Tentative Course Schedule
Please Note: Based on Class Discussion and Interest, we may revise the schedule as we go through the semester.
Week 1: Introduction
9/5 Introductions, Getting to know each other, Syllabus, Begin Course Agreement. What. Philosophy. Is.
9/7 Discussion Day. Question: What work of Philosophy did you pick and why? What does it reveal about, in your view, What. Philosophy. Is.?
Week 2: Common Sense
9/12 IPM, Ch. 1
DC DQ TR
1 2 3
9/14 William Lycan, “Moore Against the New Skeptics”
Week 3: Conceptual Analysis
9/19 IPM, Ch. 2
DC DQ TR
4 1 2
9/21 Sally Haslanger “Gender and Race: (What) Are They? (What) Do We Want Them To Be?”
Week 4: Thought Experiments
9/26 IPM, Ch. 3
DC DQ TR
3 4 1
9/28 J.J. Thomson, “The Trolley Problem”
Week 5: Simplicity
10/3 IPM, Ch. 4
DC DQ TR
2 3 4
10/5 Library Assignment and Reading on Occam’s Razor
Week 6: Fall Break
10/10 Exam 1
10/12 Fall Break
Week 7: Explanation
10/17 IPM, Ch. 5
10/19 Nancy Cartwright, “The Truth Doesn’t Explain Much”
Week 8: Science
10/24 IPM, Ch. 6
10/26 Patricia Churchland, “Neurophilosophy”
Week 9: Transition to Social Contract
10/31 Exam 2
11/2 Rosseau The Social Contract and Discourse on the Origins of Inequality
Discussion of the uses of The Social Contract (Hobbes, Locke, Mill, Rawls)
Week 10: The Racial Contract
11/7 C. Mills RC pp. 1 - 19
11/9 RC pp. 19-40
Week 11: The Racial Contract
11/14 RC pp. 41 - 90
11/16 RC pp. 91 - 120
Week 12: The Racial Contract
11/21 Garcia “The Racial Contract Hypothesis”
THANKSGIVING BREAK
Week 13: The Racial Contract
11/28 Mills “The Racial Contract as Methodology (Not Hypothesis)”
11/30 Buffer
Week 14: Student Project Discussions
12/5 Student Project Discussions
12/7 Student Project Discussions
Week 15: Student Project Discussions
12/12 Student Project Discussions