PL 201, Fall 2009

Bill Soderberg, Professor

READING SCHEDULE

PART 1:

MORAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

Week 1

Aug. 31-Sept. 4

 

WEEK 1: CULTURAL and INDIVIDUAL RELATIVISM

GP 1-19 Moral Relativism
MORAL ISSUE 1: Is morality relative to each culture?

Question for Discussion 1: What are some examples that seem to show that morality is relative to each culture?      

MORAL ISSUE 2: Is morality relative to each individual?                            

Question for Discussion 2: Is it true to say that if an individual regards an action as right, the action is right?

Week 2 

Sept. 7-11 

  

 WEEK 2: PLATONISM

GP 23-27 Plato: Ancient Moral Communitarianis
GP 111-113 "On Plato"

MORAL ISSUE 3: Is the Form of the Good the measure of right action?

Question for Discussion 3a: Can a physical representation of a circle be perfect?     

GP 27-29; 116 "On Augustine": Medieval Moral Communitarianism

MORAL ISSUE 4: Is God’s will the measure of right action?

Question for Discussion 3b: Does God command an action because it is right, or is an action right because God commands it?  

Week 3

 Sept. 14-18  

WEEK 3: SCHOLASTICISM

GP 29-34 Aristotle: Ancient Moral Communitarianism

GP 113-115 "On Aristotle"

GP 32-34 Thomas Aquinas: Medieval Moral Communitarianism:

MORAL ISSUE 5: Is self-realization the measure of right action?

Question for Discussion 4: Should every type of human potential be fulfilled?    

Week 4

 Sept. 21-25  

WEEK 4: CONTRACTARIANISM                                                            

GP 35-40  Hobbes: Roots of Modern Liberalism

GP 40-41  Hume: Roots of Modern Liberalism

MORAL ISSUE 6: Is self-interest the measure of a right action?

Question for Discussion 5: Is each person, deep down, simply and solely self-interested?

Week 5

Sept. 28-            Oct. 4 

 

 

WEEK 6: LIBERTARIANISM 

GP 40-45  Hume, Locke, and Jefferson: Moral and Political Philosophy
GP 117-120 "On Locke"

Jefferson Letter to Van der Kemp (see my website)

Jefferson Letter to John Adams (see my website)

MORAL ISSUE 7: Is consent of the governed the measure of right action?

Question for Discussion 6a: Can majority rule stabilize a society?

GP 45-48  Kant: Moral and Political Philosophy
GP 120-121 "On Kant"; Kant Conjectural Beginning of Human History (see my website)
MORAL ISSUE 8: Is unanimous consent of the governed the measure of right action?

Question for Discussion 6b: Are people fair-minded by nature?                                     

Week 6

Oct. 5-9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Exam 1            

 

 WEEK 6: UTILITARIANISM

GP 48-52   Bentham, Mill and Taylor
GP 121-122 "On Mill"; Mill Utilitarianism (see my website)

MORAL ISSUE 9: Is the greatest good of the greatest number (or the greatest net benefit) the measure of right action?

Question for Discussion 7: Is altruism the motive that makes one a moral being?

 

FIRST EXAM: See Directions on Website www.montgomerycollege.edu/~bsoderbe

Week 7

Oct. 12-16 

 

 

 

WEEK 7: SOCIALISM AND CONTEMPORARY CONTRACTARIANISM

SOCIALISM

GP 52-54 Marx

POLITICAL ISSUE 1: Can the principle of the greatest good of the greatest number resolve conflicts between rights?

Question for Discussion 8a: Can socialism stabilize a society?  

CONTEMPORARY CONTRACTARIANISM

GP 54-58  Rawls
GP 125-126 "On Rawls";

Rawls A Theory of Justice (see my website)
POLITICAL ISSUE 2: Do rights come from God, nature, or humans?

Question for Discussion 8b: Can a society be stable that claims to create rights by unanimous vote from a hypothetical, cards-down perspective?

Week 8 

Oct. 19-23

      

 WEEK 8: FASCISM AND NEO-CONSERVATISM

GP 61-65 MacIntyre, Charles Taylor, Mussolini ; 125-127 "On Alasdair MacIntyre"
 Leo Strauss: Summary (see my website)

POLITICAL ISSUE 3: Can fascism stabilize a society?

Question for Discussion 9: Should virtues be required of political leaders? 

Week 9

Oct. 26-30      

WEEK 9: AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND FEMINIST THOUGHT

GP 66-71 African American Philosophers: M.L. King; Cornel West; Bill Lawson; Lucius Outlaw.
POLITICAL ISSUE 4: Can fair public policies be agreed upon by people who hold different worldviews?

Question for Discussion 10a: Why was Martin Luther King effective as a civil rights leader?

GP 58-60; 71-74 Feminist Philosophers Simone de Beauvoir; Annette Baier; Sara Ruddick; Jean Grimshaw.

POLITICAL ISSUE 5: Is care or justice the primary civic virtue?

Question for Discussion 10b: Does our society need a morality of care in the public sphere?    

PART 2:

METAPHYSICS AND EPISTEMOLOGY

Week 10 

Nov. 2-6

 

 

 

 

 

Exam 2  

WEEK 10: METAPHYSICS

GP 75-78  Democritus, Pythagoras, Parmenides: Metaphysics
METAPHYSICAL ISSUE 1: Is Democritus’ foundational materialism coherent?

Question for Discussion 11a: Can everything be explained in physical (chemical or biological) terms?

 

GP 78-81  Plato and Aristotle: Metaphysics

METAPHYSICAL ISSUE 2: Do forms exist apart from matter?

Question for Discussion 11b: Is the mind a physical thing that can be explained in chemical or biological terms?

Second Exam: See Directions on Website www.montgomerycollege.edu/~bsoderbe

 

 

 

 

Week 11

Nov. 9-13

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WEEK 11: EPISTEMOLOGY

GP 83-90  Descartes and Hobbes: Epistemology

EPISTEMOLOGICAL ISSUE 1: Is Descartes’ radical foundationalism coherent?

Question for Discussion 12a: Can a person be sure of his or her own existence?

GP 81-82; 90-93, “The Emergence of Non-foundationalism”: Aristotle, MacIntyre, Kant, Hegel        

EPISTEMOLOGICAL  ISSUE 2: Are the moderate foundationalist views of Kant and Aristotle—which point  toward non-foundationalism—coherent positions?

GP 94-101 Pragmatism and Analytic Philosophy: Dewey and Wittgenstein

EPISTEMOLOGICAL ISSUE 3: What are the main strengths and weaknesses of Dewey’s pragmatism and the later position of Wittgenstein?

Question for Discussion 12b: Can a person be sure of anything?

PART 3:

PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION

Week 12 

Nov. 16-20

WEEK 12: PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION

GP 103-107 Descartes, Pascal, and James
PHIL.  OF RELIGION ISSUE: On what grounds, if any, does it make sense to believe that God exists?

Question for Discussion 13a: Is Descartes’ ontological argument for the existence of God compelling?

GP 107-110, Aquinas, Paley, and Walker
Question for Discussion 13b: Do you see any merit in Aquinas’ tone of uncertainty in his arguments for the existence of God?    

Week 13

Thanksgiving Break

WEEK 13: PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION

 

Walker: Orthodox vs. prophetic religion

PART 4:

MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVES

Week 14 

Nov. 30-Dec. 4 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WEEK 14: MULTICULTURAL TRADITIONS

GP 129-136, Confucianist and Buddhist
MULTICULTURAL ISSUE 1: What are some major similarities and differences between Chinese (mainly Taoist, Confucianist and Buddhist thought) and “Western” (when taken to refer to Anglo-American and European) thought?

Question for Discussion 14a: How do Confucianists or Buddhists express trust in the ordinary person?


GP 136-140, 142-144 Hindu and Islamic
MULTICULTURAL ISSUE 2: What are major issues that divide Hinduism from Islam?

Question for Discussion 14b:  What are some Hindu and Islamic views of the social equality of persons?

Week 15 

Dec. 7-11 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final Exam   

 

WEEK 15: MULTICULTURAL TRADITIONS

GP 140-142 African and African Diaspora

GP 145-148, Native and Latin American


MULTICULTURAL ISSUE 3: What are some ways that Native American and African views of the natural world differ from Euro-American views of nature?

Question for Discussion 15a: Is Vine Deloria right when he states that Euro-Americans view nature as hostile?

MULTICULTURAL ISSUE 4: What are some of the major issues in Latin American liberation philosophy?

Question for Discussion 15b: How may the Catholic Church’s acceptance of a “preferential option for the poor” be interpreted?  

GP 149-152  Epilogue

Final Exam: See Directions on Website www.montgomerycollege.edu/~bsoderbe