| ses # | Topics | readings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction | |
| Reason To Believe: Does God Exist? | ||
| 2 | Existence of God: Ontological Argument | Feinberg, Joel, and Russ Shafer-Landau. "Part I: Introduction." (RR: 2) Anselm, St. "The Ontological Argument." From Proslogium. (RR: 6) Gaunilo of Marmoutiers. "On Behalf of the Fool." (RR: 8) Rowe, Wm. "The Ontological Argument." (RR: 11) |
| 3 | Problem of Evil I | Dostoevsky, Fyodor. "Rebellion." From The Brothers Karamazov. (RR: 79) Johnson, B. C. "God and the Problem of Evil." (RR: 85) Swinburne, Richard. "God and the Problem of Evil." (RR: 89) |
| 4 | Problem of Evil II | Russell, Bruce. "The Problem of Evil: Too Much Suffering." In Introduction to Philosophy. Edited by Louis P. Pojman. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2004. ISBN: 0195171500. |
| 5 | Pascal's Wager | Pascal, Blaise. "The Wager." (RR: 114) Blackburn, Simon. "Miracles and Testimony." (RR: 118) |
| Rationality and Belief | ||
| 6 | Ethics of Belief: Evidentialism v. Pragmatism | Clifford, W. K. "The Ethics of Belief." (RR: 97) James, William. "The Will to Believe." (RR: 101) |
| 7 | Stereotypes and Belief | Blum, Lawrence. "Stereotypes and Stereotyping: A Moral Analysis." Philosophical Papers 33, no. 3 (November 2004): 251-289. Recommended: Schmitt, Richard. "Ideology." In Introduction to Marx and Engels: A Critical Reconstruction. 2nd ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1997. ISBN: 0813332834. |
| 8 | Racism and Belief | Marx, Karl. Selections on Religion. Appiah, Kwame Anthony. "Racisms." In Anatomy of Racism. Edited by David Theo Goldberg. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1990, pp. 3-17. ISBN: 0816618046. |
| 9 | Scientific Reason or Scientific Faith? | Hume, David. An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding. (Excerpt in RR: 199) Recommended: Salmon, W. "An Encounter with David Hume." (RR: 224) |
| 10 | More on Science and Faith | Kitcher, Philip. "Believing Where We Cannot Prove." (RR: 247) |
| Mind and Body | ||
| 11 | The Mind-Body Problem | Feinberg, and Shafer-Landau. "Introduction to Part III." (RR: 257) Swinburne, Richard. "A Defense of Substance Dualism." (RR: 263) |
| 12 | Consciousness and Felt Experience | Jackson, Frank. "The Qualia Problem." (RR: 267) Carruthers, Peter. "The Mind is the Brain." (RR: 276) |
| 13 | Materialist Options | Churchland, Paul. "Behaviorism, Materialism, and Functionalism." (RR: 285) |
| 14 | Robots and Functionalism | Searle, John. "Minds, Brains, and Programs." (RR: 305) Lycan, William. "Robots and Minds." (RR: 318) |
| Freewill, Determinism, and Responsibility | ||
| 15 | Hard Determinism | Feinberg, and Shafer-Landau. "Part IV: Introduction." (RR: 385) Holbach, Paul. "The Illusion of Free Will." (RR: 392) |
| 16 | Compatibilism I | Ayer, A. J. "Freedom and Necessity." From Philosophical Essays. (RR: 408) Stace, W. "The Problem of Freewill." From Religion and the Modern Mind. (RR: 413) |
| 17 | Compatibilism II | Frankfurt, Harry. "Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person." Journal of Philosophy 68, no. 1 (January 1971): 5-20. Recommended: Wolf, Susan. "Sanity and the Metaphysics of Responsibility." (RR: 457) |
| 18 | Libertarianism | Chisholm, Roderick. "Human Freedom and the Self." (RR: 418) |
| Morality and Rightconduct | ||
| 19 | Moral Variation Across Cultures | Midgley, Mary. "Trying Out One's New Sword." (RR: 522) |
| 20 | Utilitarianism | Mill, John Stuart. "Utilitarianism." Chapters 1-2. (RR: 594) |
| 21 | Ethical Egoism | Nietzsche. "Master and Slave Morality." In Beyond Good and Evil. (A version of Beyond Good and Evil is available from Project Gutenberg.) Rachels. "Ethical Egoism." From The Elements of Moral Philosophy. (RR) |
| 22 | Famine | Singer, Peter. "Famine, Affluence, and Morality." (RR: 631) |
| 23 | Kantianism | Kant, I. "The Good Will and the Categorical Imperative." (RR: 579) Sayre-McCord, Geoff. "Kant's Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals: A Very Brief Selective Summary of Sections 1 and 2." (PDF) Recommended: O'Neill, Onora. "Kantian Approaches to Some Famine Problems." (RR) |
| 24 | Famine, Virtue and Duty | Aristotle. "The Nature of Virtue." (RR) Blum. "Impartiality, Beneficence, and Friendship." In Morality in Practice. Edited by James P. Sterba. Sound Bend, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2001. ISBN: 0534521118. Recommended: McIntyre, Alasdair. "The Virtues, the Unity of a Human Life, and the Concept of a Tradition." In After Virtue. London, UK: Duckworth, 1981. ISBN: 026800594X. |
| 25 | Moral Luck | Thomas, Nagel. "Moral Luck." In Moral Luck. Edited by Daniel Statman. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1993, 57-71. ISBN: 0791415406. |
| 26 | Just War Theory | Nagel, Thomas. "War and Massacre." In Philosophy and Public Affairs 1, no. 2 (Winter 1972): 123-144. Orend, Brian. "War." |
| 27 | Final lecture | |
Table of Contents
Study Materials
Readings
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Texts
Required
Feinberg, Joel, and Russ Shafer-Landau, eds. Reason and Responsibility. 12th ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN: 0534543510. (Abbreviated RR in the Readings by Session)
Recommended
Woodhouse, Mark B. A Preface to Philosophy. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2003. ISBN: 0534595448.
Note: Readings followed by (RR) are available in the course text (Reason and Responsibility) at the page number indicated.