plagiarized or been involved in another form of academic dishonesty, the instructor or other personnel may elect to bring the matter up for judicial review. The maximum penalty for any form of academic dishonesty is dismissal from the College. The procedures for judicial review are listed under the section of CCSJ handbook that addresses student grievances.

Calumet College of St. Joseph adheres to citation guidelines as prescribed by the particular discipline (i.e., MLA, APA, Chicago Manual of Style or Turabian.). All of these guidelines are available in the Calumet College of St. Joseph library or bookstore. These texts outline how to cite references from a variety of sources, including electronic media.

After the last day for class changes has passed (see College calendar), students may withdraw from a course in which they are registered with permission from the faculty member conducting the course. A written request detailing the reason(s) for the withdrawal must be filed with the Registrar. Written request for withdrawal must be received by the Registrar by the last day of classes prior to the final examination dates specified in the catalogue. Written requests may be mailed to the Registrar or faxed to the College fax number 219-473-4259. Students are to make note of the refund schedule when withdrawing from courses. The request is forwarded to the faculty member, who makes the final determination to accept or deny the request. If the request is honored, the student will receive notification of official withdrawal; if denied, the notification will indicate why the withdrawal is disallowed. Note: Degree Completion Division (DCD) students should consult the DCD Student Handbook for information on DCD withdrawals.

An official withdrawal is recorded as a "W" grade on the student’s transcript. Dropping a course without written permission automatically incurs an "F" grade for the course (see Refund Schedule).

It is a serious matter when a student misses even one session due to the accelerated format of the program. If the student misses more than two sessions, the student is required to withdraw from the module by contacting the Academic Advisor and their instructor.

Students in this course will:

1. Gain basic linguistic knowledge of the great philosophical problems via lectures and reading about and of the various philosophical authors.
2. Comprehend the meaning of the great philosophical authors via lecture, reading, discussion, and weekly writing assignments.
3. Apply their acquired knowledge and comprehension to their own situations via weekly writings and discussions.
4. Analyze the value of the various philosophical solutions from their perspective and that of others via discussion and writing.
5. Synthesis the various views in a group project.
6. Evaluate the whole process via weekly use of the minute papers at the end and beginning of every class.

1 – Textbook with various readings

2 – Lectures

3 – Questions

4 – Discussions

5 – Minute papers

6 – Weekly 250 word written responses

7 – Group Project

9 – Written answers to the Midterm and Final examination

1 – Read and think critically the weekly assigned philosophical texts.

2 – Be on time and actively listen attentively to lectures.

3 – Present and ask thoughtful questions.

4 – Be prepared to engage in intelligent discussion.

5 – Take minute papers seriously.

6 – Write the weekly papers

7 – Do the Group project, the midterm and the final examination

A = 96-100 A- = 90-95 B+ = 87-89 B = 83-86 B- = 80-82 C+ = 77-79

C = 73-76 C- = 70-72 D+ = 67-69 D = 63-66 D- 60-62 F = Below 60

1 – Be precise and answer the specific question that is asked.

2 – Have a beginning, an end, and middle.

3 – Be clear and coherent.

4 – Be grammatically correct and use good paragraph structure.

5 – All work must be keyboarded or typed.

6 – Be the assigned length (250 words or 2500 words).

1. Class paper – Answer one of the questions at the beginning of each reading where it says, "to Study". Choice from the readings and answer only one per week. Be prepared to read your response in class.
2. Group project – Choose one philosopher in this book and do a background of the person and their main ideas. Work with one or two other people to prepare a 2500 word written work for an oral class presentation. You must have a bibliography.
3. Mid term and Final – You will be given 5 essay questions to answer with 250-500 words for each of the five questions.

June 4 INTRODUCTION

Greeting and Syllabus

The Meaning of Life

What Gives Life Meaning? (611-636)

Tolstoy - Faith Provides Life's Meaning

KNOWLEDGE

How Do We Acquire Knowledge? (269-309)

June 6 Locke - Knowledge is Ultimately Sensed

June 13 METAPHYSICS

Of What Does Reality Consist? (371--399)

Descartes - Reality Consists of Mind and Matter

Berkeley - Reality Consists of Ideas

Question 3 due

June 18 Is Reality General or Particular? (400-417)

Hume – Particulars are Real

June 20 Do Humans Have an Identical Self? (418-436)

Locke - Human Beings Have an Identical Self

Hume - Human Beings Have No Identical Self

Question 5 due

July 9 Can We Prove that God Exists? (77-111)

St. Anselm - The Ontolgical Argument

Question 9 due

July 16 Does the Idea of a Good God Exclude Evil? (112-129)

Hume - A Good God Would Exclude Evil

July 18 Final exam due