Summary Assignment #1

Hi everyone. Here's your first official assignment: After reading pages 3-9 in the course reader, please *summarize* the argument that Aquinas puts forward in his 2nd Way.

Whenever I ask you to summarize one of the arguments from the reading material you do not have to worry about filling in all of the details. All I really want you to do is (i) identify the main point (or conclusion) of the argument being put forward in the reading, (ii) identify the reasons (or premises) that are being used to support the main point of the argument, (iii) try to wrap your mind around what each of those statements are supposed to mean and then (iv) simply restate—in your own words—the gist (or basic idea) of the argument in a line by line format. For example:

Philosopher X’s Argument for Y
(P1) The gist of premise 1…
(P2) The gist of premise 2…
(P3) The gist of premise 3…
-- insert more premises here if needed --
--------------------------------------
(Conclusion) Therefore, the gist of the conclusion…

That's it! Trust me, learning to summarize arguments--even in this simple manner--is a great skill to develop and will certainly come in handy as we work our way through the course material.

Best, Chris

Online Readings

Hey everyone. Here's the links to the suggested online readings I mentioned-- have fun!

Reading 1: What is Philosophy?
By Walter Sinnott-Armstrong (Dartmouth)

Reading 2: Philosophical Terms and Methods
By Jim Pryor (NYU)

Reading 3: Guidlines on Reading Philosophy
By Jim Pryor (NYU)

Best, Chris

Welcome to Philosophy 1

This is the official class website for Philosophy 1 - Introduction to Philosophy.

Since the course instructor Chris Tennberg and the class TA will be posting updates, messages and assignments on this website regularly, it would be a good idea for all students enrolled in Phil 1 to check the website frequently.

A list of helpful class links (email, info, lecture notes, resources, etc) is located in the right hand column of this website. Please feel free to contact the Philosophy Department webmaster if there are any problems with the website. Thanks.

Sincerely, Chris Tennberg

Phil 1 Syllabus

Philosophy 1 – Introduction to Philosophy
Summer 2008

Course Description
This course is designed to be an introduction to philosophy. Participants will be introduced the nature of philosophical inquiry by considering some of the most fundamental philosophical issues in the fields of metaphysics, epistemology and ethics. Some of the issues that will be considered include: the question of God’s existence, personal identity, free will, our knowledge of the world (and whether we have any), the nature of morality and moral responsibility, etc. The material covered in the course will include selections from both current and historically important philosophers. The requirements for the course include a mid-term exam, one short paper and a final exam. There are no prerequisites required for the course.

Instructor
Chris Tennberg
South Hall 5432-S | Office Hours: T (10:00am-12:00pm)
chris@tennberg.com

TA
Sian Griffith
South Hall 5432-U | Office Hours: R (2:00am-3:00pm) & F (11:00am-12:00pm)
siangriffith@umail.ucsb.edu

Lecture
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday @ PSYCH 1902 (12:30pm-1:35pm)

Sections
Monday, PHELP 1445 (11:00am-12:20pm)
Friday, SOUTH HALL 5617 (12:30pm-1:50pm)

Website
http://www.philosophy.ucsb.edu/websites/phil1/

Textbook
Course Reader available at Grafikart, 6550 Pardall Road, Isla Vista.

Grading
Mid-Term exam - 25%
Short paper - 35%
Final exam - 35%
Participation - 5%

NOTE: There will be no rescheduled final exams. If you take this course, then it is your responsibility to be in town on to take the final exam. The date and time for the final is TBA.

Course Attendance and Participation
Students are expected to complete the assigned readings (which includes turning in summaries), attend course lectures and to participate in the course discussion sections. The assigned readings and summaries need to be completed before coming to lecture. The course readings are important (some test questions will come directly from reading), but there is no substitute for lecture or section attendance. Most of the test material will come straight from the lectures, so attending greatly increases the likelihood of receiving good grades. For the most part, the TA will review the material presented in lecture during the discussion sections, so they are also very valuable. You may attend whichever section you prefer, regardless of which you registered for. Just be sure to let your TA know what’s going on. Borderline final grades may be determined in your favor if you have made a positive impression on the instructor and/or teaching assistant through regular attendance and participation, and/or draft conferences.

Plagiarism and Cheating
The Philosophy Department takes this issue seriously. In other words, we will prosecute any offenses, seeking penalties ranging up to and including expulsion from the university. So it is your responsibility to make sure that your work does not violate university policies about plagiarism and other academic cheating. If you need any help in understanding these standards or are in any doubt about whether your work for this course violates them, it is your responsibility to find out by checking with me.

Tentative Lecture Schedule
Preliminaries
The Nature and Method of Philosophical Inquiry

Metaphysics
Arguments For and Against the Existence of God
Free Will
Personal Identity

Epistemology
Knowledge and Skepticism

Ethics
Meta, Normative and Applied Issues

NOTE: This tentative schedule is simply a best-guess at our rate of progress, not a cast-iron guarantee. As such, it may be subject to change as we proceed.

Final Exam – TBA