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PHILOS 1: Introduction to Philosophy PDF

Course Description

This course is entirely online and asynchronous.  No previous exposure to philosophy is required.  We will be discussing several fundamental topics in philosophy.  Our journey will begin with two classic philosophy works: Plato’s Apology and Euthyphro.  These texts serve as wonderful introduction to philosophy.  Socrates is the paradigmatic embodiment of philosophy.  At the heart of philosophy is thinking well.  We will spend a couple of weeks spelling out what this means.  After that, we will be discussing some of the fundamental questions in ethics, a central branch in the philosophy tree.  The final topic of discussion is Kant’s conception of the good life.  As Kant sees it, the best life humans can achieve is one in which they are masters of their own destiny; this mastery requires living in accordance with human’s fundamental nature as equal, free, and rational beings.

Required Text:

Karen Stohr. Choosing Freedom: a Kantian Guide to Life. Oxford University Press, 2022. 

Other readings will be made available on Canvas.

Expected Learning Outcomes:

Develop appreciation for a diversity of perspectives on fundamental philosophical topics.

Develop capacity for assessing complex and foreign philosophical ideas.

Develop critical thinking, reading, and communication skills.  

Grading Policies and Procedures 

Grade determination: Quizzes: 25%; Self-Reflection Project 25%; Video Assignments 25% (5% each); One Reaction Paper on Kant’s account of the good life: 25%

Quizzes policy: there will be basic comprehension quizzes due every Friday at midnight covering the topics discussed that week.  The questions will be multiple-choice questions.  Students will have 2 attempts, and each attempt will be 5 minutes long.  The quizzes require Respondus, so ensure you have it prior to taking the quiz. 

Self-Reflection Project policy: students are required to write a self-reflection project due at the end of the second week of class.  For this project, students will reflect on the current state of their intellectual character (discussed in week 2) and will report the findings of their reflection.  Please look at the more detailed description of the Self-Reflection Project in the assignment itself. 
Video Assignments policy: there will be one Video Assignment due every Saturday at midnight.  Students are required to record a short video between 1 and 2 minutes in which they carefully articulate one idea or argument in the week, which they found insightful or important.  Please see the assignment itself for more details on student expectations.

Reaction Paper policy: students are required to write one reaction paper on Kant’s account of the good life. The paper is due at the end of the course on Sunday September 7th at midnight.  The reaction paper should be 3-4 pages long and double spaced.  Students should clearly present Kant’s central conception of the good life as presented in the first week discussing this topic (i.e., freedom, autonomy and morality).  After presenting this central conception, students should choose one of the specific topics presented in the final week of the course (i.e., benevolence, servility, mockery, friendship, etc.) that the student found most insightful or relevant for their life.  Students should illustrate how this specific topic fits with, and is informed by, Kant’s central conception of the good life and should spell out why they found such topic particularly insightful or relevant to their own life.  (Please see Reaction Paper Assignment Description for more details). 

Writing a philosophy paper is different than writing papers in other academic disciplines.  Please spend some time reading the following: Guidelines on Writing a Philosophy Paper.

Disability

Students with disabilities who believe they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact the Disability Services Center (either at https://dsc.uci.edu/ or at (949) 824-7494) as soon as possible to better ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.

Food and Housing Instability

Any student who has difficulty affording groceries or accessing sufficient food to eat every day, or who lacks a safe and stable place to live and believes this may affect their performance in the course, is urged to contact the FRESH Basic Needs Hub ([email protected]) or its Director, Andrea Gutierrez ([email protected]).

First Generation Students

I am a first-generation student. I would like to invite to my office hours any student (first generation or otherwise) who would like to talk about the challenges that first-generation students face at the university. I would also like to draw your attention to UCI’s First-Generation Initiative: http://firstgen.due.uci.edu/

Inclusivity of All Students Regardless of Citizenship Status

This course will be run in accordance with UCI’s mission to provide a world-class education to the most talented young people, regardless of background, and irrespective of their citizenship or immigration status. The University of California publicly supports all students regardless of immigration status. Thus, this course will work to make sure that all students feel included, respected, and safe in order to best heighten each student’s academic experience. If you feel that you need any kind of assistance as you are affected by either your immigration status or that of a loved one (family member, parents, friends, partner) feel free to contact me or Angela Chuan-Ru Chen <[email protected]> at the UCI DREAM Center: https://dream.uci.edu/