Dr Tom Kerns
North Seattle Community College

 

Weeks: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

Introduction to Philosophy

Approximate Weekly Schedule
Winter 2012 

A reminder about your main teachers this quarter

(This schedule below is only an approximation of what your actual assignment schedule will be this quarter. You can use this schedule to get a good idea of what assignments are coming up next, and approximately when things will be due during the quarter, etc, so you can plan ahead if you wish to. However, each week a message will be posted into the classroom describing exactly and in full detail what the class assignments are for that week, and when they are due. Those assignment messages in the classroom will be the ones you should rely on for full details about what is actually due, and when, for that particular week.)

Week I

NSCC: Jan 5-11

Mini-lectures:

This week's reading includes the following lectures:

Assignments:

  • read Plato's story of The Cave (in Book VII of Plato's Republic, available online)
  • (extra) if you wish, and if you have ready access to it, view the film, Plato's Cave

Read:

  • Plato's Euthyphro
  • The lectures listed above
  • Plato's Cave story in Book VII of The Republic -- about 3pp long)

Study Questions:

Write out answers to the study questions for:

Questions you will be discussing in the class forum:

  • What is the cave story about?
  • What personal characteristics make for good discussions?
  • Would you say that Socrates in any way lies to Euthyphro during his conversation with Euthyphro?
  • Is Socrates intending primarily to learn from Euthyphro, or to teach Euthyphro?
  • Do you consider indirect communication to be an effective tool for Socrates when he is communicating about "these things?"
  • Do you consider indirect communication to be a morally legitimate and acceptable tool for Socrates to use when communicating about "these things?"

All this is due to be completed by:

  • The reading and discussion of Plato's Cave is to be completed before Saturday
  • The other reading, writing, and discussion work for the rest of the week should commence by Sunday or Monday, and then be finished by Wednesday at 6pm

top of page

Week II

NSCC: Jan 12-18

Mini-lectures:

This week's reading includes the following lectures:

Assignments:

Read:

Study Questions:

Write out answers to the study questions for:

Questions I will ask you to discuss in the class forum:

  • Trial and Death of Socrates
  • Whether the injured or the injurer is more damaged
  • Civil disobedience

Reminders:

  • 1st SE coming up

Memorize and recite:

  • One passage for the week, selected from any of the three Dialogues

All this is due to be completed by:

  • The reading and discussion of Plato's Apology, the lectures on it, and the vote on his guilt or innocence, is to be completed before Saturday evening.
  • The other reading, writing, and discussion work for the rest of the week should commence by Sunday or Monday, and then be finished by Wednesday at 6pm.

top of page

Week III

NSCC: Jan 19-25

Mini-lectures:

This week's reading includes the following lectures:

Assignments:

Read:

Study Questions:

Write out answers to the study questions for:

Questions to discuss in the classroom forum:

  • Forms of love: eros and philia

Reminders:

  • 1st SE is due no earlier than Thursday and no later than Monday this week
  • Get your research projects OK'd by next week

Memorize and recite:

  • One passage from The Phaedrus

All this is due to be completed by:

  • The reading, writing and discussion of Plato's Phaedrus should commence by Friday, and then be finished by Wednesday at 6pm.

top of page

Week IV

NSCC: Jan 26-Feb 1

Mini-lectures:

This week's reading includes the following lectures:

Assignments:

  • Get your research project OK'd by this Tuesday
  • Take a look at the class homepages for Proverbs, Job, & Ecclesiastes

Read:

  • Book of Proverbs
  • Book of Job

Study Questions:

Write out answers to the study questions for:

Discussion Questions for the week:

Memorize:

  • one passage from Proverbs and one from Job

Reminders:

  • Get your research projects OK'd by Tuesday

All this is due to be completed by:

  • The reading and discussion of the Book of Proverbs, and the lectures on it, are to be completed before Saturday evening.
  • The other reading, writing, and discussion work for the rest of the week -- i.e., everything associated with the Book of Job -- should commence by Sunday or Monday, and then be finished by Wednesday at 6pm.

top of page

Week V

NSCC: Feb 2-8

Mini-lectures:

This week's reading includes the following lectures:

Assignments:

  • start on research project

Read:

  • Book of Ecclesiastes

Study Questions:

Write out answers to the study questions for:

Discussion Questions for the week:

  • We'll be done with our discussion of the problem of evil
  • Discussion of The Book of Job can continue
  • Discussion of Ecclesiastes
  • When you post your quote from Ecclesiastes this week (and to whom you recited it), please also say a few words about what that passage means to you, and how you see it fitting into the message of Ecclesiastes.
  • Discuss the lecture about Stages on life's way

Reminders:

  • Preparation for midterm exam

Memorize and recite:

  • One passage from Ecclesiastes

All this is due to be completed by:

  • This week's reading, writing, and discussion work should commence by Friday or Saturday, and then be finished by Wednesday at 6pm.

top of page

Week VI

NSCC: Feb 9-15

Mini-lectures:

This week's reading includes the following lectures:

Assignments:

  • Next week has a lot of lectures to read. It would be a very good idea to get a start on reading them this week.

