Phil 250: Rationalism and Empiricism (Fall 2004)

Marya Bower / Carp 335

E-mail: bowerma Office phone: ext. 1438 Home Phone: 939-1998

Office Hours: I am happy to set up an appointment to meet with you in order to discuss papers, material covered in class, or life in general. Please see me before or after class, call me in my office, or send an e-mail, if you’d like to schedule an appointment. You may also call me at home, but please don’t call after 9:00 p.m. unless it is an emergency. .

Texts: Our readings will be taken from the following texts:

Descartes, Discourse on Method and Meditations, Lafleur translation

Spinoza, Ethics, Treatise, and Selected Letters (Hackett)

Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, (Hackett)

Leibniz, Discourse on Metaphysics and Other Essays (Hackett)

Berkeley, Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous (Hackett)

Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature, Niddich translation (Oxford)

Objectives: In this class, our objectives will be:

· to gain a preliminary understanding of the philosophical positions and supporting arguments that are presented by the philosophers listed above.

· to sharpen our ability to read texts carefully, sympathetically, and critically.

· to develop our ability to discuss philosophy with each other.

· to express ourselves clearly in writing, both when we analyze and explain the positions held by others and when we present our own original thoughts.

Assignments:

Class Participation: The class will meet as a whole twice a week. The format for these meetings will be a mixture of lecture and discussion. Class attendance and participation is an essential part of the course. Philosophy is not a course in which you can memorize the answers; it is a discipline, that is, it requires you to practice doing philosophy. One way that you exercise your philosophical muscles is by speaking with and listening to other folk as we all learn how to speak and think more clearly. In order to do this you must be prepared for class discussions, you must be present, and you must participate. At times, brief homework assignments may be given. These assignments will count toward your class participation grade. Class participation will count for 15% of the course grade.

Discussion Groups: In order to ensure that you have ample time to discuss the material covered in class, you will usually meet in small groups for at least one hour of discussion each week. You should choose a meeting time or place that is convenient for all of you. (Please note: because of the problems of having everyone get there on time, please do not plan to use your lunch period or a rushed dinner for this meeting.) Your responsibilities for this discussion group are:

· To create an atmosphere of trust and respect in which each person has an opportunity to speak and in which every person has a responsibility to listen carefully to others.

· To contribute to a lively discussion of the class material. The content and quality of the discussion in your group is your responsibility. In order to facilitate this discussion, each member of the group should prepare and write out a discussion question prior to the group meeting. The discussion questions should be given to the discussion leader and then to the recorder for the day. Consider these discussions groups as part of your “lab” for this course. Prepare for your discussion group ahead of time, be inventive, and be invested.

· To share responsibility for the leadership of the group, both as discussion leader and as recorder. Members of the group should rotate these responsibilities; two different people should be appointed each week.

· The discussion leader is responsible for beginning the discussion each week, drawing on the questions that have been submitted by the group members. The discussion leader should also function as the convenor of the group, making sure that participants listen actively to each other and contribute respectfully to the group dialogue.

· The recorder should keep notes during the discussion and submit a brief report that includes the following information: 1) the date and time of the meeting; 2) who was present (please give the full name of each person) and the question(s) that each person submitted; 3) what answers (or further questions) were generated by the group as the discussion developed; 4) any concerns or questions that the group has for me; and 5) who functioned as discussion leader and as recorder. This report should be typed up by the recorder and handed in by the beginning of class each Tuesday. Reports will not be accepted late; they may be submitted via e-mail. As with all of your work for this class, the report should be well written and free of spelling and grammatical errors.

Participation in your small group will count for 10% of your final grade.

Writing Assignments: You will have the opportunity to learn how to do philosophical writing by practicing it regularly and by focusing on different elements in a sequential manner. The writing assignments include:

A. Descartes Explication: This assignment will give you the opportunity to experience writing the first part of a formal philosophy paper. For this paper, choose a sharp, well-defined question or topic that is addressed in one of Descartes’s texts. Then explain or reconstruct clearly, in your own words, the answer and supporting argument(s) that are given by Descartes in response to this question. This paper should be approximately 600-1000 words and counts for 10% of your final grade.

