Philosophy 1

Final Exam Review Sheet

2008-09-05T10:49:00.000-07:00

Greetings all! Ok, the Final Exam review sheet is available for download as a PDF file.

If you are able to answer all of the questions listed on the review sheet completely and accurately, you will do quite well on the final exam. Everything listed on the review sheet can be found in either the course readings or the course lecture notes.

Remember, Monday's class will be a review session. During that time, the TA and I will be available to answer your questions regarding the final exam. However, we won't be "lecturing" during the review session. So come prepared with questions to ask.

The part-1 of the final exam is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 9th and part-2 is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 10th. Each part of the exam is scheduled to be an hour long, in class examination. The final will take place in our usual lecture hall, and will begin at 12:30pm (promptly). All you need to bring is a Blue Book (or two), a writing utensil, and your brain. When you turn in your final exam, the TA or I will give you back your paper.

Best, Chris

P.S. The Knowledge and Skepticism notes are also posted and available for download.

Paper Assignment

2008-08-27T14:16:00.000-07:00

Greetings class. Just click here to download the Paper Assignment (as a PDF file).

The short paper assignment is worth 35% of your overall course grade and must be handed into your TA at the end of class on Thursday, September 4th (late papers will be penalized). Your paper assignment is to answer ONE of the two essay prompts listed (the choice of which one you write on is up to you) in approx. 4-5 pages (double spaced, using a reasonable font size, etc). To get full credit it is important to answer every part of the essay prompt to the best of your ability. Grading will be based on accuracy, completeness, and philosophical acuity of the essay (see the bottom of the prompt for some guidelines and pointers).

Also, remember that its your responsibility to make sure that the work you hand in is your own and does not violate either University or Departmental policies regarding plagiarism.

Good luck!

Best, Chris

Summary Assignment #4

2008-08-21T13:48:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. Here's your fourth official assignment (sorry about not posting the third): After reading pages 85-90 in the course reader, please *summarize* Reid’s ‘Brave Officer’ objection to Locke’s account of personal identity.

Remember to keep it simple and try to use the following schema when summarizing:

Reid's Brave Officer Objection
(P1) The gist of premise 1…
(P2) The gist of premise 2…
-- insert more premises here if needed --
--------------------------------------
(Conclusion) Therefore, the gist of the conclusion…

Best, Chris

Mid-Term Exam

2008-08-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

Ok folks, just click here to download the take home Mid-Term exam (as a PDF file). There are 100 points possible on the exam. There are two sections to the exam: Section I is worth a total of 20 points; Section II is worth a total of 80 points. Please follow the instructions given for each section as closely as possible.

Remember, the exam is worth 25% of your overall course grade and must be handed into your TA at the end of class on Monday, August 18th. Exams that are not turned in on time will be penalized. Also, remember that its your responsibility to make sure that the work you hand in is your own and does not violate either University or Departmental policies regarding plagiarism.

Good luck!

Mid-Term Review Sheet

2008-08-14T09:49:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. Ok, the Mid-Term Review sheet is now available for download as a PDF file.

If you are able to answer all of the questions listed on the review sheet completely and accurately, you will do quite well on the Mid-Term. Everything listed on the review sheet can be found in either the course readings or the course lecture notes.

The Mid-Term will be a take-home essay exam. The exam will be available for download (on this website) by 12:00pm tomorrow--Friday, August 15th--and you'll have all weekend to complete it. The Mid-Term is worth 25% of your overall course grade and must be handed into your TA at the end of class on Monday, August 18th. Good luck.

Best, Chris

Summary Assignment #2

2008-08-11T13:29:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. Here's your second official assignment: After reading pages 27-34 in the course reader, please *summarize* the Ontological argument that Anselm puts forward in the selection from his Proslogion.

Remember to keep it simple and try to use the following schema when summarizing:

Anselm's Ontological Argument
(P1) The gist of premise 1…
(P2) The gist of premise 2…
-- insert more premises here if needed --
--------------------------------------
(Conclusion) Therefore, the gist of the conclusion…

Best, Chris

Summary Assignment #1

2008-08-06T09:44:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-04T13:38:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-30T15:27:00.001-07:00

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

2008-07-30T15:26:00.001-07:00

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 Review Session – September 8th
Final Exam – Part #1, September 9th | Part #2, September 10th