Read:

  • Plutarch's essay (check week 6 assignment message to see if assigned this quarter)

Study Questions:

Write out answers to the study questions for:

  • Plutarch's essay (check week 6 assignment message to see if assigned this quarter)

Discussion Questions for the week:

Reminders:
Take exam between Wed morning and Sat evening

Memorize and recite:

  • One passage from Plutarch

All this is due to be completed by:

  • This week's reading, writing, and discussion work should commence by Friday or Saturday, and then be finished by Wednesday at 6pm

top of page

Week VII

NSCC: Feb 16-22

Mini-lectures:

This week's reading includes the following lectures (to be read in this order):

  1. The empiricist and rationalist philosophers
  2. An introduction to George Berkeley
  3. An introduction to David Hume
  4. An introduction to Immanuel Kant
  5. A too-short outline of Kant's metaphysic
  6. An introduction to Arthur Schopenhauer
  7. Schopenhauer and Buddhism's Four Noble Truths
  8. Schopenhauer on The World as Representation

Assignments:

  • Work on research project

Read:

Study Questions:

Write out answers to the study questions for:

Discussion Questions for the week:

  • Locke, Berkeley and Hume, Kant and the first half of Schopenhauer

Memorize and recite:

  • One passage from the first half of the Schopenhauer readings

All this is due to be completed by:

  • This week's reading, writing, and discussion work should commence by Friday or Saturday, and then be finished by Wednesday at 6pm. The various Philosophers -- Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Schopenhauer -- should be discussed in the order in which the lectures appear.

top of page

Week VIII

NSCC: Feb 23-29

Mini-lectures:

This week's reading includes the following lectures:

Assignments:

  • Sometime this week or next, write a one- or two-paragraph response to any two of the research projects; your comments can include questions, comments on what you liked, or on what you would have liked to hear more about, etc.
  • Respond briefly to at least one other (a third) research project and its accompanying review(s)

Research Projects:

  • Deadline for posting your research project to the class forum is this Wednesday

Read:

Study Questions:

Write out answers to the study questions for:

Discussion Questions for the week:

  1. Continue any discussions from last week about which you wish more clarification
  2. Discuss Schopenhauer's concept of aesthetic contemplation
  3. Discuss Schopenhauer's concept of asceticism
  4. Offer your assessments of Schopenhauer's worldview, both positives and negatives, and the reasons for them.

Memorize and recite:

  • One passage from the second half of the Schopenhauer readings

All this is due to be completed by:

  • This week's reading, writing, and discussion work should commence by Friday or Saturday, and then be finished by Wednesday at 6pm.

top of page

Week IX

NSCC: Mar 1-7

Mini-lectures:

This week's reading includes the following lectures:

Assignments:

  • During last week or this week write a one- or two-paragraph response to any two of the research projects; your comments can include questions, comments on what you liked, or on what you would have liked to hear more about, etc.
  • Also respond briefly to at least one other (a third) research project and its accompanying review(s)

Read:

  • Swedenborg, Heaven and Hell (assigned portions)

Study Questions:

Write out answers to the study questions for:

Discussion Questions for the week:

  • The discussion this week should focus on your reading of Swedenborg. You can also use your study questions as jumping off points for class discussion.

Memorize and recite:

  • One passage from Swedenborg

All this is due to be completed by:

  • This week's reading, writing, and discussion work should commence by Friday or Saturday, and then be finished by Wednesday at 6pm.

top of page

Week X

NSCC: Mar 8-14

Mini-lectures:

This week's reading includes the following lectures:

Read:

  • Martin Buber, The Way of Man

Study Questions:

Write out answers to the study questions for:

Discussion Questions for the week:

  • The discussion in the first part of this week, up until Saturday evening, should focus on your reading of Buber. You can also use your study questions as jumping off points for class discussion. These discussions should be completed by Saturday evening or Sunday morning.
  • The second half of the week will be devoted to some longer, more reflective, and more synthesizing discussion questions. (I'll post these longer discussion questions for you on Friday or Saturday, just so you'll know what's coming; but please do not respond to them until after Saturday evening, after the discussions on Buber have been completed.)

Final exam:

Memorize and recite:

  • One passage from Buber

Self-evaluations:

  • Your final SE will cover your work for the entire quarter, not just for the second half. It is due to be turned in anytime on this coming Wednesday, our last day of class (not before Wednesday). SEs will be accepted up until midnight or even 2:00am on Thursday morning. Your SE should use the Final SE Form available here on the course website and should include the same kind of detail that your midterm SE required. It should be posted to the Self-evaluations folder in the classroom
  • Your Research Project SE will be turned in at the same time -- the last day of the quarter -- and in the same place. You do need to use the Project SE Form, which can be found here on the class website
  • This means you will be turning in two separate SEs this Wednesday, one for your research project and one for the entire course. They should both definitely be already posted by the time I get up and start working on Thursday morning.
  • These deadlines for your SEs cannot be extended at all, unfortunately, because I will be computing and turning in grades on Thursday evening or Friday morning, after which I will be unavailable for several days or a week.

All this is due to be completed by:

  • The reading and discussion of Buber's The Way of Man, and the lectures on it, are to be completed before Saturday or Sunday.
  • The rest of the assigned work for this week should commence by Sunday or Monday, and then be finished by Wednesday at 11pm.

top of page