Introduction to Philosophy

PHL 100Y1
LEC0101: T H 11-12
MS2158 (F-term)/BT101(S-term)

Prof. Donald Ainslie (he/him)

UC 375 (use stairs or elevator at the front of the building to access office)
Office hours: M W 10:00-11:00 (starting Sept. 14)
Email: donald.ainslie@utoronto.ca
Note that I will typically respond to emails within four school days of receipt. Please
communicate only via this utoronto address: I will not be checking messages sent
through the Quercus email/messaging system.

This course offers an introduction to philosophy through a historical survey of European

philosophy and related traditions. Topics covered include: the nature of morality; the structure
of reality; the human capacity for knowledge and its limits; and the significance of philosophical
inquiry.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the course, students will be familiar with the broad trends of European
philosophical history; will be able to identify and criticize the main arguments in philosophical
texts of varying genres; will be able to engage in philosophical discussion and argumentation;
and will be able to write critical and expository philosophical essays.

Tutorials:

Every student in the course must also be registered in a tutorial. Tutorials meet weekly during
the term starting the week of September 12 and attendance is required. The teaching assistant
(TA) assigned to the tutorial will lead the students in discussion of material presented in the
lectures. The TA will typically mark the work of the students in her or his tutorial.

TUT0101: Thursday, 12:00-1:00 (OI 2205): Christine Park

TUT0201: Thursday, 1:00-2:00 (Fall, OI 4418; Winter, OI 2198): Christine Park
TUT0102: Thursday, 12:00-1:00 (OI 8201): Mathieu Duguay
TUT0202: Thursday, 1:00-2:00 (OI 2289): Mathieu Duguay
TUT0103: Thursday, 12:00-1:00 (FE 328): Richard Zhou

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TUT0203: Thursday, 1:00-2:00 (FE 135): Richard Zhou
TUT0104: Thursday, 12:00-1:00 (OI 2211): Alexander Trachsell
TUT0204: Thursday, 1:00-2:00 (OI 4420): Alexander Trachsell
TUT0105: Thursday, 12:00-1:00 (UC 148): Evelyn Maude
TUT0205: Thursday, 1:00-2:00 (UC 65): Evelyn Maude
TUT0106: Thursday, 12:00-1:00 (WI 2006): Aman Sakhardande
TUT0206: Thursday, 1:00-2:00 (WI 2006): Aman Sakhardande
TUT0301: Thursday, 2:00-3:00 (OI 4420): Dina Anagnostopolou
TUT0401: Thursday, 3:00-4:00 (Fall, OI 4422; Winter, OI 2198): Dina Anagnostopolou
TUT0302: Thursday, 2:00-3:00 (SK 348): Adriana Lisitza
TUT0402: Thursday, 3:00-4:00 (SK 348): Adriana Lisitza
TUT0303: Thursday, 2:00-3:00 (Fall, OI 4418; Winter, OI 2198): Simon Vanegas
TUT0403: Thursday, 3:00-4:00 (OI 3312): Simon Vanegas
TUT0304: Thursday, 2:00-3:00 (OI 7192): Radheesh Ameresekere
TUT0404: Thursday, 3:00-4:00 (OI 4420): Radheesh Ameresekere
TUT0501: Friday, 9:00-10:00 (BL 312): Alexandra Gustafson
TUT0601: Friday, 10:00-11:00 (BL 312): Alexandra Gustafson
TUT0701: Friday, 11:00-12:00 (BL 312): Alexandra Gustafson

Assigned Texts:

The following are available at the UofT Bookstore:

Plato. Five Dialogues. G. M. A. Grube (tr.) and J. M. Cooper (rev. tr.). Hackett
Publishing (2002).
Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. C. D. C. Reeve (tr.). Hackett Publishing (2014).
Descartes, René. Meditations on First Philosophy, 3rd edn. D. A. Cress (tr.). Hackett
Publishing (1993).
Kant, Immanuel. Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, 3rd edn. J. W. Ellington (tr.).
Hackett Publishing (1993).
-----. Prolegomena for any Future Metaphysics, 2nd ed. J. W. Ellington (tr.). Hackett
Publishing (2002).
Nietzsche, Friedrich. On the Genealogy of Morality. M. Clark and A. J. Swensen (trs).
Hackett Publishing (1998).

The following first-term readings are available on the course website:

Plato. Excerpts from Republic, Books 6 and 7. In Plato’s Republic, G. M. A. Grube (tr.),
rev by C. D. C. Reeve. Hackett Publishing (1992).
Ar-Razi. “The Philosopher’s Way of Life.” In Classical Arabic Philosophy: An
Anthology of Sources, J. McGinnis and D. C. Reisman (eds and trs). Hackett
Publishing (2007).
Correspondence between Princess Elisabeth and René Descartes (May to July 1644). In
The Correspondence between Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia and René Descartes
(Lisa Shaprio [ed. and tr.], University of Chicago Press (2007).

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Second-term readings by John Locke, David Hume, Mary Wollstonecraft, A. J. Ayer, Simone de
Beauvoir, and Frantz Fanon will be made available online later this term.

