Dr.

Erik Sorem
Email: esorem9@hotmail.com/esorem@fullcoll.edu
Fullerton College, Department of Philosophy
11696- PHIL 100 F-101, Introduction to Philosophy
Tuesday 3:30-6:40pm, Room 1421

INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY

Course Description:

This course is designed to help students better understand themselves and the world in which
they live in by studying and engaging with the texts and philosophical ideas presented by the
great authors and thinkers of both past and present. Undertaking the study of the significant
interpretations of the philosophers surveyed in this course will help equip students with the
necessary tools to reason accurately about the realities of the world, and help provide students
with the type of analytic skills needed to reason properly about such realities. This course will
focus on a wide variety of topics, such as religion, morality, science, metaphysics, mind, politics,
philosophy of time, etc. Students will be expected to understand and evaluate various arguments
concerning these topics. Introduction to Philosophy provides both a critical survey of a number
of fundamental, philosophical theses and an introduction to the skills that can help you construct
well-formed beliefs about reality and the world.

Principle Objectives:

1. Learn classic arguments which illustrate basic philosophical principles.

2. Read carefully and critically the text and several papers in philosophy.
3. Write analytically about topics in philosophy.
4. Study classic, influential, and enduring arguments concerning the structures of knowledge,
belief, value, and reality.
5. Test students understanding by means of examinations.
6. Critically question interpretations of basic philosophical positions and defend their criticisms.

Assessment:

Homework 10% of the Grade

Quizzes 15% of the Grade
Group Presentations 15% of the Grade
Persuasive-Argumentative Paper 15% of the Grade
Final Exam 35% of the Grade
Participation 10% of the Grade
Grading:

A (above 90 points) reflects approximately more than two hours study per weekday; a great deal
of time, thought, and effort; and mastery of the subject.

B (80 or above but below 90 points) reflects two hours study per weekday above average time,
thought and effort; and superior achievement.

C (70 or above but below 80 points) reflects under two hours study per weekday, average time,
thought, and effort; and average achievement.

D (60 or above but below 70 points) reflects studying only for examinations; minimum time,
thought, and effort; below college level work; a less than adequate grasp of the course content;
and less than satisfactory achievement.

F (below 60) reflects little or no understanding of course content and unsatisfactory achievement.

INC can only be given in cases of sudden illness or other emergency situation. To be considered
for an INC, email the professor prior to the due date of the final exam.

Attendance: All students are expected to attend class. Student attendance will be recorded
during each class. Given that this class meets once a week, only three unexcused absences will
be allowed before the student is dropped from the class. Excused absences will be accepted, if
documented by a physician, professor, or the Dean of Students.

Assignments: Students will be assigned passages and exercises at the end of each class. The
student is expected to read each passage thoroughly and complete the assigned exercises before
the beginning of the next class. Homework assignments are designed to familiarize the student
with the necessary material and establish a sufficient understanding of the relevant concepts
before moving on to new sections. The assignments will be collected, recorded, and calculated as
10% of the total course grade.

Persuasive-Argumentative Paper: Students will be assigned one philosophy paper to write. The
topic may either be assigned or chosen by the student from any of the topics we cover within the
syllabus. The paper is a short persuasive paper, ranging 3-5 pages in length, where the student
formulates a thesis statement (or question) from among the various philosophical topics covered
in the course, develops arguments for that position, and articulates philosophical ideas and
concepts in support of one’s conclusions. This counts as 15% of the students total course grade.

Group Presentations: Students must always do the assigned readings and sufficiently prepare to
discuss the material in the readings in class. Occasionally, students will be asked to form into
groups of three of four students and prepare presentations on the material or arguments covered
in the assigned readings. Students will then be required to deliver their presentations as a group
to their fellow classmates in the classroom. These assignments are designed to teach the students
how to read texts critically and carefully in order to familiarize them with carrying out proper
exegesis of texts. Furthermore, such assignments are aimed at teaching students how to perform
successful research, how to corroborate with other students in formulating arguments and
constructing successful presentations, and teaches them how to clear articulate their arguments,
ideas, and concepts in front of others. These group presentations are counted as 15% of the
student’s total course grade.

Quizzes: Quizzes are given regularly on reading assignments and lectures. They provide a means
of assessing the student’s level of comprehension of the material. They also point out when and
where the student requires additional help and focus on certain material and philosophical
concepts. Quizzes allow for accurate assessment without having too much impact on one’s
overall course grade. All quizzes are added up at the end of the course and calculated as 15% of
the student’s total course grade.

Final Exam: The final exam provides another means of testing the student’s understanding.
There is one final exam at the end of the course to test the student’s overall knowledge of the
course material and to determine their range of knowledge concerning the philosophical topics
and arguments covered within the course over the semester. The final exam is calculated as 35%
of the students total course grade.

Required Texts:

Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings, 6TH EDITION, edited by

John Perry, Michael Bratman and John Martin Fisher, Oxford University Press, 2007.

