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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
(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
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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:
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.
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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.
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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.
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Week V
NSCC: Feb 2-8
Mini-lectures:
This week's reading includes the following
lectures:
Assignments:
- start on research project
Read:
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.
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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
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Week VII
NSCC: Feb 16-22
Mini-lectures:
This week's reading includes the following
lectures (to be read in this order):
- The
empiricist and rationalist philosophers
- An
introduction to George Berkeley
- An
introduction to David Hume
- An
introduction to Immanuel Kant
- A
too-short outline of Kant's metaphysic
- An
introduction to Arthur Schopenhauer
- Schopenhauer
and Buddhism's Four Noble Truths
- Schopenhauer
on The World as Representation
Assignments:
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.
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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:
- Continue any discussions from last week
about which you wish more clarification
- Discuss Schopenhauer's concept of aesthetic
contemplation
- Discuss Schopenhauer's concept of asceticism
- 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.
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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.
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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:
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.
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