Weeks:
1 | 2
| 3 | 4
| 5 | 6
| 7 | 8
Introduction
to Philosophy
Approximate Weekly
Schedule
(This schedule below is
only an approximation of what your anctual assignment schedule will
be this quarter. You can use this schedule to get a good idea of what
assignments are coming up next, approximately when things will be
due during the quarter, etc, so you can plan ahead if you wish to.
However, each week I will be posting a message in the classroom describing
exactly and in full detail what the class assignments are for that
week and when they will be due. Those assignment messages will be
the ones you should rely on for full details about what is actually
due, and when, that particular week.)
Week I
Mini-lectures:
This week's reading includes the following
lectures:
Read:
- Plato's Euthyphro
- The lectures
listed above
- Plato's story of the Cave in Book
VII of The
Republic -- about 3pp long
Study Questions:
Write out answers to the study questions
for:
Questions you will be discussing in
the class forum:
- What is the cave story about?
- What
personal characteristics make for good discussions?
- Would you say that Socrates in any
way lies to Euthyphro during his conversation with Euthyphro?
- Is Socrates intending primarily to
learn from Euthyphro, or to teach Euthyphro?
- Dad
and George
- Do you consider indirect communication
to be an effective tool for Socrates when he is communicating
about "these things?"
- Do you consider indirect communication
to be a morally legitimate and acceptable tool for Socrates
to use when communicating about "these things?"
Memorize and recite:
- One passage from The Euthyphro
Date due:
6pm Wed
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Week II
Mini-lectures:
This week's reading includes the following
lectures:
Read:
Study Questions:
Write out answers to the study questions
for:
Questions I will ask you to discuss
in the class forum:
- Trial and Death of Socrates
- Vote guilty or not anytime between
Saturday noon and Sunday noon
- Whether the injured or the injurer
is more damaged
- Civil disobedience (Crito)
Reminders:
Memorize and recite:
- One passage for the week, selected
from any of the three Dialogues
Date due:
6pm Wed
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Week III
Mini-lectures:
This week's reading includes the following
lectures:
Assignments:
Read:
Study Questions:
Write out answers to the study questions
for:
Questions you are to discuss in the
class forum:
- Forms of love: eros and philia
- post one of your favorite proverbs
to the classroom and explain what you liked about it.
Reminders:
Memorize and recite:
- One passage from The Phaedrus
Date due:
6pm Wed
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Week IV
Mini-lectures:
This week's reading includes the following
lectures:
Read:
Study Questions:
Write out answers to the study questions
for:
Discussion Questions for the week:
- The
classical problem of evil
- Discussion of The Book of Job
- Discussion of Ecclesiastes
- Discuss the lecture about Stages on life's way
- When you post your quote from Ecclesiastes
this week (and to whom you recited it), please also say a few
words about what that passage means to you, and how you see it
fitting into the message of Ecclesiastes.
Memorize and recite:
- one passage from Ecclesiastes
Reminders:
- Take midterm
exam between Thursday morning and Saturday evening
Date due:
6pm Wed
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Week V
Mini-lectures:
This week's reading includes the following
lectures:
Assignments:
- Next week also has
a lot of lectures to read, so it might be a good idea to
get a start on reading them this week
Read:
Study Questions:
Get a start on the study questions for:
Discussion Questions for the week:
Reminders:
- Projects are due to be completed
next week
Memorize and recite:
- One passage from one of the lectures
or discussion questions.
Date due:
6pm Wed of week 5
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Week VI
(This will be a looong
week: Ten days for this week. This week goes from Thursday until
Sunday morning 10 days from now)
Mini-lectures:
This week's reading includes the following
lectures:
Assignments:
- Sometime this week or next (so you're
being given a little time-flexibility here), write a one- or two-paragraph
response to any two of the research projects; your comments
can include questions, comments on what you liked, or on what
you would have liked to hear more about, etc.
- Respond briefly to at least one other
(a third) research project and its accompanying review(s)
Research Projects:
- Deadline for posting your research
project is this Wednesday
Read:
Study Questions:
Write out answers to the study questions
for:
Discussion Questions for the week:
- David Hume's ideas
- Immanuel Kant lectures
- Lectures on Schopenhauer
- Schopenhauer's concept of aesthetic
contemplation
- Schopenhauer's concept of asceticism
Reminder:
- Projects due to be completed this
week
Memorize and recite:
- One passage from Schopenhauer
Date due:
12 noon on Sunday
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Week VII
(This will be a very
short week: This week goes from Sunday morning until Wednesday evening,
three days later)
Mini-lectures:
This week's reading includes the following
lectures:
Assignments:
- During last week or this week write
a one- or two-paragraph response to any two of the research
projects; your comments can include questions, comments on what
you liked, or on what you would have liked to hear more about,
etc.
- Also respond briefly to at least
one other (a third) research project and its accompanying review(s)
Read:
Study Questions:
Write out answers to the study questions
for:
Discussion Questions for the week:
- Offer any left-over assessments of
Schopenhauer's worldview, both positives and negatives, and the
reasons for them
- The bulk of the discussion this week
should focus on your reading of Swedenborg. You can also use your
study questions as jumping off points for class discussion.
Additional assignment piece for weeks
six to seven:
1.
Sometime during last week or this week, write a one- or two-paragraph
response to any two of the research projects
2. Respond briefly to at least one other (a third) research
project and its accompanying student comment(s).
Memorize and recite:
- One passage from Swedenborg
Date due:
6pm Wed
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Week VIII
Mini-lectures:
This week's reading includes the following
lectures:
Read:
- Martin Buber, The Way of Man
Study Questions:
Write out answers to the study questions
for:
Discussion Questions for the week:
- The discussion in the first part
of this week, up until Saturday evening, should focus on your
reading of Buber. You can also use your study questions as jumping
off points for class discussion. These discussions should be completed
by Saturday evening or Sunday morning.
- The second half of the week will
be devoted to some longer, more reflective, and more synthesizing
discussion questions. (I'll
post these longer discussion questions for you on Friday or Saturday,
just so you'll know what's coming; but please do not respond to
them until after Saturday evening, after the discussions on Buber
have been completed.)
Final exam:
Memorize and recite:
Self-evaluations:
- Your final SE is due to be turned
in anytime on this coming Wednesday, our last day of class (not
before Wednesday). SEs will be accepted up until midnight or even
2:00am on Thursday morning. Your final SE should follow the guidelines
on the course website and should include the same kind of detail
that your midterm SE required. It should be posted to the Self-evaluations
folder in the classroom
- Your Self-evaluation of your research
project will be turned in at the same time and in the same place.
Guidelines can be found on
the class website
- This means you'll be turning in two
separate SEs this Wednesday, one for your research project and
one for the entire course. They should both definitely be already
posted by the time I get up and start working on Thursday morning.
- These deadlines for your SEs cannot
be extended at all, unfortunately, because I will be computing
and turning in grades to WAOL on Thursday evening or Friday morning,
after which I will be offline for several days or a week.
Date due:
Wednesday night
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