Questions That Matter An Invitation to Philosophy

INTRODUCTION - THE NATURE OF PHILOSOPHY 1. What Is Philosophy? The Word Itself The Fields of Philosophy A Rational, Critical Enterprise Differing Conceptions A Working Definition Philosophy, Religion, and Science Of Beards and Bread Where do we Begin? Professor Miller's Four Principles Chapter 1 in Review Readings from: Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers Plato, Apology Whitehead, Process and Reality Moore, Principia Ethica Camus, "The Myth of Sisyphus" Husserl, Ideas James, "The Present Dilemma in Philosophy" Jaggar, "How Can Philosophy Be Feminist?" 2. A Little Logic The Three Laws of Thought What is an Argument? Deductive Reasoning Inductive Reasoning Informal Fallacies Chapter 2 in Review Reading from: Aristotle, Metaphysics Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles PART 1: THE QUESTION OF REALITY 3. The First Metaphysicians The First Theory of Reality Three Pre-Socratic Traditions The Discovery of Form Chapter 3 in Review Readings from: Aristotle, Metaphysics Copleston, A History of Philosophy Guthrie, A History of Greek Philosophy Heidegger, An Introduction to Metaphysics 4. The Idea of Form Plato and Socrates The Two Worlds: Appearance and Reality The Theory of Forms Degrees of Reality and Knowledge The Good, the Sun, and the Cave Aristotle's Criticism of Plato Aristotle's View of Form After Plato and Aristotle Chapter 4 in Review Readings from: Plato, Euthyphro, Timaeus, The Republic, Phaedo Aristotle, Metaphysics, Poetics Quine, "On What There Is" 5. Mind and Matter Descartes: The Father of Modern Philosophy "What Can I Know for Certain?" The Intuition of Mind The Deduction of God The Deduction of Matter Some Objections The Mind-Body Problem Mind: A Set of Dispositions or Functions Chapter 5 in Review Readings from: Descartes, Discourse on Method, Meditations on First Philosophy Searle, Minds, Brains and Science Ryle, The Concept of Mind Churchland, Matter and Consciousness 6. Idealism What is Idealism? Berkeley and Locke Berkeley's View: Esse est percipi Five Proofs for Subjective Idealism Hylas and Philonous Solipsism or God? Some Objections Chapter 6 in Review Readings from: Berkeley, Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous 7. Materialism What is Materialism? Man a Machine The New Materialism Are the Mind and Body Identical? Beyond Freedom and Dignity: Skinner Are All Things Dertermined? Chapter 7 in Review Readings from: Lucretius, The Nature of Things Hobbes, Leviathan Laplace, A Philosophical Essay on Probabilities La Mettrie, Man a Machine Hanson, "The Dematerialization of Matter" Taylor, Metaphysics Churchland, Matter and Consciousness Danto, Connections to the World Skinner, Beyond Freedom and Dignity PART 2: THE QUESTION OF KNOWLEDGE 8. Skepticism Varieties of Skepticism Pyrrho: The Classic Skeptic Is Absolute Skepticism a Coherent Position? Rorty and Friends: Historicism and Pluralism Chapter 8 in Review Readings from: Diogenes Laertius (on Pyrrho), Lives of Eminent Philosophers St. Augustine, Against the Academicians Richard Roty, Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature Grenz, "Star Trek and the Next Generation" Plantinga, "The Twin Pillars of Christian Scholarship" 9. The Way of Reason Two Main Theories about the Basis of Knowledge Reason as the Basis of Knowledge The Rationalism of Plato The Rationalism of Descartes A Contemporary Version: Chomsky Chapter 9 in Review: Readings from: Plato, Phaeodo Descartes, Discourse on Method, Rules for the Direction of the Mind Chomsky, Aspects of the Theory of Syntax, "Language and the Mind" 10. The Way of ExperMiller, Ed. L. is the author of 'Questions That Matter An Invitation to Philosophy', published 2003 under ISBN 9780072406344 and ISBN 0072406348.