Philosophy 201                     Michael KaganPhilosophical Perspectives         Office Hours in RH-422 on the Human Situation            W 9-10:20am; TU & TH 4:40-5:20pmLe Moyne College                    and by appointment Fall 1997                            (Call 445-4489)

Course Objectives

(1) to confront a variety of philosophically important responses to fundamentalquestions concerning the human situation, such as, "who am I?", "what oughtI do?", "what can I hope?", "what is wo/man?" (responses reflected in Westernand non-Western thought since 1650);
(2) to develop our sensitivity to issues of gender and race as theybear on our varied understandings of the human situation;
(3) to develop and defend our own philosophical perspectives.

Required Texts

Ernest Becker's The Birth and Death of Meaning, Free Press, 1973
Martin Buber's I and Thou, Classic/Collier Edition, 1987.
Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower, Warner Books, 1993
Sigmund Freud's, The Future of an Illusion, W.W. Norton, 1989. 
Huston Smith's, The World's Religions, HarperSanFranciso: 1991.

There will be readings on reserve in the library, as indicated in thesyllabus and class discussions.

Texts on Reserve

Michael Kagan, Educating Heroes, Durango, Colorado, HollowbrookPublishing Company, 1994.
Mary Briody Mahowald (editor), Philosophy of Woman, An Anthologyof Classic and Current Concepts, second edition, Indianapolis: HackettPublishing Company, 1983.

Method

Thinking through ideas introduced by means of the traditional philosophicalmethods of talking, reading, talking, writing and re-writing.

Course Requirements

A) Carefully read the assigned texts, trying to answer the following generalreading questions:

1. What problem is bothering this writer?
2. Why is it important?
3. What has this writer experienced?
4. What is this writer's response to this problem?
5. How, if at all, does the writer argue for this response?
6. What are the virtues and defects of this writer's argument and response?

B) Be prepared to talk about the readings in class.

C) Be prepared to answer questions about the readings on the quizzes,midterm and final.

EXAMS: Exam question formats may include "fill-in-the-blank,""multiple choice," "true/false and why," and "short answer,"  andessay.

THERE ALSO ARE "POP QUIZZES." Students who have taken quizzes and receiveda score of 'C' or better may use their pop-quiz average instead of takingthe following exam. Quizzes taken before the midterm can be applied onlyto the midterm exam; quizzes taken after the midterm can be applied onlyto the final.

Grading

The exams will each count for 25% of your grade. Your quiz average countsfor another 25%. Attendance [each miss is 4%] and participation each count25%. This adds up to 125%. The lowest score will be dropped and the remainingfour will be averaged. I will be grading on a "straight 10 point scale":

A (100-90), B (89-80), C (79-70), D (69-60), F (below 60). Minuses andpluses will fall into the thirds of each range area, e.g., 89-87=B+, 86-84=B,83-80=B-.

SPECIAL NEEDS

If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please contact me as soon as possible.

Important Dates:

Sep. 9, Mass of the Holy Spirit, no classes from 11:15am - 5 pm. Night classes WILL  meet.
Oct. 2, Rosh HaShanah, no class.
Oct. 14.  Long Weekend, no classes.   Dec. 2, Evaluations
Oct. 16:  MIDTERM.  No classes week of Nov.25.    Dec.  9 is the last day of classes.
 

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

Between People and the Ultimate: Buber & the Tao

Week 1 (of Aug. 26) Introduction; read Smith, introductory materialand ch. 1. Read Smith, ch. 5, on Taoism.
Week 2 (of Sep. 2) Read I and Thou.
Week 3 (of Sep. 9) Buber & the Tao, continued.

Finitude, Freedom, and the Infinite: Buddha, Freud and Skinnerdiagnose and prescribe for the human condition

Week 4 (of Sep. 16) Read Smith, ch. 3, on Buddhism.
Week 5 (of Sep. 23) Read Freud, Future of an Illusion.
Week 6 (of Sep. 30--no class Oct. 2, Rosh HaShana). Read Kagan on-linematerial on Skinner.
Week 7 (of Oct. 7) Freud and Skinner's critique of religion.

Human goodness and human evil, humanity as an ideal or as a fragilecompromise: Confucius and Becker.

Week 8 (of Oct. 14) Read Smith, ch. 4, on Confucianism. No classes Oct.14, long weekend.
MIDTERM EXAM IS THURSDAY OCT. 16
Week 9 (of Oct. 21) Read Becker's The Birth and Death of Meaning.
Week 10 (of Oct. 27) Some implications of Confucius and Becker. ReadEducating Heroes (on reserve in library), ch. 6, "Educating Heroesfor the Moral Equivalent of War."

Caste and Community: Women and Men: Sexism, non-dualistic Vedantaand Butler's Parable.

Week 11 (of Nov. 4)--no classes 4/5-4/8. Read Smith, ch. 2, on Hinduism.
Week 12 (of Nov. 11) Read Butler's Parable of the Sower.
Week 13 (of Nov. 18) Read de Beauvoir selection from "The Second Sex"in Mahowald, pp. 80- 99. Read Mahowald, pp. 302-335, S. Freud, C. Jung,and K. Horney selections on feminine psychology.
NO CLASSES WEEK OF NOV. 25
Week 14 (of Dec. 2) Read Trebilcot and Wollstonecraft selections inPart VI of Mahowald, pp. 376-384, pp. 203-220. Dec. 2, Evaluations.
Week 15 (of Dec. 9)--Dec. 9 is last day of class. TBA

FINAL EXAM SCHEDULE (Please note changes)
PHL 201-05 TTH  11:30  GH417 Mon., Dec.   15 from   9-10:30 AM
PHL 201-50 TTH    5:30  RH340 Tues., Dec. 16  from 6:30-8:00 PM
 

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