Prof. Brad Skow Fall 2006 TuTh 11:15 School of Management, room 137
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Updated 12/27/06
We will look at answers philosophers have given to the following philosophical questions:
For many of these questions, there seems to be an obvious answer that we all accept: of course there is an external world! Of course roses are red! Many philosophers think that these seemingly obvious answers are incorrect. Not because they're confused, or because they like saying outrageous things. They think they have good reasons for their answers.
Studying philosophy is not just a matter of learning what philosopher X said. In this course you will begin to develop the ability to do philosophy, an ability that should serve you well in other disciplines. There are three things you will (begin to) learn how to do. First, you will learrn how to clearly state and explain, in your own words, what answers philosophers have given to the above questions. Second, you will learn how to explain and evaluate the aguments philosophers have given for their answers. Third, you will learn how to read a piece of philosophical writing, find the argument in it, and clearly formulate that argument.
Read this syllabus thoroughly. Then read it again. We may not cover every point on it in class, but you are responsible for all the information here.
| Name | Office | Office Hours | Email Address | |||
| Brad Skow | 383 Bartlett | Thursdays 2:30-3:30 | bskow [at] philos.umass.edu | |||
| Jeff Dunn | 377 Bartlett | Tuesdays 10-11 | jdunn [at] philos.umass.edu | |||
| Ed Ferrier | 367 Bartlett | Fridays 2:30-3:30 | eferrier [at] philos.umass.edu | |||
| Einar Bohn | 367 Bartlett | Fridays 10:15-11:15 | ebohn [at] philos.umass.edu |
You may also make an appointment with any of us.
There is one book you must buy: A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality by John Perry. There are copies at Amherst books. All other readings are available on the web on the course readings page. The password for this page was distributed in class.
The reading assignments will generally be short, but some will be difficult. Do each reading assignment before the lecture. You may need to read it more than once.
In addition to lectures on Tuesdays and Thursdays there are discussion sections on Fridays. Attendance at discussion sections is both essential and mandatory. They are not there just to go over material already covered in lecture.
Attendance will be taken at each discussion section meeting. Poor attendence will lower your grade. Good attendence will raise it.
There will be three exams and a few homework assignments. The dates of the exams are on the course calendar, below. Together the exams are worth 90% of your grade. The homework assignments are worth 10%. We may adjust your final grade in light of your attendence record.
Anything covered in any aspect of the course is fair game for an exam. This includes material covered in lectures, readings, and discussion sections. A study guide will be distributed before each exam.
Why are the homeworks worth so little? They are a chance for you to practice doing what you will have to do on the exams, to make mistakes, and learn what those mistakes are, without those mistakes having a huge impact on your final grade.
On the final exam day, you will have the chance to re-take any one of the exams. (Actually it will be a new version of the exam, with different questions covering the same material.) If you re-take any exam, the higher of the two grades you received on that exam will be the one that counts toward your final grade.
If you miss an exam, you can take it on the final exam day. Only if you have a legitimate excuse can you ask to schedule a special time to take an exam you will miss. (This will allow you to also re-take an exam on the final exam day.) To have a legitimate excuse you must either: be very sick and have a doctor's note; be off-campus with a UMass varsity athletic team; have a (documented) family emergency. If you have an excuse that is not on this list, but you think it is legitimate, ask us. If you have a legitimate excuse and want to schedule a make-up exam, you must notify us at least one day before the exam. (The university's official policy on absences is here.)
More information about the exams will be posted on this site in September.
| September 7 | The problem of personal identity. | |
| Idealism. | ||
| October 12 | First Exam. | |
| Color. | ||
| Material Constitution. | ||
| November 9 | Second Exam. | |
| The Passage of Time. | ||
| The existence of God: the argument from design. | ||
| The existence of God: the problem of evil. | ||
| December 12 | Third Exam. |
Don't do it. The university's official regulations regarding academic honesty are here. (They include a statement of what counts as a violation and a statement of the procedures that must be followed whenever a violation is suspected.) If you violate them many bad things will happen to you. Two of them are: you will fail this course, and your conduct will be reported to the dean.