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Honors Introduction to 
Philosophy

Humanities 127…..TR 11:00-12:15 PM…..3 Credits…..No Prerequisites…..Fall, 2003

Dr. Hollace Graff

Course Description

This course provides discussion of knowledge, ethics, aesthetics, and metaphysics as exemplified by leading philosophers.

Learning Objectives

After completing this course, the student will be able to

a) identify certain problems with which philosophy deals,

b) explain the answers which selected philosophers (both ancient and modern) have given to these problems,

c) begin to formulate with some degree of philosophical rigor the philosophy which guides his or her own life,

d) be familiar with the development of philosophy as a discipline,

e) exhibit curiosity about basis questions and assumptions of one’s own and others’ philosophies,

f) apply philosophical reasoning to issues outside the classroom.

Academic Integrity

The very nature of higher education requires that students adhere to accepted standards of academic integrity. Therefore, Oakton Community College has adopted a Code of Academic Conduct and a statement of Student Academic Integrity. These may be found in the Student Handbook. You may also find a summary of the Code of Academic Conduct in the College Catalog. Among the violations of academic integrity listed and defined are: cheating, plagiarism, falsification and fabrication, abuse of academic materials, complicity in academic dishonesty, falsification of records and official documents, personal misrepresentation and proxy, and bribes, favors, and threats.

It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of behaviors that constitute academic dishonesty.

Pursuant to the due process guarantees contained in the Policy and Procedures on Student Academic Integrity, the minimum punishment for the first offense for a student found in violation of the standards of academic integrity is failure in the assignment. In addition, a disciplinary record will be established and kept on file in the office of the Vice President for Student Affairs for a period of three years.

 

Instructional Materials

Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche

Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 by Karl Marx

Civilization and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud

Existentialism and Human Freedom by Jean-Paul Sartre

One Dimensional Man by Herbert Marcuse

The Cornel West Reader by Cornel West

Outline of Topics and Class Schedule

 

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Socrates	August 26	August 27 Entry on Nietzsche in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy	August 28 Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra, "Prologue"	August 29
September 1 No class	September 2 Zarathustra, Book 1  (Focus on 1, 2, 3, 4, 12, 15, 16, 19, 21, 22)	n Nietzsche	September 4 Continue Zarathustra, Book 1	September 5
September 8	September 9  Zarathustra, Book 2 (Focus on 3, 4, 5, 6, 15, 19, 20, 21 22)	September 10	September 11 Continue Zarathustra,  Book 2	September 12 Nietzsche
September 15	September 16  Zarathustra, Book 3 (Focus on 2, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)	Kant	September 18 Continue Zarathustra,  Book 3	September 19
September 22	September 23 Zarathustra, Book 4 (Focus on 2, 3, 6, 9, 11, 12 13, 18, 20)	September 24	September 25 Critical Evaluation of Nietzsche's Thought Possible Essay Exam Questions for Tuesday	September 26
September 29	September 30 Exam on Nietzsche	October 1	October 2 Marx's Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, "Estranged Labor" Summary of Marx's theory of alienation	October 3
October 6	October 7 "The Meaning of Human Requirements?"	October 8	October 9  Summary of Marx's Theory of Ideology Extra Credit: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train, 12:30, Room 1608, and 6:30, Room 145 RHC	October 10
October 13	October 14  Freud's Civilization and Its Discontents		October 16  Freud continued	October 17
October 20	October 21 Freud continued	October 22 Participation Credit: "Iraq and Beyond: Towards a Moral Foreign Policy" ..Jim Kenney....12:30, Room 1610	October 23    Sartre's Existentialism and Human Emotions
October 27	October 28  Sartre continued	Simone de Beauvoir	October 30 Sartre continued	November 1
November 3	November 4 Exam on Marx, Freud, and Sartre Possible exam questions	November 5	November 6 One-Dimensional Man by Herbert Marcuse	November 7
November 10	November 11 Veteran's Day No class	November 12	November 13 Marcuse continued	November 14  Extra Credit: Women's Day
November 17	November 18 Marcuse continued	November 19	November 20 Marcuse continued	November 21
November 24	November 25 Marcuse continued	November 26	November 27 Thanksgiving	November 28
December 1	December 2 The Cornel West Reader....Read pp. xv-18. Start working on your intellectual biography. Hand in your journal when you finish.	December 3   Extra Credit: In Times Such As These, a performance and discussion of the Patriot Act, 2:30, Footlik Theater.  Richard Stacewicz and a number of Honors Students will be in this performance.	December 4 West continued	December 5
December 8	December 9 West continued	December 10	December 11 Quiz on Marcus and West	December 12
December 15	December 16 Last Class	December 17	December 18	December 19

 

Course Requirements

1. You will keep a philosophical journal. In this journal you will record your reactions to the assigned readings and your responses to questions that we may pose in class. The journal should not consist of notes or summaries of the readings. Rather, you should take positions and offer arguments for those positions. You may also consider ways in which the material we read in class relates to your own experiences. Your journal will be collected several times during the semester. I will meet with you individually to discuss your journal. Your final journal should be at least 25 typewritten pages. In the interest of preserving trees, your journal should not be more than double-spaced, should not use larger than 12-point type, and should not have extra-large margins or large blank spaces between sections. The precise format for your journal is up to you.

2. In this class, participation is extremely important. You will earn participation points by attending class, by speaking during class, and by volunteering to give brief summaries of parts of the assigned readings. You will receive one participation point for every class you attend. If you come to class late, you will receive one-half credit for the day. You will also receive one-half to one participation point for every brief summary you give. (You should plan to volunteer for about four summaries over the course of the semester.)  I will provide some extra credit opportunities to make up lost participation points. These extra credit opportunities will involve attending Oakton events such as Women's Day and Men's Day or public forums on Iraq. I do not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences. However, if you need to be absent because of something such as religious holidays or family emergency, I will make every effort to insure that you have ways to earn extra credit that will compensate for your absence.

3. There will be three exams. I will distribute a study guide to help you prepare for these quizzes.

 

 

Methods of Evaluation

 

1. The journal will count for 1/3 of your final grade.

2. The exams will count for 1/3 of your final grade.

3. Participation will count for 1/3 of your final grade. (A…35+, B…..32-34, C….29-31, D….26-28)