Honors Proseminar in Philosophy 2001: A Philosophical Odyssey

1
Honors Proseminar in Philosophy2001 A
Philosophical Odyssey
Philosophy H276

• Professor Hubin

2
Its Mission

• To boldly go where no philosophy course has gone
  before!

(With apologies for mixing Star Trek and 2001not
to mention for splitting an infinitive.)
3
Decision

• Is this course right for you?

• This course will be a serious (and difficult)
  introduction to philosophy.

• I wont let it become a mere opportunity to
  shoot the breeze about science fiction.

• Be sure you are enrolled for the right reasons.

4
Contact Information

• e-mail hubin.1_at_osu.edu
• Office 337N University Hall
• Phone [phone]
• Hours Mon. Tue. Wed 1000 - 1100 And by
  Appointment
• Web www. cohums.ohio-state.edu
  /philo/people/faculty/hubin.1/

5
University Hall
230 North Oval Mall
6
Course Objectives

• To gain a much deeper understanding of basic
  philosophical problems that challenge our
  ordinary conceptual framework.
• To learn to examine and evaluate complex
  philosophical arguments.
• To have some fun doing these things.

7
Readings

• No textbook

• Readings will either be available on line or
  distributed in class
• Students will be encouraged to do research on the
  web

8
Course Requirements

• Midterm and final essay exams
• Two relatively short papers
• Class presentation
• Active, intelligent, informed class participation

9
Partial Outline

• The Nature of a Person
• The relation between mind and body
• Knowledge and Skepticism
• Personal Identity
• Time Travel
• Free-will and Determinism
• Other topics as decided on in class

10
Using the Class Web Site
11
Using On-Line Class Resources
Its 230 on a Monday or Wednesday afternoon.
Tell me, whatcha gonna do now?
OR
12
He chosepoorly
13
You have chosenwisely
14
What is philosophy?

• Philosophy is the art of telling people things
  they already know in words they dont
  understand.
• Unknown

15
What is philosophy (take 2)?

• Philosophy is like looking for a black cat at
  midnight on a moonless night in the bottom of a
  coal mineand the cat isnt there. (The only
  difference from religion is that religion finds
  the cat, even though its not there!)
• Bertrand Russell

16
What is philosophy (take 3)?

• Learning philosophy does not involve knowledge
  of new facts, but new knowledge of facts.
• Alfred North Whitehead

17
Choosing Wisely

• To learn philosophy well, you must
• Read and listen actively and critically
• Integrate the ideas with your ordinary life and,
• Practice by talking philosophy.
• (Philosophy isnt a spectator sport.)

18
The Role of Fantasy in Philosophy

• Conceptual Structures
• Nature Adaptive Role
• Examples paradigms, stereotypes and
  proto-theories
• When bad things happen with (generally) good
  conceptual structures.

19
The Role of Fantasy in Philosophy (contd.)

• Different conceptual structures may be similar
  enough for most practical purposes though very
  different conceptually.
• Eg. Definitions of death in the 1900s
• These differences at the conceptual level are
  important for three reasons
• Intrinsic interest
• Future practical interest
• Subtle practical differences in the present

20
The Role of Fantasy in Philosophy (contd.)

• Science fiction (and other fantastic cases) push
  us to examine our conceptual structures in light
  not only of real life problems but merely
  conceivable problems.
• This helps us to see whether our theories and
  conceptual structures are giving us the right
  answers for the right reasons.

21
Reading Assignment

• Where Am I by Daniel Dennett
• Meditations by René Descartes
• Meditations 1, 2 6