Dr Tom Kerns
North Seattle Community College

 

Introduction to Philosophy

Course Modules

This course can be divided into six modules.

1. Greek wisdom
2. Hebrew wisdom
3. epistemology
4. Arthur Schopenhauer
5. Emanuel Swedenborg
6. Martin Buber

These modules are distinct though they are not entirely independent of each other. Each module builds on those that have preceded it.

Elements of each module are included below.

Greek wisdom

weeks 1-3

Readings:

• Plato's Dialogues
• Euthyphro (entire)
• Apology (entire)
• Crito (entire)
• Phaedo (only from Stephanus page 114D to the end)
• Phaedrus (only from the beginning to Stephanus page 257C)
  
  
• Plutarch's essay entitled "On Listening to Lectures," from The Moralia

Lectures related to the Plato readings

• Plato's Cave, and degrees of separation from the real
• Who is Socrates?
• A few important dates in ancient Greece
• Socratic method
• Socrates as midwife
• Indirect communication a la Soren Kierkegaard
• Dad and George: a story of indirect communication
• Person A injures person B
• Athenian history: the rest of the story
• Eros in The Phaedrus
• A few books about erotic love
• Plato's three parts of the soul
• The Phaedrus and The Eternal

Study Questions

• SQs for Plato's Cave
• SQs for Plato's Euthyphro
• SQs for Plato's Apology
• SQs for Plato's Crito
• SQs for Plato's Phaedo
• SQs for Plato's Phaedrus
• SQs for Plutarch's On Listening to Lectures

Discussion questions relating to Plato

• The moral demands of good dialog
• "A rag, a reg..."
• Dad and George (indirect communication)
• Person A injures person B
• On civil disobedience
  

Hebrew wisdom

weeks 4-5

Readings:

• Book of Proverbs from the Hebrew wisdom literature (entire)
• Book of Job from the Hebrew wisdom literature (entire)
• Book of Ecclesiastes from the Hebrew wisdom literature (entire)

Lectures related to the Hebrew readings

• The Greek and Hebrew world views compared
• Hebrew wisdom literature: An introduction
• The wisdom teachings of The Book of Proverbs
• Stages on life's way
• Introduction to The Book of Job
• What God likes about Job

Study Questions

• SQs for the Book of Proverbs
• SQs for the Book of Job
• SQs for the Book of Ecclesiastes
• SQs for Tolstoy's A Confession

Discussion questions relating to the Hebrew wisdom literature

• The problem of evil
• Tolstoy's dream
  

Epistemology

weeks 6-7

Lectures related to epistemology

• Historical periods in western philosophy
• A few significant dates in the modern period
• Introduction to epistemology
• On Stuff
• Quantum physics
• My Dream
• Tulpas and Hinduism
• The empiricist and rationalist philosophers
• Introduction to John Locke
• Introduction to George Berkeley
• Introduction to David Hume
• Introduction to Immanuel Kant
• A too-short outline of Immanuel Kant's epistemology
  

Discussion questions relating to epistemology

• My Dream, or How Not to Tell What's Really Real
• Epistemology discussion questions

Schopenhauer

weeks 7-8

Readings:

• Arthur Schopenhauer, The World As Will and Representation , Vol. I (blue)
• You read only the assigned portions of Schopenhauer, not the entire book

Lectures related to Arthur Schopenhauer

• A Philosophical map
• Introduction to Schopenhauer
• Buddhism and Schopenhauer
• Life is suffering because life is willing
• The world as representation
• The world as Will
• Aesthetic contemplation
• Askesis
• No will = no world
• Assessments

Study Questions

• SQs for Schopenhauer's The World as Will and Representation, week I
• SQs for Schopenhauer's The World as Will and Representation, week II
  

Swedenborg

week 9

Readings:

• Emanuel Swedenborg, Heaven and Hell (George Dole, tr.)
• You read only the assigned portions of Swedenborg, not the entire book

Lectures related to Emanuel Swedenborg

• Introduction to Emmanuel Swedenborg
• The Ruling Love and Correspondences

Study Questions relating to Swedenborg

• SQs for Swedenborg's Heaven and Hell

Discussion questions relating to Swedenborg

• Swedenborg & Schopenhauer: A discussion question

Buber

week 10

Readings:

• Martin Buber, The Way of Man (entire)

Lectures related to Martin Buber

• Introduction to Martin Buber
• Buber's dream

Study Questions

• SQs for Buber's Way of Man

 

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