Introduction to Philosophy I
Module Guide,
weeks 1–6
Semester 1, 2006/7
(Single module, Level 1, Code: PI1117)
Module Tutors:
Peter Herissone-Kelly (module design) and Vernon Pratt (Delivery 2006/7)
Office:
Harrington 134A
E-mail: v.pratt@btinternet.com
When and where:
|
Monday |
15.00–16.00 |
Harris 307 |
(lecture) |
|
Monday |
16.00–17.00 |
|
(seminar group one) |
|
Monday |
17.00–18.00 |
|
(seminar group two) |
|
Monday |
18.00–19.00 |
|
(seminar group three) |
How:
Each week, you will have a one-hour lecture, and at least one further hour's opportunity for small group discussion. You will be given reading each week for the seminar, along with a few questions for you to think about. Although some of the reading may appear difficult, do persevere with it—hopefully, anything you don’t understand will become clear in the lecture and seminar.
Of course I am happy to try and deal with queries about anything connected with the module (reading, content of lectures, essays, and so on). You can drop in to see me on Mondays between 2.00 and 2.45pm. You can, of course, email me with queries at any time. If you need to see me outside the times mentioned above, let me know: it may be possible to arrange a mutually convenient time to meet.
(a) Aims
This first six weeks of Introduction
to Philosophy I will focus on readings from three of Plato’s dialogues: Euthyphro, Meno, and Phaedo. Investigation
of these dialogues—which feature Plato’s teacher Socrates in discussion with
various citizens of
(b) Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module you should be able to:
Some sources for essential readings:
All Plato’s dialogues can be found in electronic form here: http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/aut/plato.html . The only disadvantage with this source is that it does not include page numbers (which are vital for referencing purposes in your assignment).
Plato, Five Dialogues, (Hackett, 2002)
Plato, Protagoras and Meno (Penguin, 1956)
Plato, The Last Days of Socrates (Penguin, 1959)
Background material on ancient philosophy:
W.K.C. Guthrie, Socrates, (Cambridge University Press, 1971)
W.K.C. Guthrie, The Greek Philosophers, from Thales to Aristotle (Routledge, 1967)
C.C.W. Taylor, C.C.W., Socrates, A Very Short Introduction (
Jonathan Barnes, Early Greek Philosophy (Penguin, 1987)
Frances Cornford, F.M., Before and After Socrates (Cambridge University Press, 1932)
Christopher Janaway, “Ancient Greek Philosophy I: The Pre-Socratics and Plato” in A.C. Grayling (ed.), Philosophy: A Guide through the Subject (Oxford University Press, 1995)
General philosophy background:
John Hospers, An Introduction to Philosophical Analysis, 4th edn. (Routledge, 1997)
Richard E. Creel, Thinking Philosophically (Blackwell, 2001)
Mark B.
Woodhouse, A Preface to Philosophy 6th
edn. (
In addition, the library has a number of very valuable philosophy encyclopaedias and dictionaries. Don’t hesitate to use these, or to refer to them in your essay (though ideally they should only be used as starting points). Don’t forget, as well, that LLRS provides the Routledge Encyclopaedia of Philosophy in CD-ROM form, which you can access using any computer on the University network.
See below for a week-by-week breakdown of core readings. Each week, you will also be given recommendations of passages or chapters of background reading from the list above. The purpose of this background reading is to shed light on the core reading.
Please note: It is inevitable, given the nature of the module, that some of the core readings will strike you as unfamiliar and challenging (and with this in mind they have deliberately been kept short). You will be expected to study them carefully, noting areas of unclarity/difficulty as you go, and using background readings and seminar discussions as sources of further illumination. When a plurality of background readings are recommended for a given week, you will not be expected to look at more than one. Only a very small cross-section of what is available can be listed here. The course bibliography contains additional suggestions, and you can use references and bibliographies from any of these texts, as well as the library’s search facilities, to track down further relevant material. This is all part of acquiring the study skills that will be needed at level two.
Week 1
Will we survive?
Week 2
The Essence of Things
Meno 70 - 80d
Week 3
How can we be certain?
Meno 80d - 86c
Week 4
Is it possible to do
what you know is wrong?
Meno 86c - end
Week 5
How do you do philosophy?
Euthyphro
Week 6
What are Plato's big
Ideas?
This module guide is available via
Instructions for accessing Web CT available at induction: or ask Hayley in the Office.
Or go directly to the module website:
http://www.vernonpratt.com/pi1117/pi1117home.htm
Assessment of this first half of the module is by coursework only. (The second half of the module will be assessed by seen exam.) The marking criteria are attached to this module guide.
The coursework assignment is as follows:
Write a dialogue, following the model of the Meno, with the topic: What is University education?
(Thanks to Lloyd Strickland for his ideas on dialogues, philosophy and assessment!)
The dialogue should be approximately 2,000 words long. You should give full references (including page references) for all quotations. You should also include a full bibliography of all texts you have used.
You don't need to have read anything about university education to write the dialogue - you just need to have read one of Plato's dialogues - the Meno is one you certainly should have read - and show you can conduct a Plato-type argument on a topic you are bound to have thought a bit about. (You could start eg with somebody saying that "University education is all about having a good time.")
Assignments should be placed in the box marked “Philosophy” in Harrington 131 by 4pm on 6th November 2006. In fairness to everybody, extensions can only be given in cases of illness or personal difficulties of an equivalent kind (eg bereavement).
Note that the University has a policy of deducting marks
where assignments are handed in late where no extension has been granted.
An “Extenuating
Circumstances” form.
Of course the assignment has to be your own work! You are encouraged to cite other people’s work and ideas: but the 'citing' is essential. To copy or paraphrase someone else’s statements or arguments without making it explicitly clear what you are doing —so that the reader is given the impression that this work is yours—is a form of theft called plagiarism (which can bring down some very heavy-duty penalties, as you know from induction week and the course handbook).