PHIL 110 Introduction to Philosophy

Illinois Central College

Dr. Aaron B. James, Professor of Philosophy

If we have become a people incapable of thought, then the

brute-thought of mere power and mere greed will think for us.
---Wendell Berry

Course Title: Introduction To Philosophy Dates: 8/21/2023—12/15/2023

Course Number: PHIL 110 (1109) [IAI H4900] Time: MW 9-10:15AM
Credit Hours: 3 Room: 215B
Refund Date: 9/5/2023 Withdrawal Date: 11/18/2023
Prerequisite(s): Approved reading placement score, or equivalent
Department: English, Humanities and Language Studies

Course Description: This course is a study of reoccurring philosophical principles and

problems. Students will examine philosophical issues surrounding
knowledge, the nature of truth, identity, free will, morality, and religion.
Required Materials: •Stitch, Stephen and Tom Donaldson, Philosophy: Asking Questions:
Seeking Answers. Oxford University Press, 2019.
•Four Blue Books from the bookstore for exams (about 40 cents each).
Internet: You will need access to the internet since you will regularly be using
Blackboard to turn in assignments and access resources.
Computer: You will need regular access to a computer outside of class since some
assignments will be submitted to Blackboard. You will need to able to
save electronic documents in a format readable by Microsoft Word (.doc,
.docx, .pdf). Almost all word processors are able to do this.

Instructor: Dr. Aaron B. James, Associate Professor of Philosophy

Department: English, Humanities, and Language Studies
Email: [email protected] Note: When sending an email include in the
subject line your full name and the day and time your class meets.
Phone: 694-5487
Office Location: 316C
Office Hours: M/W 8:25-8:55AM; 11:55AM-12:25AM; or by appointment. In addition,
I answer emails within 24 hours Monday through Friday. (An email sent
Friday may not be answered until the following Monday)

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 Course Goals
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
1. Define important terms in philosophy.
2. Recall some key philosophers from the history of philosophy and explain some of their
views.
3. Identify and explain how an argument is constructed. (ILO: Reasoning)
4. Evaluate arguments about selected philosophical issues. (ILO: Reasoning)
5. Evaluate some of your own views about selected philosophical issues. (ILO: Reasoning)

How Much Time Do You Need?

You need to plan on spending a minimum of 9 total hours per week on this course. This is
determined by the Illinois Community College Board, not by me.

Grades
The grade for this course will be determined on the basis of the following assignments:
1. Reading and Reflection Journal Entries (24 @ 4 points each): ......... 96 points
2. Exams:................................................................................................ 400 points
a. Exam 1: Philosophy and Meaning 100 points
b. Exam 2: God and Humanity 100 points
c. Exam 3: Reality and Knowledge 100 points
d. Exam 4: Ethics 100 points
3. Meaning of Life Arguments Assignment: ......................................... 100 points

Total Possible Points: 596 points

Grading Scale: A (536 points or above); B (535-476 points); C (475-417); D (416-357 points);
F (356-0 points) FA (stops attending after midpoint of the semester)
• Note: Grades will not be rounded up.

Course Activities Summary

Attendance and Absences:
• Roll will be taken every class period
• ICC defines excessive absences as missing more than 5% of class sessions. It is your
responsibility to be aware of any institutional or financial aid consequences for excessive
absences. It is also your responsibility to communicate with me about missing class.

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Administrative Withdrawal:
• A student will be reported as a never-attender and administratively withdrawn from the
course if the student fails to attend within the first week of class.
• You will be reported as a non-attender and administratively withdrawn from the course if
you stop attending the course before the mid-point of the semester.
• I define “stop attending the course” as no submission of any assignments and no class
attendance for the equivalent of 13 straight calendar days.

Reading and Reflection Journal Entries: You will write responses to questions about course
material. Entries will be given full credit if they:
• Follow the directions
• Clearly display substantive engagement with course material
• Are submitted on time.

Exams:
• The exams will consist of written responses and objective type questions (such as
multiple choice, true false, matching).
• Every exam is cumulative on the objective portion.
• Missed exams may only be made up for legitimate reasons at my discretion. I reserve the
right to offer an alternative exam (including exam format) for makeup.
• Any approved makeup must be completed within 5 calendar days of the original exam
date unless I approve a documented exception (for an extended illness for example).

Meaning of Life Arguments Assignment: The capstone, cumulative assignment for this course
is a guided writing assignment in which you’ll answer in light of course material the course’s key
question: “What is the meaning of life?”

Extra Credit: There is no extra credit.

