Phil 1000: Introduction to Philosophy
Fall 2015
Schedule (subject to change!)
Below is a tentative schedule of what topics we will cover, and what reading(s) you should complete BEFORE each class meeting.
T, Aug. 25 |
Lecture Topic: About this course—An Intro to Intro to Philosophy |
R, Aug. 27 |
A Brief Intro to Philosophy and its Methods |
T, Sep. 1 |
Critical Thinking |
R, Sep. 3 |
Logic (soundness and validity) |
T, Sep. 8 |
Logic- Continued |
R, Sep. 10 |
Epistemology- Truth, Evidence and Knowledge |
T, Sep. 15 |
Knowledge, Skepticism, and the Method of Doubt |
R, Sep. 17 |
Knowledge and Skepticism (continued) |
T, Sep. 22 | UNIT TWO: METAPHYSICS |
R, Sep. 24 | The Mind-Body Problem- What is the mind? How is it related to the physical body? |
T, Sep. 29 |
The Mind-Body Problem (continued) |
R, Oct. 1 |
The Mind-Body Problem (continued) |
T, Oct. 6 |
Is time travel possible? |
R, Oct. 8 |
**MID-TERM EXAM** (35% of grade) |
T, Oct. 13 |
Arguments for God’s existence |
R, Oct. 15 |
Arguments against God’s existence- The Problem of Evil |
T, Oct. 20 |
Finish Problem of Evil |
R, Oct. 22 |
Mid-term exams returned |
T, Oct. 27 |
Relativism |
R, Oct. 29 |
Cultural Relativism (continued) |
T, Nov.3 |
Utilitarianism |
R, Nov. 5 |
Objections to Utilitarianism |
T, Nov. 10 |
Responses to Objections to Utilitarianism |
R, Nov.12 |
Deontology |
T, Nov 17 |
Finish Deontology |
R, Nov. 19 |
Virtue Ethics |
T, Nov.24 |
Fall Break- no class |
R, Nov.26 |
Fall Break- no class |
T, Dec. 1 |
Applied ethics- World hunger |
R, Dec. 3 |
The Meaning of Life |
T, Dec. 8 |
The Meaning of Life (continued) |
R, Dec 10 |
Summary day: How should I live a good life? |
FINAL |
Exam date and time scheduled by Registrar’s office (posted in your mycuinfo) |
Additional Resources for Students
Guidelines on writing a philosophy paper (J. Pryor)
Writing Philosophy Essays (M. Tooley)
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
![Oh the power of learning philosophy...](http://www.matt-pike.com/images/book.jpg)
7/3/19: I am thrilled to have accepted a position as an Instructor at the University of Colorado at Denver! I was extremely impressed by the students and community when last I was there, and am excited to be returning to now teach all the core classes for the UCD Philosophy of Science Minor!
5/6/16: I'm honored to be the first person to receive both the CU Boulder Philosophy Department Morriston Teaching Award (2016) and the University of Colorado-Boulder Graduate Teaching Excellence Award (2014-2015)! My thanks go out to the many great teachers and students with whom I've been lucky enough to learn!
Office Hours: By appointment
Location: Remote via Zoom
Please feel free to drop by with any questions, or simply to chat about philosophy, life, the universe and everything...