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Syllabus and Schedule File Introduction to Philosophy Syllabus

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Module 1: Introduction to Philosophy URL How to Do Philosophy
URL Introduction to Philosophy
URL Plato - On Defending Philosophy
URL Bertrand Russell – On the Value of Philosophy
URL Final Questions and Activities on the Introduction to Philosophy
Module 2: Epistemology; How We Learn URL Introduction to Epistemology
URL Rene Descartes – On Doubt and Certainty
URL John Locke – On the Foundation of Knowledge
URL George Berkeley – On Materialism and Idealism
URL David Hume – On Empiricism
URL Immanuel Kant – On the Sources of Knowledge
URL William James - On Pragmatism and The Will to Believe
URL Final Questions and Activites
Module 3: Metaphysics; World Order of Things URL Introduction to Metaphysics
URL Plato – On the Allegory of the Cave
URL Plato – On Forms
URL Aristotle – On Categories
URL Aristotle - On Language and the Way Truth Works
URL Gottfried Wilhelm Liebniz – On Substances
URL David Hume – On Liberty and Necessity
URL Final Questions and Activities for Metaphysics
Midterm project Page Midterm instructions

Midterm Project

Introduction to Philosophy

Purpose: To do a reflective commentary on the philosophical writings from the first half of the term

 Linked to course outcomes: 

  • Understand the different contexts and criteria for knowledge;
  • Have developed an understanding of the relation of philosophy to other disciplines and areas of inquiry.
Page Exam Information and Instructions
Module 4: Philosophy of Religion URL Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion
URL St. Anselm – On the Ontological Proof of God's Existence
URL St. Thomas Aquinas – On the Five Ways to Prove God's Existence
URL David Hume– On the Irrationality of Believing in Miracles
URL William James – On the Will to Believe
URL William Paley – On The Teleological Argument
URL Black Elk- Black Elk Speaks
URL Final Questions and Activities
URL Recorded lecture on Philosophies of Religion

In this lecture, students will learn some of the basics of religious philosophy, be introduced to some of the writers covered, and mention some of the primary examples used by the philosophers.
Module 5: Philosophy of Science and Technology URL Introduction to Philosophy of Science and Technology
URL Donna Haraway- A Cyborg Manifesto
URL Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer -Leviathan and the Air Pump
URL Thomas Kuhn- The Priority of Paradigms
URL Philosophy of Science and technology
URL Final Questions and Activities on the Philosophy of Science and Technology
Module 6: Ethics and Morality URL Introduction to Ethics and Morality
URL Aristotle - On Virtue
URL David Hume – On the Foundations of Morals
URL Immanuel Kant – On Moral Principles
URL Jeremy Bentham - On the Principle of Utility
URL John Stuart Mill – On Utilitarianism
URL Final Questions and Activities on Ethics and Morality
URL Video lecture on ethics and morality

This video sets up the important points raised in these five readings. Material from the lecture may be on the unit quiz, too.
Module 7: Socio-Political Philosophy URL Introduction to Socio-political Philosophy
URL Bertrand Russell – On Anti-Suffragist Arguments
URL Karl Marx & Frederick Engels – On Communism
URL Mary Wollstonecraft – On the Rights of Women
URL Jean-Jacques Rousseau - On Inequality
URL John Locke – On Property and the Formation of Societies
URL Thomas Hobbes – On The Social Contract
URL John Stuart Mill – On The Equality of Women
URL Final Questions and Activities in Socio-political Philosophy
Module 8: Art and Aesthetics URL Introduction to Art and Aesthetics
URL David Hume – On Opinion and Taste
URL Immanuel Kant – On the Aesthetic Taste
URL Plato – On the Value of Art and Imitation
URL Edmund Burke – On the Sublime
URL Final questions and activities
URL Video lecture: Art and Aesthetics

This lecture is on Hume, Burke, and Kant.
Final Exam/Final Project Module Page Final Exam Instructions



Remember to structure your essay logically, provide clear explanations, and support your arguments with evidence and reasoning from reputable philosophical sources. Properly cite any references used in your essay.