Late Work
Any late work (with the exception of exams—see above) may be submitted within one calendar
week of the original due date and will be assessed a 50% late penalty. After one week, no late
submission is allowed. Any exceptions to the late penalty will be entirely at my discretion, and
only for genuine emergencies. A busy week or a family vacation does not count as a genuine
emergency.

Note: No late work will be accepted after Monday, December 11th.

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 Personal Electronic Devices In the Classroom

No electronic devices may be used in class. This includes phones.

There are two exceptions to this rule:

• I will honor any documented accommodation approved through Access Services.
• If you have purchased an electronic version of the textbook then you may use your
electronic device when we are looking at the textbook in class. But you may not use it
for any other purposes (including taking notes).

Notice of Changes
I plan on running the course as described in this syllabus. However, sometimes something may
need to change in order to best fulfill the course objectives or to account for unusual
circumstances. So, I reserve the right to adjust the syllabus and syllabus schedule in keeping with
the course goals and description. I will notify you of any changes should they occur.

Academic Misconduct
Matters relating to academic honesty or contrary action such as cheating, plagiarism, or giving
unauthorized help on examinations or assignments may result in an instructor giving a student
a failing grade for the assignment, test, or course. Based on the severity of the offense, the
instructor may recommend dismissal from the College. See the ICC student handbook for more
details.

No AI tools may be used for any assignment in this class.

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 Course Schedule
Week 1
Monday, Aug 21: Course Introduction and Does Life Have a Meaning?
• Read before class
o Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” abbreviated and paraphrased (Canvas)

Wednesday, Aug 23: Course introduction and does life have a meaning? Yes, and it’s all about
experiences.
• Read before class
o Course Syllabus
o Textbook Chapter 13 sections 1 and 2 on Hedonism
o Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP) “Hedonism”: Intro, Section 1, and
Section 5 (link on Canvas)
• Turn in by class time:
o Reading and Reflection Journal Entry 1

Week 2
Monday, Aug 28: Does life have a meaning? Yes. The answer is God.
• Read before class:
o Thomas Aquinas, Contra Gentiles BK III Ch 25 Par 11-16 (Canvas)
o William Lane Craig, “The Absurdity of Life Without God”, pages 1-7: stop at
“The Practical Impossibility of Atheism” (Canvas)
• Turn in by class time:
o Reading and Reflection Journal Entry 2

Wednesday, Aug 30: Does life have a meaning? Nope.

• Read before Class:
o Arthur Schopenhauer, “On the Vanity of Existence” (Canvas)
o Thomas Nagel, “The Absurd”—read section II and section VI (Canvas)
• Turn in by class time:
o Reading and Reflection Journal Entry 3

Note: Last day for refund is September 5th

Week 3
Wednesday, Sept 6: Does life have a meaning? Yes. Choose anything you want.
• Read before Class:
o Textbook, Chapter 13, Section 3 (pp. 271-276)
o Jean Paul Sartre “Existentialism is a Humanism” abbreviated (Canvas)
• Turn in by class time:
o Reading and Reflection Journal Entry 4

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Week 4
Monday, Sept 11: Does life have a meaning? Yes. Engage in worthy projects.
• Read before Class:
o Textbook, Chapter 13, Sections 4 and 5 (pp. 276-281)
o Susan Wolf, “Meaning in Life and Why it Matters”, pp. 6-9, and 20-27 (Canvas)
▪ On p. 6 start at “A Conception of Meaningfulness in Life,” then stop at
the end of page 9.
▪ On p. 20 start at “The Fitting Fulfillment View Defended” and stop at p.
27.
• Turn in by class time:
o Reading and Reflection Journal Entry 5

Wednesday, Sept 13: Does life have a meaning? Yes. Virtue gives life meaning and you
should be willing to die for it.
• Read before Class:
o Plato, “Apology” abbreviated (Canvas)
• Turn in by class time:
o Reading and Reflection Journal Entry 6

Week 5
Monday, Sept 18: Exam 1

Wednesday, Sept 20: Arguments—What have we been doing the last few weeks?
• Read before Class:
o Textbook, Chapters 1 and 2
• Turn in by class time:
o Reading and Reflection Journal Entry 7

Week 6
Monday, Sept 25: Can science answer all of our questions?
• Read before Class:
o Textbook, Chapter 7, “Will the Sun Rise Tomorrow?”
• Turn in by class time:
o Reading and Reflection Journal Entry 8

Wednesday, Sept 27: Does God exist? “Yes.”

