School of University Studies and Career Access, Prince George

Humanities
Philosophy

PHIL 100
Introduction to Philosophy

Approved by Education Council: Credits: 3 credits

Term: Fall 2019 Total Course Hours: 35
Prerequisite: None Lecture Hours: 35
Co-requisite: None Lab Hours: None
Clinic Hours: None
Practicum Hours: None

Instructor: Reuben Louis Gabriel Office Hours: T 9-11 am, W 8-9, 1-2 pm, Th 9-10
Lecture: T & Th 11 am-12 noon; W 12-1 pm am
Lab: None Office: 1-325
Phone: CNC Ext. 5303
Email: [email protected]

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
PHIL 100 is designed to introduce students to philosophy as a study discipline. Core questions will be
asked: Is there a God? What is morality? How important is knowledge to truth? Are humans capable of
knowing everything? Are humans mere material beings, or is there a non-material aspect to human life?
What is justice? What is a civil society? What is politics?

Students will be introduced to some of the best minds who have offered insight and understanding on
these issues. PHIL 100 will arouse interest in students for this field of study, its benefits to learning, and
career development.

COURSE GOAL and LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

By the end of the course, students will

1. be able to demonstrate knowledge of important philosophical answers to the fundamental

questions that have perplexed humanity since ancient times.
2. have a basic grasp of the branches in the subject area of philosophy.
3. be able to discuss prominent issues and people in the branches of philosophy.
4. be able to broadly comment on the influence of philosophy on the development of culture,
especially in the West.
 5. have sharpened their ability to think critically, comprehensively, and analytically, thereby laying
the foundations for sound intellectual thought.

ACADEMIC HONESTY AND STUDENT CONDUCT: (standard paragraph – must be included in all course
outlines)
Students are expected to conduct themselves with academic integrity and in accordance with CNC’s
established standards of conduct. Penalties for misconduct, including plagiarism, cheating and personal
misconduct are outlined in the Standards of Conduct: Student Responsibility and Accountability
document found in the policies section of CNC’s website. All students should familiarize themselves with
this document. http://tools.cnc.bc.ca/CNCPolicies/policyFiles.ashx?polId=83

ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES (standard paragraph – must be included in all course outlines)

Students who require academic accommodations as a result of a disability should advise both the
instructor and Accessibility Services. Students requiring support should familiarize themselves with the
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities policy.
http://tools.cnc.bc.ca/CNCPolicies/policyFiles.ashx?polId=137

CLASSROOM BASED RESEARCH (standard paragraph – must be included in all course outlines where
classroom based research applies)
If classroom based research is conducted, the class will be instructed on appropriate ways of conducting
research with human subjects based on the CNC Policy and Procedure for Ethical Research. The ethical
framework for this study will be articulated by the instructor in the classroom.

SAMPLE REQUIRED REFERENCES: Typical text (s) and Resource Materials used in the course.
List to include, but not limited to the following:
D. Stewart Fundamentals 8th ed. Pearson 2013
et.al. of Philosophy

SAMPLE EVALUATION METHODS AND % OF TOTAL GRADE

STUDENT EVALUATION LETTER GRADE / PERCENTAGES
Lab Activities - A+ 90 % - 100 %
Pest Collections - A 85 % - 89.9 %
Lab Exam - A- 80 % - 84.9 %
Mid Term Exam 35%* B+ 76 % - 79.9 %
Final Exam 35%* B 72 % - 75.9 %
Term Paper 30%* B- 68 % - 71.9 %
C+ 64 % - 67.9%
 *Values may vary but the final Exam may not exceed C 60 % - 63.9%
20-40% of the final grade or as specified by an external
agency such as ITA. Competency based grading scale C- 55 % - 59.9%
courses may weight a final exam up to 60%. Please D 50 % - 54.9%
review the Grading and Evaluation of Student
Performance Policy F 0 % - 49.9%
https://cnc.bc.ca/about/policies

SAMPLE COURSE CONTENT or TOPICS

Week 1-2: What is philosophy?

1. Doing philosophy. How is philosophy done?

2. The probe of life: Philosophy and the Examined Life
Reading: Socrates, In Defense of Philosophy
3. The Nature of Philosophy
Reading: Jay F. Rosenberg, The Character of Philosophy
4. Philosophy’s Goal: The Quest for Truth
Reading: David Stewart, The Philosopher as Detective

Week 3: Logic – Thinking, and how to do it.