B. Spinoza Explication and Critique: For this assignment, choose a topic or question that is raised in Spinoza’s Ethics and that you find interesting and important. You will then write two sections of a full philosophical paper.

· First Section: Explication. In this section, you should explain clearly the answer and supporting argument(s) that are given by Spinoza in response to the question / topic that you have selected. As with the previous explication, this section should draw upon the text and include numerous citations, but it should not include extensive quotations. The key here is to read the text, understand the argument presented, and then articulate it in your own words.

· Second Section: Analysis / Critique. In this section, you should raise objections to or criticisms of the philosopher’s position. Each objection or criticism must be accompanied by a supporting argument, that is, you should explain why this objection or criticism is reasonable and should be taken seriously.

· This paper should be approximately 1000-1500 words and counts for 15% of your final grade.

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C. Paper on either Locke or Leibniz: Choose either Locke or Leibniz and identify a topic or question that is raised in the reading that is of interest to you. Then write a paper that includes the following sections and accomplishes the following tasks:

· First Section: Introduction. See the “Advice on Assignments” handout for a detailed description of what should be included in this section.

· Second Section: Explication. In this section, you should explain clearly the answer and supporting argument(s) that are given by the philosopher in response to the question / topic that you have selected. This section should draw upon the text and include numerous citations, but it should not include extensive quotations. The key here is to read the text, understand the argument presented, and then articulate it in your own words. (This is your third time around with this, so you should be getting the hang of it by now!)

· Third Section: Analysis / Critique. In this section, you should raise objections to or criticisms of the philosopher’s position. Each objection or criticism must be accompanied by a supporting argument, that is, you should explain why this objection or criticism is reasonable and should be taken seriously.

· Fourth Section: Response. In this section, explain how the philosopher might respond to the objections or criticisms that you have raised. These responses should be based upon an understanding of the text, but they are not necessarily found within the text. That is, your objections and criticisms should raise new issues. Hence, you must think within the mindset of the philosopher in order to craft a response that is consistent with his position.

· Fifth Section: Evaluation. Conclude your paper with your evaluation of which position is the stronger one and the reason(s) why you have reached this conclusion.

· Please number each of these sections in your paper. A paper that is missing any one of these sections is incomplete. This paper should be about 1600-2500 words long and will count for 20% of your grade.

Berkeley and Hume Paper: Choose a topic that is of interest to you and that is addressed by both of the philosophers. The structure of your paper should be as follows:

· First Section: Introduction. See the “Advice on Assignments” handout for a detailed description of what should be included in this section.

· Second Section: Explication. Articulate clearly, in your own words, the answer and supporting arguments that are given by each of the philosophers in response to the question / topic that you have selected. See additional information in the previous description.

· Third Section: Analysis / Critique. Analyze and discuss the important similarities and differences between the two positions. Explain what objections you believe each philosopher would present in response to the other’s position, and why each one would present these objections.

· Fourth Section: Response. In this section, explain how each philosopher might respond to the objections or criticisms that the other has raised. See additional information presented in the previous description.

· Fifth Section: Evaluation. Conclude your paper with your evaluation of which position is the stronger one and the reason(s) why you have reached this conclusion.

· Please number each of these sections in your paper. A paper that is missing any one of these sections is incomplete. This paper should be 3000 - 4000 words long. The comparison paper will count for 30% of your final grade.