• Read before Class:
o Textbook Chapter 3, Sections 1 through 6.
• Turn in by class time:
o Reading and Reflection Journal Entry 9

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Week 7
Monday, Oct 2: Does God exist? “Yes.”
• Read before Class:
o Textbook Chapter 3, Section 7 through the end.
• Turn in by class time:
o Reading and Reflection Journal Entry 10

Wednesday, Oct 4: Does God exist? “No.”

• Read before Class:
o Textbook Chapter 4, “Why Does God Leave Us To Suffer?”
• Turn in by class time:
o Reading and Reflection Journal Entry 11

Week 8
Monday, Oct 9: Does God exist? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
• Read before Class:
o “Agnosticism For and Against Readings” (Canvas)
• Turn in by class time:
o Reading and Reflection Journal Entry 12

Wednesday, Oct 11: Exam 2

Week 9
Monday, Oct 16: Do we have free will?
• Read before Class:
o Textbook, Chapter 9, “Do We Have Free Will?”
• Turn in by class time:
o Reading and Reflection Journal Entry 13

Wednesday, Oct 18: Does each of us have a soul?

• Read before class:
o Textbook, Chapter 10, “How Is Your Mind Related To Your Body?”
• Turn in by class time:
o Reading and Reflection Journal Entry 14

Week 10
Monday, Oct 23: What makes you the same person from birth to death?
• Read before class:
o Textbook, Chapter 11, “Will You Be the Same Person in Ten Years? Could
You Survive Death?”
• Turn in by class time:
Reading and Reflection Journal Entry 15

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Wednesday, Oct 25: Will technology make us immortal, and would it be meaningful?
• Read before class:
o Michael Graziano, “Why You Should Believe in the Digital Afterlife” (Canvas)
• Turn in by class time:
Reading and Reflection Journal Entry 16

Week 11
Monday, Oct 30: Do nonmaterial things exist?
• Read before Class:
o Textbook, Chapter 6, “Can We Trust Our Senses?”
• Turn in by class time:
o Reading and Reflection Journal Entry 17

Wednesday, Nov 1: Exam 3

Week 12
Monday, Nov 6: Are we justified in believing what we believe?
• Read before Class:
o Textbook, Chapter 8 “What Is Knowledge?”
• Turn in by class time:
o Reading and Reflection Journal Entry 18

Wednesday, Nov 8: Can we be certain of anything?

• Read before Class:
o Textbook, Chapter 5, “Can We Be Completely Certain of Anything?”
• Turn in by class time:
o Reading and Reflection Journal Entry 19

Week 13
Monday, Nov 13: Is moral relativism true?
• Read before Class:
o Textbook, Chapter 12 “Are There Objective Truths About Right and Wrong?”
• Turn in by class time:
o Reading and Reflection Journal Entry 20

Wednesday, Nov 15: Is there a good explanation of what makes an action right or wrong?
• Read before Class:
o Textbook, Chapter 14, “What Should We Do? (Part 1)”—note, “(Part 1)” is part
of the title of the chapter. You’re reading all of the chapter not just the first
section.
• Turn in by class time:
o Reading and Reflection Journal Entry 21

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November 20-24th No Class: Thanksgiving Break

Week 14
Monday, Nov 27: How does an explanation for what makes something right or wrong apply
to my actual choices?
• Read before Class:
o Textbook, Chapter 15, “What Should We Do? (Part II)”—note, you’re reading
all of the chapter not just section 2.
• Turn in by class time:
o Reading and Reflection Journal Entry 22

Wednesday, Nov 29: How economically equal should we strive to be?

• Read before class:
o Section 5.a. “Rawls” from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on
Western Theories of Justice (iep.utm.edu/justwest)
• Turn in by class time:
o Reading and Reflection Journal Entry 23

Week 15
Monday, Dec 4: Should we always obey the law?
• Read before Class:
o Plato, “Crito” abbreviated (Canvas)
o Martin Luther King, Jr. “Letter From a Birmingham Jail”—start at the top of
page 3 and read to the end (Canvas)
• Turn in by class time:
o Reading and Reflection Journal Entry 24

Wednesday, Dec 6: Exam 4

Week 16
Monday, Dec 11: Does Life Have a Meaning? Revisited
• Homework:
o Read the Instructions for the Meaning of Life Arguments Assignment
o Work on Meaning of Life Arguments Assignment

Friday, December 15 by 9:00AM Meaning of Life Arguments Assignment

• Turn in to Canvas: Final draft of Meaning Of Life Arguments Assignment—Submit
to Canvas by attaching a document in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format. Do not copy and
paste.