FALL 2007

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". . . the unexamined life is not worth living." .... Plato, Apology

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Course Description: Living a human life poses certain problems for each of us: Who am I? Is there some meaning to my life? How should I act? Using short philosophical readings, we will reflect on issues such as the role of reason in our lives, the nature of religious belief, whether human existence makes any sense, and how we construct meaning in our lives.

There will be three lectures and one discussion section each week. There are also two film screenings scheduled on the evenings before we discuss them the next day in class. Since you do not have readings for those days, you are expected to attend the film showings. Reading assignments will be announced in advance, and they are listed in the tentative schedule given below. Every student is expected to attend all lectures and their discussion section each week and to read the assigned texts by the assigned dates (i.e., to have read the text before it is discussed in the lecture). Grades will be based on four short papers (approximately 3-5 double-spaced, typewritten pages) and on attendance and performance in discussion sections. The percentage of the grade for each of these is as follows:

           3-5 pp. essays (four @ 20% each).....................................80%
           Discussion participation............………………..................20%
Half of your discussion section grade will be based on attendance and the other half on the quality of your contribution to the discussion. Late papers will not be accepted. If the essay is not turned in on time, you will receive no points for that one-fifth of your grade. Only in cases of documented medical excuse or special documented circumstances (e.g., family emergency) will you be allowed to turn in a late essay.

Academic dishonesty (e.g., cheating, plagiarism) is strictly prohibited and may result in severe penalties. Definitions, procedures, and penalties for such cases are spelled out on the UO website for Academic Dishonesty at: http://studentlife.uoregon.edu/programs/student_judi_affairs/academic-dishonesty.htm

Topics/Readings: Below is a list of topics for discussion along with a tentative schedule of required readings. There are only three required texts:

· Plato. The Trial and Death of Socrates. (Hackett).
· Albert Camus. The Stranger. (Random House).
· PHIL 101 Course Packet of selected readings that can be obtained at the UO Bookstore. [Note that in a few of the readings in the Course Packet there are missing pages. This is not a mistake, but rather an attempt to shorten some of the longer readings.]

A. Philosophy and the Examined Life

Week I
(Sept. 24) What is Philosophy? What is Liberal Education?
(Sept. 26) The Central Role of Philosophy in Liberal Education
                 Murphy, "The Philosophic Mind and the Contemporary World"
(Sept. 28) -- Plato. Euthyphro.

Week II
(Oct. 1) Plato. Apology.
(Oct. 3) Plato. Apology.
(Oct. 5) Plato. Crito.
[Paper on Section A due Oct. 8]

B. Philosophy and Religious Belief

Week III
(Oct. 8) Tolstoy. "My Confession."
(Oct. 10) Nietzsche. Antichrist.
(Oct. 11) Film Viewing: Crimes and Misdemeanors, COL 150, 7-9p.m.
(Oct. 12) Discussion of Crimes and Misdemeanors

Week IV
(Oct. 15) Geertz. "Religion as a Cultural System."
(Oct. 17) Freud: Theism as Illusion.
               James: The Will to Believe
(Oct. 19) Kierkegaard. "Teleological Suspension of the Ethical."

Week V
(Oct. 22) Tillich. "What Faith Is."
(Oct. 24) Dewey. A Common Faith.
[Paper on Section B due Oct. 26]

C. Absurdity and Our Search for Meaning

(Oct. 26) Camus. The Stranger.

Week VI
(Oct. 29) Camus. The Stranger.
(Oct. 31) Schopenhauer. "On the Suffering of the World."
(Nov. 2) Camus. "An Absurd Reasoning."

Week VII
(Nov. 5) Nagel. "The Absurd."
(Nov. 7) Frankl. "Man's Search for Meaning."
(Nov. 9) Taylor. "Does Life Have Meaning?"
[Paper on Section C due Nov.12]

D. Who Am I?--Our Search for Identity

Week VIII
(Nov. 12) Sartre. "Existentialism is a Humanism."
(Nov. 14) O'Brien. "The Things They Carried."
(Nov. 16) Neisser. "Five Kinds of Self-Knowledge."

Week IX
(Nov. 19) Young. "Throwing Like a Girl."
(Nov. 21) Williams. "The Death of the Profane."
                 Hooks. "Killing Rage."
(Nov. 23) No Class (Thanksgiving Break)

Week X
(Nov. 26) Johnson. "The Narrative Context of Self and Action."
(Nov. 27) Film Viewing: My Life as a Dog, COL 150, 7-9 p.m.
(Nov. 28) Discussion of My Life as a Dog.
(Nov. 30) Merton. "Love and Need."

Week XI
(Dec. 3-7) Final Exam Week
[Section D paper due by Tues., Dec. 4, 5:00 p.m.]