Instructor: Brian W. Carver
E-mail: bwcarver at earthlink.net
Course Web Site: http://home.earthlink.net/~bwcarver/

REQUIRED TEXTS: Louis Pojman, Philosophy: The Quest for Truth 4th Edition
(A 5th Edition is available, and will work fine, but the 4th Edition is preferable.)
Two articles are on reserve at the library.  Students must go to the library and make copies of these articles.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

(1) Reading Quizzes (25%): Reading questions will be assigned for each reading assignment,
        and regular quizzes will be given in class from the reading questions.
(2) Exam #1 on Philosophy of Religion (25%): Thursday, March 28.
(3) Exam #2 on Metaphysics (25%): Tuesday, May 7.
(4) Exam #3 on Political Philosophy (25%): Thursday, June 6, 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

Exams may contain essays, short answer, fill-in-the-blank, true/false, or multiple-choice questions.

Make-up Quizzes/Exams: Make-up quizzes will not be given.  Make-up exams generally will not be given. If you know you must be absent on one of the scheduled exam dates you should make arrangements with me well in advance.

Attendance:  Attendance is expected.  Quality class participation and an excellent attendance record may be used to resolve borderline cases.

Add/Drop Policy: The college has determined that the last day to drop without a "W" is March 22, and the last day to drop is May 10.  If space permits, I will add students who attend every class through February 28.

Academic Honesty:  I assume you are familiar with the College's policies on Academic Honesty.  I consider it my responsibility in cases of academic dishonesty to respond with the most severe penalty.

Students with disabilities: Students with disabilities who may need accommodations for any sort of disability are invited to make an appointment to see me.

Course Description (from the College Catalog): An introduction to Western philosophy through a survey and exploration of significant problem areas of philosophy: metaphysics, theory of knowledge, ethics, political philosophy, and philosophy of religion.  The topics are historically covered by stressing their relevance to current conditions and contemporary problems.

2/19 T: Introduction, Reading Philosophy
2/21 R: Plato, The Apology (in Pojman 6-18)
2/26 T: W.K. Clifford - The Ethics of Belief (91-96)

     The Cosmological Argument

2/28 R: Thomas Aquinas, The Five Ways (42-45)
3/05 T: William Rowe, An Examination of the Cosmological Argument (On Reserve)

     The Teleological Argument

3/07 R: William Paley, The Watch and the Watchmaker (57-59)
3/12 T: David Hume, A Critique of the Teleological Argument (60-66)

     The Ontological Argument

3/14 R: Saint Anselm, The Ontological Argument (68-71)

     Faith and Reason

3/19 T: Blaise Pascal - Yes, Faith is a Logical Bet (88-91)

     The Problem of Evil

3/21 R: J.L. Mackie - Evil and Omnipotence (On Reserve)
3/26 T: John Hick - There is a Reason Why God Allows Evil (82-87)
3/28 R: EXAM #1

     Free Will and Determinism

4/02 T: Baron d'Holbach - We Are Completely Determined (319-331)
4/04 R: W. T. Stace - Compatibilism (341-347)
4/09 T & 4/11 R: No Classes - Spring Break
4/16 T: Richard Taylor - A Contemporary Defense of Free Will (356-364)

     The Problem of Personal Identity

4/18 R: John Locke - Our Psychological Properties Define the Self (281-285)
4/23 T: David Hume - We Have No Substantial Self… (285-288)
4/25 R: Parfit and Vesey - Brain Transplants and Personal Identity (288-294)

     Immortality

4/30 T: Paul Edwards - An Argument Against Survival… (300-309)
5/02 R: John Hick - In Defense of Immortality (309-316)
5/07 T: EXAM #2

     The Justification of Political Authority

5/09 R: Thomas Hobbes - The Absolutist Answer (463-476)
5/14 T: John Locke - The Democratic Answer (476-482)
5/16 R: John Stuart Mill - A Classical Liberal Answer (482-487)
5/21 T: John Hospers - The Libertarian Answer (487-493)
5/23 R: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels - The Communist Answer (493-503)
5/28 T: John Rawls - The Contemporary Liberal Answer (503-513)
5/30 R: Bertrand Russell - The Value of Philosophy (18-22)
6/6 R 11:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (Final Exam Period): EXAM #3