Senior Elective: History of Thought
Fall ‘14
4th Floor
Grades/Assessment:
This course will adhere to a student-centered seminar
format. Class discussion and activities
that allow student to interact directly with the content will be the basis of
this course. Students will take
responsibility not only for their own learning but for the content, perspective
and experiences they can bring to benefit the class as a whole. Students will be assessed through the
following categories:
Classroom Participation/Preparation 33% of total grade.
*Students
will receive formal written evaluations of their participation at the
table. Daily homework preparation is
included in this grade. A daily journal
needs to be kept for this course.
Students will be assigned a blog post assignment once per quarter.
Tests/Final Exam 33%
of total grade.
Research Paper/Presentation Classroom Leadership 33% of total grade.
Students will write one 5-7 page
research paper for this course.
Presentations/Classroom
Leadership
*Introduction to the Thinker Activity
Course Expectations:
The ability to work together and to relate effectively with one another
is, perhaps, the most important outcome of any educational system. Students
will - Demonstrate
interpersonal skills
- Demonstrate
responsibility
In light of this, members of this class, including the
instructor, will be expected to deal with one another in a respectful manner
following principles of common decency. None of us are perfect, and there will
be times when we will falter in this endeavor, but these are the standards
against which we will measure our behavior.
Classroom Policies:
1. Bring
your text and other assigned readings everyday to class.
2. Bring
your class journal and laptop each day.
3. Late
daily work will not be accepted.
Response papers and research papers will be docked one full letter grade
for each day they are late.
Course Outline:
Topics and Readings
I.
Introduction
a.
Plato “The
Apology” and “Crito”
b.
Bertrand Russell “Appearance
and Reality”
II.
Question: Am I Free or Determined? An examination of the Self
a.
Robert Blatchford “The Delusion of Free Will”
b.
Charles A. Campbell “Free Will”
c.
A.J. Ayer “Freedom
and Necessity”
d.
Susan Wolf “Sanity
and Metaphysics of Responsibility”
e.
Jean-Paul Sartre “No
Exit”
f.
Simone de Beauvoir “The Second Sex”
III.
Question: How can I have knowledge? An examination of the World
a. Plato “The
Allegory of the Cave”
b. Rene
Descartes “Meditations on
First Philosophy”
c. David
Hume “Of the Origin
of Ideas”
d. Immanuel
Kant “Critique of Pure
Reason”
e. William
James “What Pragmatism
Means”
f. Paul
Feyerabend “Against Method”
g. John
Greco “Virtues in
Epistemology”
IV.
Question: What am I obligated to Do? An examination of the Self in the World
a. Yeager
Hudson “The Independence of Ethics
from Religion”
b. James
Rachels “The Challenge
of Cultural Relativism”
c. John
Stuart Mill “What Utilitarianism Is”
d. Immanuel
Kant “The
Categorical Imperative”
e. Aristotle
“Nichomachean
Ethics”
f. Peter
Singer “Famine
Affluence, and Morality”
V.
Question: How Should I Live My Life?
a. Aristotle “Eudaimonia”
b. Jean-Paul Sartre “Existentialism Is a Humanism”
VI.
Question: When is war just?
a. Selection of readings on war and peace.
Other student selected readings…
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