Class Schedule and Course Outline

Week 1: Course Introduction and the Introduction to Philosophy

 Tuesday, August 27th
o Introduction to the course.
o What we will be covering, what we will not be covering

Introduction to Philosophy
 What is Philosophy? I.

Essential reading:

Copleston, Frederick. “Philosophy as I See It.” (Handout)

Aristotle. Metaphysics. (Handout)

Weeks 2 and 3: The Greek Miracle: Greek Philosophy

 Greek Philosophy I.
 Greek Philosophy II.
Essential reading:

The Pre-Socratics, “Fragments” (Handout).

Lear, Jonathan. “The Desire to Understand” (Handout).
Aristotle. De Anima. (Handout)
Plato. The Phaedo, Phaedrus, and the Republic. (Handouts)
Kenny, Anthony. Ancient Philosophy, vol. 1 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2006). (Handouts)

Additional reading:

Cornford, F.M. Before and After Socrates (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1932).
Irwin, T. Classical thought (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989).
Guthrie, W.K.C. The Greek Philosophers: From Thales to Aristotle (London: Methuen, 1950).
Guthrie, W.K.C. A History of Greek Philosophy, vols. 1, 2, 3, 4 (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1962-1975).
Shields, C. Classical Philosophy: a Contemporary Introduction (London: Routledge, 2003).

Weeks 4 and 5: Philosophy of Religion

 God and Philosophy I.
 God and Philosophy II.

Essential reading:

Aquinas, Thomas. Expert from Summa Theologica, “On the Existence of God” in Introduction
to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings.
Pascal, Blaise. “The Wager” in Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary
Readings.
Saint Anselm. “The Ontological Argument” in Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and
Contemporary Readings.
Sorem, Erik. “An Apophatic Ascent to the Divine: Apophatic Theology as a Philosophically
Satisfying Way to Conceive the Nature of God.” (Handout)

Additional reading:

Marion, Jean-Luc. “Is the Ontological Argument Ontological? The Argument according to
Anselm and its Metaphysical Interpretation according to Kant.” Journal of the History of
Philosophy 30 (2): 201-218 (1992). (Handout).
Pegis, Anton. “St. Anselm and the Argument of the ‘Proslogion.’” (Handout).

Weeks 6 and 7: Knowledge, Skepticism, and Reality.

 Epistemology I.
 Epistemology II.
Essential reading:

Plato. “Thaetetus.”
Gettier, Edmund. “Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?”
Descartes, Rene. “Meditations on First Philosophy.”

Additional reading:

Hume, David. “An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding.”

Blackburn, Simon. “Knowledge” and “World” in Think: A Compelling Introduction to
Philosophy.

Weeks 8 and 9: Philosophy of Science

 Philosophy of Science.
 Philosophy of Time.

Essential reading:

Aristotle. Physics (handout).

Zeno. “Zeno’s Paradoxes.”
Cockburn D. ‘The Present’ in: Other Times; Philosophical Perspectives on Past, Present and
Future, CUP 1997.

Additional reading:

Zimmerman, David. “The Privileged Present: Defending an A-Theory of Time.” (Handout)

Smart, J. “The Tenseless Theory of Time” in: Sider et al. Contemporary Debates in Metaphysics,
Wiley-Blackwell 2007. (Handout)
Lewis, David. 'The Paradoxes of Time Travel' in: American Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 13,
No. 2, April 1976. (Handout)
Horwich P. ‘The Metaphysics of Now’ in: Rea M. (ed.) Arguing About Metaphysics, Routledge
2009.

Weeks 10 and 11: Philosophy of Mind

 Philosophy of Mind I.
 Philosophy of Mind II.

Essential reading:

Ryle, Gilbert. “Descartes Myth.”

Searle, John. “Minds, Brains, and Programs.”
Nagel, Thomas. “What is It Like to be a Bat?”
Jackson, Frank. “What Mary Didn’t Know.”
Dennett, Daniel. “Where Am I?”
Additional reading:

Nagel, Thomas. “Conceiving the Impossible and the Mind-Body Problem.” Philosophy (73)
July, 1998. (Handout)
Sorem, Erik. “Searle, Materialism, and the Mind-Body Problem” in Perspectives: International
Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 3, Autumn 2010. (Handout)

Weeks 12 and 13: Man, Morals, and the State.

 Ethics and Society.

 Man, Law, and the State.

Essential reading:

Mill, John Stuart, Utilitarianism.

Kant, Immanuel, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals.
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics.
Plato, Republic.

Additional Reading:

Casey, Gerard. “Meddling in Other Men’s Affairs: The Case for Anarchy.” Institute of Economic
Affairs. Blackwell Publishing: Oxford (2007). (Handout)
Blackburn, Simon. “What to Do?” in Think: A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy.

Week 14: Review of Course and Preparation for Final Exam

 Review for Final Exam.

Final Exam

 Final Exam.