Evaluation

First term:
5% Short paper (2 pp.): Assigned Sept. 13; due Sept. 22
5% First expository paper (1 p.): Assigned Oct. 13; due Oct. 27
5% Second expository paper (1 p.): Assigned Nov. 3; due Nov. 24
25% First-term exam (during exam period)

Second term:
10% Exposition and objections (3 pp.): Assigned Jan. 17; due Feb. 2
15% Critical essay (5 pp.): Assigned Feb. 9; due March 9
25% Second-term exam (during exam period)

Throughout course:
10% Tutorial participation

Late assignments are penalized one grade fragment (e.g. from a B+ to a B) per day (weekdays
only) to a maximum of one full grade per week.

Academic Integrity

(Note that the material in this section is taken from the Faculty of Arts and Science, Academic
Handbook for Instructors, https://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/faculty-staff/teaching/academic-
handbook, accessed Aug. 31, 2022.)

The University of Toronto treats cases of academic misconduct very seriously. Academic
integrity is a fundamental value of learning and scholarship at the U of T. Participating honestly,
respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in this academic community ensures that your U of T degree
is valued and respected as a true signifier of your individual academic achievement.

The University of Toronto’s Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters outlines the behaviours
that constitute academic misconduct, the processes for addressing academic offences, and the
penalties that may be imposed. You are expected to be familiar with the contents of this
document. Potential offences include, but are not limited to:

In papers and assignments:

• Using someone else’s ideas or words without appropriate acknowledgement.
• Submitting your own work in more than one course without the permission of the
instructor.

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 • Making up sources or facts.
• Obtaining or providing unauthorized assistance on any assignment (this includes working
in groups on assignments that are supposed to be individual work).

On tests and exams:

• Using or possessing any unauthorized aid, including a cell phone.
• Looking at someone else’s answers.
• Letting someone else look at your answers.
• Misrepresenting your identity.
• Submitting an altered test for re-grading.

Misrepresentation:
• Falsifying or altering any documentation required by the University, including (but not
limited to) doctor’s notes.
• Falsifying institutional documents or grades.

All suspected cases of academic dishonesty will be investigated following the procedures
outlined in the Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters. If you have any questions about what is
or is not permitted in this course, please do not hesitate to contact me. If you have questions
about appropriate research and citation methods, you are expected to seek out additional
information from me or other available campus resources like the College Writing Centres,
the Academic Success Centre, or the U of T Writing Website.

Normally, students will be required to submit their course essays to the University’s plagiarism
detection tool for a review of textual similarity and detection of possible plagiarism. In doing so,
students will allow their essays to be included as source documents in the tool’s reference
database, where they will be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism. The terms that
apply to the University’s use of this tool are described on the Centre for Teaching Support &
Innovation web site (https://uoft.me/pdt-faq).

Accessibility

Students with diverse learning styles and needs are welcome in this course. If you have an acute
or ongoing disability issue or accommodation need, you should register with Accessibility
Services (AS) at the beginning of the academic year by
visiting http://www.studentlife.utoronto.ca/as/new-registration. Without registration, you will not
be able to verify your situation with your instructors, and instructors will not be advised about
your accommodation needs. AS will assess your situation, develop an accommodation plan with
you, and support you in requesting accommodation for your course work. Remember that the
process of accommodation is private: AS will not share details of your needs or condition with
any instructor, and your instructors will not reveal that you are registered with AS.

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Religious Accommodations

As a student at the University of Toronto, you are part of a diverse community that welcomes
and includes students and faculty from a wide range of cultural and religious traditions. For my
part, I will make every reasonable effort to avoid scheduling tests, examinations, or other
compulsory activities on religious holy days not captured by statutory holidays. Further to
University Policy, if you anticipate being absent from class or missing a major course activity
(such as a test or in-class assignment) due to a religious observance, please let me know as early
in the course as possible, and with sufficient notice (at least two to three weeks), so that we can
work together to make alternate arrangements.

Fall Schedule

Introduction: Sept. 8

Plato
Euthyphro and Apology (in Five Dialogues): Sept. 13, 15
Crito (in Five Dialogues): Sept. 20, 22
Phaedo 57a-69e and 78b-84b (pp. 94-107 and 116-122 in Five Dialogues): Sept. 27
Republic (excerpts from Books 6 and 7 posted online): Sept. 29 and Oct. 4
Phaedo 96a-102a and 107c-118a (pp. 134-139 and 144-154), Oct. 6

Aristotle
Nicomachean Ethics (NE), Book 1: Oct. 11
Physics ii 3 (posted online): Oct. 13
NE ii: Oct. 18
NE iii: Oct 20
NE vi: Oct. 25
NE x, 6-9: Oct. 27

Ar-Razi
“The Philosopher’s Way of Life” (posted online): Nov. 1

Descartes
First Meditation: Nov. 3
Second Meditation: Nov. 15
Third Meditation: Nov. 17
Fourth Meditation: Nov. 22
Fifth Meditation: Nov. 24
Sixth Meditation: Nov. 29
Correspondence with Princess Elisabeth (posted online): Dec. 1, 6