Class: PHL100 Problems of Philosophy
Classroom: MCC 164
Class time: MWF 9:10 am - 10:05 am
Professor: Craig DeLancey
Office: MCC212A
Office Hours: Every other MW 3:00-4:00+ p.m., and Tuesdays on GoogleMeet 10:00 - 12:00
Email: craig.delancey@oswego.edu
Introduction
This class is an introduction to philosophy. We will explore a few of
the questions that are central to philosophy. The goal is to become
familiar with some of the concerns, techniques, and accomplishments of
philosophy as a tradition and discipline.
These questions will be:
- What are the branches and methods of philosophy?
- Can we have certain knowledge?
- Can we prove there is a god?
- Is the mind a kind of body (probably mostly brain) activity?
- What is a person?
- Are we free?
- How should one live?
- What is justice?
- Does the universe, or do at least you, have a purpose?
Texts
There is one book that you are asked to purchase and which is required for this
course:
Rene Descartes, Meditations
We will read also many other things, but these other texts will be
made available on the web, as electronic texts, or as handouts. Please do
not take this course if you are unwilling to read and grapple with difficult
texts.
Assignments and exams
We are going to do something different with this course. Instead of
having most of the work being at the end of the class, we will try to
spread the work evenly over the semester. The course will be divided into
2-week long sections, as listed above. For each section of
the course, there will be:
- reading questions and related short assignments,
- a practice quiz,
- a short quiz, and
- a semi-optional extra/outside assignment (do 4 of the 7
possible such assignments during the semester).
The final exam will be short and just a repeat of some of our previous
questions.
If you have a disabling condition which may interfere with your
ability to successfully complete any of the assignments of this
course, please contact the Disability Services Office.
Please note: I generally do not answer emails that read: "I missed class
today. Did we do anything important? If so, can you tell me everything
I missed and perhaps teach the whole class to me over email or perhaps
in office hours?" I especially am likely to not answer it if from someone
who missed a lot of classes.
Grading
The raw grade will be determined in roughly the following way:
Assignments: 25%
Practice quizes: 10%
Extra/outside assignments: 25%
Quizzes: 30%
Final: 10%
See my grading policy for a brief note
on how I turn the raw grade into a final grade.
Office Hours
In addition to the listed office hours, I encourage you to make
appointments. I am available quite a bit; the only problem is that
I tend to have lots of irregular meetings so it is hard for me to promise
a reoccuring time.
Please try to come to office hours with specific questions in mind.
You can of course come with a general request for help, but it is
always helpful if you spend a little time thinking about how I can
best help you out.
Objectives
By the end of this class, you should understand and be able to explain:
- Valid and sound deductive arguments;
- Reductio ad absurdum arguments, and how to structure one;
- Rationalism and empiricism; foundationalism, coherentism;
- The "cogito ergo sum" argument;
- The historical attempts at a proof of the existence of
God from reason alone, with recognition of some of the
difficulties;
- A "philosopher's god";
- The problem of free will, and libertarian and
compatibilist "solutions";
- Dualism and physicalism in the philosophy of mind, and
example applications like the problem of consciousness;
- The problem of personal identity (over time),
and Locke's solution, and challenges to Locke's solution;
- The problem of teleology.
Schedule
I will frequently update an online schedule of readings and
assignments. It is your responsibility to check the www pages for
the class at least every other day!
Screens
No screens please. Leave your phone and computer at home.
User Agreement
Final Exam
Final Exam date and time TBA
Clery Act/Title IX Reporting Statement
SUNY Oswego is committed to enhancing the safety and security of the campus for all its members. In support of this, faculty may be required to report their knowledge of certain crimes or harassment. Reportable incidents include harassment on the basis of sex or gender prohibited by Title IX and crimes covered by the Clery Act. For more information about Title IX protections, go to https://www.oswego.edu/title-ix/ or contact the Title IX Coordinator, 405 Culkin Hall, 315-312-5604, titleix@oswego.edu. For more information about the Clery Act and campus reporting, go to the University Police annual report: https://www.oswego.edu/police/annual-report.
Disability Statement
If you have a disabling condition, which may interfere with your ability to successfully complete this course, please contact the Office of Accessibility Services.
Excused absences
If you miss an quiz and have an excused absence for the day you miss
the exam, you may make it up, by special appointment with me, when you
are able to come back to class. It is your responsibility to arrange
any make-up exams as soon as you know you are going to miss the
exam. Otherwise you may lose the opportunity to take the test, since I
cannot give make-up exams after the class has gone over the
answers.
Here is how you secure an excused absence: Only prior notification
with credibly documented or easily verifiable reasons (e.g., medical
visits to Mary Walker, documented participation in official sporting
events, etc.) will result in excused absences. You must notify in
writing, call, or email me prior to your absence from class. You must
notify the Philosophy Dept. secretary, Jane Santore, before you are
going to be absent, via email at santore@oswego.edu, or by phone at
x2249. However, you must make sure she knows your name, the number of
the course, the date, and your easily verifiable reason, along with a
request to forward the information to me. It is better to give your
information to me, except when you are unable to communicate with my
phone or email for some reason.
Please hold onto all of your assignments and exams. Sometime before
the end of the semester I recommend that you ask me to review the
grades that I have recorded to make sure that I have not made any
mistakes.
College Policy on Intellectual Integrity
SUNY Oswego is committed to Intellectual Integrity. Any form of intellectual
dishonesty is a serious concern and therefore prohibited.
Intellectual integrity on the part of all students is basic to
individual growth and development through college course work. When
academic dishonesty occurs, the teaching/learning climate is seriously
undermined and student growth and development are impeded. For these
reasons, any form of intellectual dishonesty is a serious concern and
is therefore prohibited.
The full intellectual integrity policy can be found at
www.oswego.edu/administration/registrar/policy_text.html#cpii