Big Questions (BIGQ) CTY Course Syllabus Questions (BIGQ) CTY Course Syllabus ... and short essays, ... we expect students to be polite to each other and to the instructors.

Big Questions (BIGQ) CTY Course Syllabus

Required Items:

Philosophy for Kids: 40 Fun Questions That Help You Wonder about Everything! Author: David White; Publisher: Prufrock Press; Year: 2000; ISBN: 978-1882664702

What If… Collected Thought Experiments in Philosophy Author: Peg Tittle; Publisher: Pearson; Year: 2004; ISBN: 978-0321202789

Catalog Course Description:

What is justice? What is beauty? What is the right thing to do? What is real? How can I be sure of what I know? In this philosophy class, students cultivate and refine critical thinking by considering fundamental questions such as these. While the questions in the course pique students’ intellectual curiosity, the emphasis is not on the answers, but on the process of rigorously addressing these puzzling issues. Students explore the methods philosophers use to develop and assess potential solutions. They learn to actively listen to other students, to evaluate arguments, to formulate their own arguments in a clear manner, and to defend their conclusions against objections. Through discussions, activities, readings, and short essays, students develop the analytical-reasoning skills needed to ask challenging questions and be better thinkers across disciplines.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the fundamentals of argument construction and evaluation.

• Understand the core methodology and key areas of Western, analytic philosophy.

• Familiarity with the core areas of philosophy including central topics in epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics.

• Able to practice the philosophical method, not just an understanding of it.

• Apply the techniques of argument analysis to critique the arguments of philosophers.

• Construct well-formed arguments in support of a philosophical position.

Expectations:

You will be expected to read and analyze material from the course text and handouts. You will also be expected to attend and participate in class. The instructors will attempt to provide interesting and informative material for you to read, give helpful lectures, provide assignments and activities that challenge and stimulate interest, be available to answer any questions you may have, and provide fair and timely evaluations of your achievement. There will be occasional quizzes throughout the session. There will also be a short papers assigned. The short papers will help you engage in the debate and consider the positions regarding complex philosophical issues.

Academic Integrity:

We encourage you to discuss the material from this course with others. You must write the papers on your own. Additionally, we expect students to be polite to each other and to the instructors. A polite person might say, “I respect you and your intellect such that if I disagree with you, I will attempt to show you that my beliefs are right until you are convinced, or I am convinced that I am wrong.” The subject matter of this course is often controversial, and involves beliefs forged by religion, emotional experiences, and personal trauma. We will never make fun, ridicule or berate people in this class for holding a particular belief, but we may question a position in order to better understand and, perhaps, come to appreciate it. Also, please refrain from disrupting class (Turn cell phones, watch alarms etc. OFF; do not chat with classmates).

Daily Summaries:

Students are asked to keep a paper or electronic journal where they summarize the class content nightly to help them internalize the course content and provide the instructor feedback on what students are getting. Summaries do not need to be well-written or edited. They are meant to be low pressure assignments just to keep students thinking after they leave class.

Term Paper:

Students will complete an academic philosophy paper in the style of professional analytic philosophy. Students will be asked to complete a first draft to be turned in by Tuesday of week two. Students should expect to have their drafts read and edited by the class instructor as well as their peers. The final draft will be turned in on Wednesday of the final week and should be 2-4 pages, double-spaced, and in a professional 10- or 12-point font. Model philosophy papers will be provided as well as paper writing instruction given in class. Guidelines on Writing a Philosophy Paper: http://www.jimpryor.net/teaching/guidelines/writing.html.

Assignments:

Other assignments will include various worksheets and sections in the Philosophy for Kids workbook. These assignments can also include prompted-writing exercises and close-reading exercises.

Course Schedule:

Day 1 (Monday)

Introduction • Pre-/Post-Assessment (45 min.)

• Discussion of some of the issues raised in the Pre-/Post-Assessment (e.g. the Ship of Theseus).

• Class Introductions

Topic – Metaphilosophy / Philosophy of Philosophy (i.e. “What is philosophy?”) • Quick preparatory lesson in solving Sudoku puzzles.

• Sudoku Metaphilosophy Activity (illustrates the difference between philosophy and the sciences)

• Discussion of some of the issues raised in the Sudoku Metaphilosophy Activity (e.g. What is a lie? Do actors lie when they utter falsehoods in a play?)

• Practice in conceptual analysis and theory building: What is a lie?

• Homework: Read “What is philosophy?” handout.

Day 2 (Tuesday)

Topic – How to Write a Philosophy Paper (Part I / II) • Use previous day's analysis of lies to write a philosophy paper on lies as a group using the

classroom projector.

Topic – Metaphysics (numbers) • Small Group Activity: Question 23 and 24 from Philosophy for Kids, “Where do numbers go

no one is thinking about them? Are numbers real?”

• Lesson on metaphysics, group discussion on different types of things (numbers, rabbits, atoms, centaurs, square circles, reflections, agwikqos) and discussion about the ontological status of numbers (e.g. Are numbers like reflections? Where does my reflection go when I am not in front of a mirror?)

• Homework: Read “Conceptual Analysis” handout.

Day 3 (Wednesday)

Topic – Epistemology • Lesson on propositions, type/tokens, sentences, and context.

• Lesson on what is belief? Rational belief? True belief?

• Lesson on epistemic relativism and why it is false.

• Small group activity relating to today's epistemology lessons.

• Homework: “Thought Experiments 1” assignment (i.e. read 4 assigned thought experiments from the “What If?” text and respond to them).

Day 4 (Thursday)

Topic – How to Write a Philosophy Paper (Part II / II) • Finish example philosophy paper on lies half finished the day before as a group using the

classroom projector.

Topic – Ethical Theory • Lesson on what is ethics/morality? (i.e. different from legal right, chess-game right, family rules

right, socially accepted, believed to be right, etc.)

• Discussion of the Trial of Socrates

• Plato's Ring of Gyges

• Homework: Read “What is ethics?” handout.

• Group Read: “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omleas”.

Day 5 (Friday)

Topic – Ethical Theory • Small Group Activity: Organ Transplant activity (Three cases: save one or five? Kill one to

save five? Let one die to save five?)

• Lesson on Kantian deontology and utilitarian consequentialism.

• Discussion of active-/passive-killing distinction using “Rachel's Smith and Jones at the Bathtub” from What If? text.

• Discussion of “Trolley Problem” from What If? text.

• Lesson on the Doctrine of Double-effect

• Discussion of strategic warfare versus terror warfare; moral status of the bombing of Japan during WW2 and the Doctrine of Double-effect.

• Discussion of “Brant's Spelunkers” from What If? Text.

• Discussion of “Jamieson's and Regan's Chainsaw” from What If? Text.

• Lesson on Virtue Ethics.

• Discussion of what people mean by the meaning of life (i.e. it's just the same question as ethics/moral philosophy).

• Homework: “Vocabulary Sheet 1” assignment.

Day 6 (Monday)

Topic – Logic • PowerPoint lesson on “What is an argument?” (i.e. dispute vs. proof, rhetorical vs. rational)

• Monty Python video: Argument Clinic

• PowerPoint lesson on “Logic: Form and Content” (argument form, validity, soundness, etc.)

• Small group activity on the difference between rhetorical and rational goodness in arguments:

crossing out rhetorical lines and paragraphs to leave on the logical/rational lines and paragraphs in example pieces of persuasive writing.

• Homework: “Thought Experiments 2” assignment (i.e. read 3 assigned thought experiments from the “What If?” text and respond to them).

Day 7 (Tuesday)

Topic – Social and Political Philosophy (social justice; Rawls/Nozick) • Preliminary Discussion: What is the difference between a mob, a dictator, and a legitimate

government?

• Lesson and discussion on utilitarian, anarchist, libertarian, and Rawlsian conceptions of legitimate governments.

• Michael Sandel “Justice” video (http://www.harvardjustice.org) on Rawls or Nozick (i.e. a video lecture from Sandel's renound Harvard intro to ethics/politics course on Rawls or Nozick)

• Discussion of Sandel video.

• Homework: Begin work on 1st draft of course paper. First draft due on Friday the 10th class.

Day 8 (Wednesday)

Topic – Free Will • Small Group Activity: Questions pertaining to free will from Philosophy for Kids.

• Lesson on Free Will and Determinism.

• Discussion of Locke's Volunteer Prisoner.

• Lesson on Compatibilism.

• Group reading of “Free Will” chapter from Riddles of Existence: An Introduction to Metaphysics.

• Homework: Continue work on 1st draft of course paper. First draft due on Friday the 10th class.

Day 9 (Thursday)

Topic – Personal Identity • Discussion of “Ship of Theseus” thought experiment from What If? Text (and further variants;

e.g. a second ship is constructed from the old parts).

• Discussion of the rest of the personal identity thought experiment from What If? text.

• Discussion of the connection between personal identity and morality (e.g. would a clone of Hitler deserve to be punished for the acts of Hitler before and during WW2?)

• Homework: Continue work on 1st draft of course paper. First draft due on Friday the 10th class.

Day 10 (Friday)

Topic – Skepticism (Epistemology) • Discussion of Descartes' Evil Demon and Putnam's Brain-in-a-vat from the What If? text.

• Homework: Read “Time Travel” and “Epistemic Skepticism” handouts.

Day 11 (Monday)

Topic – Knowledge and the JTB Analysis (Epistemology) • Class brainstorming activity: What is knowledge? (students will construct 2 variants of a JTB

analysis of knowledge, one that requires justified belief and one that requires conclusively justified belief).

• Discussion of all of the Knowledge and JTB thought experiments from the What If? text.

Topic – Philosophy Paper Writing (an hour in computer lab writing) • Homework: Continue work on final draft of course paper. First draft due on Thursday the 14th

class.

Day 12 (Tuesday)

Topic – Knowledge and the JTB Analysis (Continued) • Consideration of objections to knowledge as JTB.

• Peer review workshop for course papers.

• Homework: Revise course papers based on feedback from peer review workshop.

Day 13 (Wednesday)

Topic – Philosophy of Mind • Individual brainstorming activity: What is a mind?

• Class discussion: What is a mind?

• Lesson on Philosophy of Mind: Cartesian Substance Dualism and Identity Theory

• Discussion of “Inverted Colors” from “What If?”

• Discussion of “Mary the Brilliant Neuroscientist” from “What If?”

• Discussion of “What it's Like to be a Bat” from “What If?”

• Begin review poster work (30 min.)

• Homework: Complete work on final draft of course paper. First draft due on Thursday the 14th class.

Day 14 (Thursday)

• Complete review poster work (1 hr.)

• Pre-/Post-Assessment and Course Evaluations (1 hr.)

• Discussion: Could we build a machine with a mind? A machine for which there is a way “it's like” to be?

• Discussion of “Searle's Chinese Room” from “What If?”

• Homework: Think about and/or develop the 1-3 aspect of the review poster that you will present to parents on the final day visit.

Day 15 (Friday)

Topic – Wrap-up • Discussion of Time Travel.

• Discussion of the philosophy of art thought experiments from the “What If?” text.

• Group reading of Frankfurt chapter on love from The Reasons of Love text (chapter 2).

• Practice presenting review poster.

• Present review poster to parents.

• Class discussion of a few thought experiments in front of parents to show philosophy at work (topic TBD).

• Class good-byes.