Summary of Assignments

Class Participation 15%

Discussion Group 10%

Descartes Explication 10%

Spinoza Explication and Critique 15%

Locke or Leibniz Paper 20%

Comparison Paper 30%

Course Evaluation 0%

Total 100%

Proposed Schedule

Date	Reading / Activity
Aug. 26	Introduction to Class: Syllabus
Aug. 31	Descartes, Discourse, §§1-2-3
Sept. 2	Descartes, Discourse, §§4-5-6
Sept. 7	Descartes, Meditations, Dedication, Preface, Synopsis, §§1-2 Discussion Groups Meet this Week (#1)
Sept. 9	Descartes, Meditations, §§3-4
Sept. 14	Descartes, Meditations, §§5-6 First Discussion Group Report Due Discussion Groups Meet this Week (#2)
Sept. 16	Spinoza, Introduction, Translator’s Preface, Ethics, Part I, through Prop. 17
Sept. 20	Descartes Explication Due (Not a class day)
Sept. 21	Spinoza, Ethics, Part I, through Prop. 36, and Appendix to Part I; Discussion Group Report Due Discussion Groups Meet this Week (#3)
Sept. 23	Spinoza, Ethics, Part II, preface, definitions, axioms, postulates, propositions, and notes only through Prop. 10 (proofs, corollaries, lemmas recommended)
Sept. 28	Spinoza, Ethics, Part II, Prop 10 - End Discussion Group Report Due Discussion Groups Meet this Week (#4)
Sept. 30	Locke, Essay, Bk I, Chapters 1, 2:1-9; Bk II, Chapters 1-8
Oct. 4	Spinoza Explication and Critique Due (Not a class day)
Oct. 5	Locke, Essay, Bk II, Chapters 9-12; 13:1-5, 27; 14:1-3; 22:1-5; 23, 27:1-20 Discussion Group Report Due No Discussion Group Meetings this Week
Oct. 7	No Class / Midterm Break
Oct. 13	Locke, Essay, Bk IV, Chapters 1, 2, 9, 10:1-12, 11, 18 Discussion Groups Meet this Week (#5)
Oct. 14	Leibniz, Discourse, §§1-13
Oct. 19	Leibniz, Discourse, §§14-25 Discussion Group Report Due Discussion Groups Meet this Week (#6)
Oct. 21	Leibniz, Discourse, §§26-37
Oct. 26	Leibniz, Monadology, §§1-45 Discussion Group Report Due Discussion Groups Meet this Week (#7)
Oct. 28	Leibniz, Monadology, §§45-90
Nov. 1	Locke or Leibniz Paper Due (Not a class day)
Nov. 2	Berkeley, Preface and First Dialogue Discussion Group Report Due Discussion Groups Meet this Week (#8)
Nov. 4	Berkeley, Second Dialogue
Nov. 9	Berkeley, Third Dialogue Discussion Group Report Due Discussion Groups Meet this Week (#9)
Nov. 11	Hume, Treatise, xiii-xix, 1-25, 66-94
Nov. 16	Hume, Treatise, 94-123, 130-55 Discussion Group Report Due Discussion Groups Meet this Week (#10)
Nov. 18	Hume, Treatise, 155-179
Nov 23 & 25	Thanksgiving Break
Nov 30	Hume, Treatise, 180-218 Discussion Group Report Due No Discussion Group Meeting this week
Dec. 2	Hume, Treatise, 251-274
Dec. 7 & 9	Hume Summary Days
Dec. 13	Final Paper Due by 5:00 p.m.

General Policies

Absences: Regular class attendance and participation is an essential part of this and every philosophy course. If you must be absent, you may miss class three times. Four absences will have a significant impact on your course grade. If you are absent from the course five times, you will fail the course.

Lateness: Promptness is a sign of commitment to the class. Repeated lateness will have a significant impact on your course grade and may cause you to fail the course. Please note, every two times that you are late will count as an absence. Please see the policy above re: absences.

Assignments: Important information about assignments appears in this syllabus and will also be given verbally in class and on the assignment handout (if there is one). Information presented in one of these venues will not necessarily be repeated in another. You are responsible for knowing what is required for each assignment.

Due Dates: The syllabus includes a schedule showing the due dates and times for the assignments. Certain assignments will not be accepted past the due date/time; these are noted in the syllabus. Other assignments will be accepted late, but the grade will be adjusted downward by two steps (e.g., from an “A” to a “B+”) for each day that it is late.

E-mail: I may correspond to the class via e-mail. To accomplish this, I will use your Earlham e-mail address. If you use a different e-mail address regularly, please set your Earlham account to forward to that address so that you don’t miss any important announcements.

Disabilities: Any student with a documented disability who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact Donna Keesling in the Center for Academic Enrichment. If you have any questions about this process, please feel free to ask me about it.

Plagiarism: If a student is discovered to have committed plagiarism, whether deliberately or inadvertently, the student will fail the course and the situation will be addressed according to the guidelines set forth in the Student Handbook.