| about | | | requirements | | | schedule | | | assignments | | | resources |
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| Introduction | ||
| Week 1 | Descartes, Preface | |
| Screening: The Matrix, Monday evening (Sep. 6) | ||
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| Skepticism | ||
| Week 2 | Descartes, Meditations I & II | précis 1 |
| Week 3 | *Barry Stroud, "Philosophical Skepticism and Everyday Life" *J.L. Austin, "Other Minds" |
précis 2 |
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| Existence of God | ||
| Week 4 | Descartes, Meditations III & V | essay 1 |
| Week 5 | Saint Thomas Aquinas, "The Five Ways" | revise essay 1 |
| Week 6 | Hume, "Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion": Parts II & III *Roger White, "Does Life's Existence Call for an Explanation?" |
essay 2 |
| Truth, Error and Free Will | ||
| Week 7 | Descartes, Meditation IV | revise essay 2 |
| Screening: Twelve Monkeys, Monday evening | ||
| Week 8 (fall recess) |
Time Travel and Fatalism |
peer review essay 2 |
| Week 9 | Incompatibilism Hume, Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, §VIII, "Of Liberty and Necessity" |
response to peer |
| Mind and Body | ||
| Week 10 | Descartes, Meditation VI | paper précis |
| Week 11 | Smart, "Sensations and Brain Processes" Nagel "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?" |
meeting |
| Week 12 | student presentations | draft paper |
| Week 13 | student presentations | peer review paper |
| Week 14 | topic selected by students
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final paper |