1. Reason as the Foundation for Philosophical Pursuit

2. Argument and its Different Forms
3. Inductive Arguments and Scientific Reasoning
4. Strategies for Philosophical Argument

Week 4-5: Questions concerning Reality – Metaphysics

1. What is Metaphysics and why is it important?

Reading: Plato, Phaedo
2. A Materialist Worldview and Lifestyle
Reading: Epicurus, First Principles of Materialism

Questions concerning Reality – Metaphysics (contd.)

3. What does it mean to be Idealistic? Why is it Important?

Reading: George Berkeley, Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous
4. The Psychosomatic Problem (Mind-Body problem)
Reading: Richard Taylor, Materialism and Personal Identity
5. Metaphysics and Language
Reading: Ludwig, Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations
Week 6-7: How do we know what we know – Epistemology

1. What is Epistemology and why is it important?

2. Keeping Up Appearances versus Living in the Realm of Fact
Reading: Plato, The Visible and the Invisible
3. How can we be certain about what we know?
Reading: Rene Descartes, Meditations

How do we know what we know – Epistemology (contd.)

1. Importance of the Senses for Knowing

Reading: David Hume, Skeptical Doubts Concerning the Operations of the Understanding
2. Two Sources of Knowledge
Reading: Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason
3. Post-Modernism and Knowledge
Reading: Daniel Dennett, Post-Modernism and Truth

Week 8-9: How then should we live – Moral Philosophy

1. The Need for Morality

Reading: Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan
2. The Purpose-Driven Life
Reading: Aristotle, The Good Life (in the Nicomachaen Ethics)
3. Consequences – the Benchmark for Morality
Reading: John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism

How then should we live – Moral Philosophy (contd.)

1. Motives and Morality

Reading: Immanuel Kant, Categorical Imperative
2. Moral Relativism
Reading: Ruth Benedict, In Defense of Moral Relativism

Week 10: Does Religion Matter? – Philosophy of Religion

1. Does God’s Existence Matter at all?

Reading: Leo Tolstoy, A Confession
2. The Ontological Argument for the Existence of God
Reading: St. Anselm, The Proslogion
3. The Cosmological Argument for the Existence of God
Reading: St. Thomas Aquinas, The Five Ways
Does Religion Matter? – Philosophy of Religion (contd.)

4. The Teleological Argument for the Existence of God

Reading: William Paley, The Watch and the Watchmaker
David Hume, A Critique of the Teleological Argument
5. The Experience Based Argument for the Existence of God
Reading: C.D. Broad, The Argument from Religious Experience
F.C. Copleston & Bertrand Russell, A Debate on the Argument from Religious Experience

Week 11: The Mind Matters – Philosophy of Mind

1. The Mind-Body problem

Reading: Rene Descartes, Interactive Dualism
Anne Conway, Body and Mind as a Continuum
Jerome Shaffer, Consciousness and the Mind-Body Problem

The Mind Matters – Philosophy of Mind (contd.)

2. The Problem of Personal Identity

Reading: John Locke, The Self as Psychological Properties
David Hume, The Self as a Bundle of Perceptions
3. Personal Identity and Survival: Will I Survive my Death?
Reading: Plato, Arguments for the Immortality of the Soul
Bertrand Russell, The Illusion of Immortality
John Hick, In Defense of Life after Death

Week 12-13: Rethinking Society and Politics – Social and Political Philosophy

1. What is social and political philosophy?

2. The Libertarian View of the State
Reading: John Locke, The State and the State of Nature
3. The Egalitarian View of the State
Reading: Kai Nielsen, In Defense of Egalitarianism
4. Justice Alone is Fair in Society
Reading: Jahn Rawls, A Theory of Justice

Week 14: Unity and Self-realization – Eastern Philosophy

1. A Comparative Analysis of Eastern and Western Philosophical Thought

Reading: Jean-Paul Sartre, Nausea
 Huang Po, Sermons and Dialogues
2. Hindu and Buddhist Philosophy
Readings: The Bhagavad Gita
The Two Sermons of the Buddha
3. Chinese Philosophy – Confucianism and Taoism
Readings: Mencius, The Book of Mencius
Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching