Phl. 302
Dr. Uzgalis
Winter 2004



GREAT VOYAGES: SYLLABUS

Date/Week

Lecture

Reading

Jan. 6 -----1----

1492 and all that

 

Jan. 8

Aristotle and the American Indians;

Packet Part 1

Jan. 13 ----2----

Renaissance and Reformation

Montaigne, ’ÄúApology for Raymond Sebond’Äù in packet

Jan. 15

Montaigne, Descartes and Skepticism

--Choice of Research Area due

--Natural light exercise passed out

Med. I; Cottingham, 31--50

Jan. 20 ----3----

Descartes, the foundation, Matter and Certainty

Med. II--III up to page 15

Jan. 22

Descartes, Mathematics and Matter

--Natural Light Exercise due--

Med. V

Jan. 27 ----4----

Descartes and Dualism

Med. V

Jan. 29

Spinoza and Teleology
--Midterm study questions passed out--

Spinoza ’ÄúAppendix’Äù to Book I of The Ethics, in packet

Feb. 3 -----5----

Locke and Empricism

Essay II.1--10

Feb. 5

Midterm

 

Feb. 10 ----6----

Locke on Knowledge

E. IV. Pp. 75-113

Feb. 12

Locke on Civil Government

Sec. Tre. Ch. 1--4

Feb. 17 ----7----

Locke on Property

Sec.Tre Ch. 5-9

Feb. 19

Locke on revolution
--Draft of paper due-- No late papers will be accepted.

Sec Tre. Ch. 16--19

Feb. 24 ----8----

Locke and Race

Sec. Tre. Ch 4, 16; packet Part II: Popkin

Feb. 26

Locke, Equiano and Race

--Locke/Equiano exercise due

Equiano, Chap. 11-14: Packet, Popkin -end

Mar. 2 -----9----

Berkeley and Qualities

Berk. pp. 217--234

Mar. 4

Berkeley’Äôs immaterialism

Berk. pp. 234-252;

Mar. 9 ---10----

Hume, Ideas and Causation
--Final draft of papers due--

Enquiry 1--5, and 8; Wollhouse Ch 8 opt.

Mar. 9

Hume’Äôs Problem of Induction

Enquiry  Sec. 5

Mar. 17

9:30AM. FINAL EXAM

BOOKS

Required

 

  1. Descartes, Meditations
  2. The Empiricists (Locke, Berkeley, Hume)
  3. Locke, Second Treatise of Government
  4. Edwards, Paul, ed., Equiano's Travels
  5. Philosophy and Racism (class packet)
  6. Writing Philosophy Papers: A student Guide 2n ed. The Guide is available on line at Guide

 

CLASS REQUIREMENTS

Web Site

There are two web sites for this class.  The first is the Great Voyages web site.  The URL is http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/index.  This site has a variety of useful sections on the philosophers of the period, electronic texts, and other materials that may be useful to you.  The second site was designed as a completely on-line version of the course.  The URL is http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/distance/  This site has sections on each of the units of the course and provides both a detailed background for the reading and a detailed commentary on the reading.   These should prove in understanding the material in the first place, and they should be useful to those who have to miss class and for people reviewing for exams.

For a C grade

Exercises: There will be exercise that you will work on at home. There will also be in class exercises.  Some of these will be graded while others will be ungraded.

Midterm and Final: There will be a midterm and a final. These will be essay exams. For in class exams I pass out study questions a week before the exam. The questions on the exam come out of the study questions. So, if you adequately prepare to answer all the study questions you can be guaranteed that you are prepared for the exams.

How your course grade (C--F) is calculated. The midterm will count %40 of your grade, the final %60. For a grade of C one must take the exams and average a grade of at least a C and get half the available points on the exercises. Failure to meet any of these conditions will mean that youw ill receive a grade lower than a C.

For a grade of B or A

For a grade of B or A one must meet Exercise requirement noted above, that is, get at least half of the available points. One must take the exams and average a B or A grade on the Exercises, the exams and the paper. In the calculation of your (A-B) course grade, the Exercises will count as 20%, the midterm will count 20%, the final 30%, and the paper 30% of the total.

Research Paper The paper is a 10 to 12 page research paper. (This means a title page and a minimum of 10 full pages of text.) I will supply you with a variety of possible topics. The Great Voyages web site has also been designed to provide you with a good deal of information that will help you in deciding on a paper topic and writing your paper. One of the required books for the class is: Writing Philosophy Papers: A Student Guide This will also provide you with help in writing your paper, the essay exams for the course, and likely enough some of the exercises.

Since discussion is very important to this class, everyone should note that while class participation is not given a formal place in the grading scheme, I often reward people who participate actively in class discussion by raising their grade when they are on a borderline.

This is a four unit course

This is a four unit class which meets three hours a week. The fourth hour you will be working on exercises on the Great Voyages web site, e-mail conversations or at home or doing research for your term paper. Incidentally, while I do not count attendance directly in your grade, failure to attend class over an extended period (more than two weeks absence without written medical documentation) may well result in your failing the class.

OFFICE HOURS

Philosophy Dept. Office Hours: 8:00 - 12:00 1:00 - 5:00 Monday through Friday
Philosophy Dept phone: 737-2955
Dr. Uzgalis' Office Hours: M. 10:30--11.20 TR 4--5 and by appointment

I am always happy to see students during office hours. You are welcome to come by and talk about the material or other topic of interest to you. I expect you to come in and talk to me if you are having difficulties with the material or if you are having problems which might interfere with your work. I also expect you to come in regularly to talk about your progress with the term paper project. I will try to schedule times throughout the term for this purpose.

Office Location: Hovland Hall 205
Office Phone Number: 737-5650
E-mail address: wuzgalis@orst.edu

You can leave messages for me on my phone or e-mail me at any time of day.