Course Syllabus

PHIL 1000 Introduction to Philosophy

Course Description

This course is designed to help students better understand themselves and their relationship to the world by reading various points of view related to questions about morality, politics, religion, and approaches to truth.

Justification

This course helps students see the application of philosophic thought to their lives. It is a basic element in understanding Humanities as the expression of thoughts and values that define an individual and a culture. All colleges in the USHE system teach Introduction to Philosophy at the Freshman level. The course fulfills the HU GE requirement.The Humanities are a group of academic disciplines that study the many ways by which humans have attempted to understand themselves and their world. At Snow College, the Humanities focus on cultural traditions that are expressed largely through text or which have a strong textual component: languages, literature, and philosophy. The methods by which the Humanities study culture are at once analytical and interpretive, objective and subjective, historical and aesthetic.

General Education Outcomes

1. A student who completes the GE curriculum has a fundamental knowledge of human cultures and the natural world. Students will read and engage with philosophical texts in the major areas of philosophy, including metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political theory, and aesthetics. They will be able to demonstrate their understanding of philosophy and its fundamental arguments through exams, essays, class discussions, quizzes, group projects, and/or reflective journals.
2. A student who completes the GE curriculum can read and research effectively within disciplines. Students read a variety of philosophical arguments, discuss their understanding of the reading material and offer criticism of these arguments. For example, students read Socrates's argument on the meaning of justice. In small groups they summarize the dialogue and criticize the definitions. The instructor attends each group and offers critiques of their reading comprehension.
3. A student who completes the GE curriculum can draw from multiple disciplines to address complex problems. Philosophy, as the fundamental science, takes a critical look at all other human enterprises. Students will, then, learn how to use philosophical tools to analyze various other fields to help solve both philosophical problems as well as those from these different disciplines. In addition, students will learn how to synthesize philosophical ideas with scientific, mathematical, artistic, and others to engage with the various intellectual, conceptual, and practical problems we have face here and now as well as in the past.
4. A student who completes the GE curriculum can reason analytically, critically, and creatively. Students will demonstrate, in exams and/or essays, the ability to analyze philosophical arguments and then advance and articulate their own arguments in response.
5. A student who completes the GE curriculum can communicate effectively through writing and speaking. Students write essay exams and out of class essays that demonstrate their ability to answer philosophic questions raised in the readings. Instructors respond to the clarity, informativeness, and persuasiveness with grades and suggestions.

General Education Knowledge Area Outcomes

1. Through the study of a representative selection of philosophical texts, students will be introduced to the major areas of philosophical study: metaphysics, epistemology, and moral philosophy. Students will demonstrate their ability to ask and explore philosophical questions through class discussions, quizzes, written assignments, and exams.  Through the study of a representative selection of philosophical texts, students will be introduced to the major areas of philosophical study: metaphysics, epistemology, and moral philosophy. Students will demonstrate their ability to ask and explore philosophical questions through class discussions, quizzes, written assignments, and exams.
2. Understand how knowledge is created through the study of language systems, literature, and/or philosophy. Through the Socratic method, students will be able to see the importance of questioning knowledge systems and ideologies. Students will demonstrate their ability to ask questions and challenge assumptions through class discussions, quizzes, written assignments, and exams.
3. Understand cultural traditions within an historical context and make connections with the present. Students will review the history of philosophy from the Ancient Greeks to the present. Students will also explore how non-Western cultures practice philosophical thinking. Students will demonstrate their understanding of the complexities of philosophy through class discussions, quizzes, written assignments, and exams.
4. Critically read and respond to primary texts (original, uninterpreted) from a Humanities’ perspective. Students will be able to read, interpret, analyze, and respond to a representative selection of primary philosophy texts. Reading strategies, journaling, discussion, and exams will allow students to demonstrate an ability to read critically in order to understand, explain, and apply philosophical texts.
5. Write effectively within the Humanities discipline to analyze and form critical and aesthetic judgments. Students will be to write an analysis of philosophical arguments that demonstrates their ability to construct an argument that relies on a strong thesis, adequate textual support, and critical thinking.

Course Content

Through lecture, class discussion, and student group presentations, this course covers the following topics: The purpose and method of philosophy, Human Nature, Reality, Philosophy of Religion, Epistemology, Ethics, and Social Philosophy. The course content includes engaging with broad philosophical material, including but not limited to Eastern, Islamic, and African philosophical traditions. The class should particularly prepare students to engage and deal with the intellectual and practical problems that they will encounter inside and outside the classroom.