Phil 20101: Introduction to Philosophy (revised)
Freddoso
304 Malloy
Phone: 631-7327
E-mail: afreddos@gmail.com
Home page:
http://www.nd.edu/~afreddos/
Purpose of Course:
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to philosophy
and to the importance of philosophical inquiry for their own lives.
To this end we will examine a sampling of philosophical
classics. Some recurrent
themes: the nature of philosophy and of philosophical wisdom; the
distinctiveness
of the philosophical life; the relation between intellection and
affection
in the pursuit of wisdom; the existence and nature of God; the relation
between intellectual virtue and truth; the relation between faith and
reason;
the nature of human flourishing; the role of individuality in the
pursuit
of human flourishing; the relation between moral virtue and happiness.
The philosophers to be discussed include Plato, St. Thomas Aquinas (and
through him Aristotle), St. Augustine, Descartes, Hume, Mill, and
Nietzsche.
Texts (other editions
and/or translations
are acceptable):
- Plato, Five
Dialogues (Hackett)
(ISBN: 978-0872206335)
- St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa
Contra Gentiles, Book One: God (Notre
Dame) (ISBN: 978-0268016784)
- St. Thomas Aquinas, Treatise on Beatitude -- my
translation, on line
- Rene Descartes, Discourse
on Method (Hackett)
(ISBN: 978-0872204225)
- David Hume, Dialogues
Concerning Natural Religion (Hackett)
(ISBN: 978-0872204027)
- John Stuart Mill, On
Liberty (Hackett)
(ISBN: 978-0915144433)
- Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond
Good and Evil (Penguin)
(ISBN: 978-0140449235)
- St. Augustine, Confessions (Hackett) (ISBN:
978-0872208162)
Requirements:
- Careful reading and re-reading of all assignments and
scrupulous class
attendance.
- Submission of a comment or question on the reading every
third day -- see
assignments -- comments due by midnight the day before (10% of
grade). (I do not expect or want mini-dissertations, just straightforward and concise questions or comments.)
- Two 5-page papers on assigned topics, due on
2/9
and 4/15, each worth
20% of grade).
- Two exams, the first on 3/4 and the second on 5/4 (each
worth 25% of
grade).
Tentative outline
with reading assignments:
I. Plato
(428
BC-348 BC)
- 1/14: Apology, in Five Dialogues,
pp. 23-44 (17A-42A)
- 1/19: Phaedo, in Five Dialogues, pp.
93-106 (57A-69E)
- 1/21: Phaedo, in Five Dialogues,
pp. 106-135 (69E-95E)
- 1/26: Phaedo, in Five Dialogues, pp.
135-155
(95E-end)
- 1/28: Summa Contra Gentiles, Book One:
God, pp. 59-68
(chaps.
1-4)
- 2/2: Summa Contra Gentiles, Book One: God,
pp. 69-78
(chaps.
5-9)
- 2/4: Summa Contra Gentiles, Book One: God,
pp. 85-99
(chaps.
13-15)
- 2/9: Summa Contra Gentiles, Book One: God,
pp. 135-149 (chaps. 28-35) (paper due)
- 2/11: Treatise on Beatitude, ques. 1-3, pp.
1-30 in my translation (+ How to read a question from the Treatise on Beatitude)
- 2/16: Treatise on Beatitude, ques. 4-5, pp.
31-50 in my translation
- 2/18: Discourse on Method, pp. 1-6 (Part One)
- 2/23: Discourse on Method, pp. 6-12 (Part Two)
- 2/25: Discourse on Method, pp. 12-17 (Part Three)
- 3/2: Discourse on Method, pp. 17-21 (Part Four)
3/4 Hesburgh funeral (no exam)
- 3/16: Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion,
pp. 3-12 (Part I)
- 3/18: Rescheduled midterm exam
- 3/23: Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion,
pp. 13-38 (Parts II-V)
- 3/25: Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion,
pp. 54-76
(Parts IX-XI)
- 3/30: Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion,
pp. 77-89
(Part XII)
- 4/1: On Liberty, pp. 1-33 (chap. 1 and
first part of chap. 2)
- 4/8: On Liberty, pp. 33-52 (last part of
chap. 2)
- 4/13: On Liberty, pp. 53-71 (chap. 3) (combined with first Nietzsche reading)
VI. Friedrich
Nietzsche (1844-1900)
- 4/13: Beyond Good and Evil, Preface &
Part Two, #24-#44) (combined with last Mill reading)
- 4/15: Beyond Good and Evil, Part
Three, #45-#62 (paper due)
- 4/20: Beyond Good and Evil, Part
Five, #186-#203
- 4/22: Confessions, pp. 3-47 (Bks. 1-3)
- 4/27: Confessions, pp. 51-125 (Bks. 4-7)
- 4/29: Confessions, pp. 129-170 (Bks. 8-9)
5/4 FINAL EXAM 4:15-6:15 (MONDAY)
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