PHIL 101

Self, World, & God

Fall 2009

Dr. Jeff Johnson

 

Who are we?  What is our relationship to the world?  Were we created by God?  Are we the product of evolution?  Questions of self almost automatically raise questions of the world we live in, and of religion.  This quarter Self, World, and God will focus on two classical philosophical questions.  "What evidence do we have for or against the existence of God?" and "What evidence do we have about the relationship between mind and body?"  In order to even begin to address these questions we will need some theory of what evidence is, and when it counts as good evidence.  Thus, we will begin our course by investigating a theory of evidence called inference to the best explanation. I hope to convince you that this short, non-technical, model of evidence evaluation can be of value to you, not just in our course, but for the rest of your academic, and indeed, professional careers.  We will then apply this model to the fascinating historical and contemporary attempts to provide evidence for, but also against, the existence of the God of western theism.  Finally we will investigate the emerging field of cognitive science and I hope discover that all sorts of relavent evidence is beginning to show us how our minds work.

The three sections of our course will be utilizing three related "texts" two of which I am in the process of writing.  Neither of them are yet complete, but each is in a very different stage.  We will begin with what is now the third full draft of my manuscript Inferring and Explaining.

Here's a link to the book

I am counting on you to help me improve it with your comments and questions.  The second part of our course will use the very first draft of my new manuscript Religious Evidence.  You will be the first group of students I have shared this with, and I am anxious to see what your feedback is.  Eventually I hope to have a third manuscript, but for now we will use an excellent short book, Mind: A Brief Introduction, by John Searle.

For almost two decades now I have been using Hollywood cinema in this course to show how this fun and exciting medium deals with, and indeed furthers the discussion of, traditional philosophical issues.  We will be seeing nine films this quarter.

You should plan on joining us every Wednesday evening from 6:00 to the end of the movie (most are about two hours, but a couple are longer).

Movie Prompts are available in the Course Documents folder

OUTCOMES, ASSESSMENTS, & GRADES

 

UWR Writing Intensive Outcomes:

 

  1. Students will produce at least 3,000 words (including drafts, in-class writing, informal papers, and polished papers); 1,000 words of this total should be in polished papers which students have revised after receiving feedback and criticism.
  2. Students will be introduced to the discourse forms appropriate to the discipline the course represents.
  3. Students will write at least one paper integrating information from at least one source, employing the appropriate documentation style for the discipline represented by the course.
  4. Students will draft, revise, and edit their formal written work.
    Students will seek assistance from a Writing Tutor in the Writing Lab when needed and when referred by the instructor.

 

General Education Outcomes:

 

  1. Learn and use the vocabulary, content, and conceptual knowledge in a variety of disciplines. (CONTENT KNOWLEDGE)
  2. Think clearly, critically, and effectively, taking into consideration purpose, audience, and occasion. (CRITICAL THINKING)
  3. An appreciation for aesthetic expressions of humanity and the ability to analyze texts. (AEH)

 

Additional Outcomes:

 

  1. Understand "inference to the best explanation" as a tool for evidence evaluation.
  2. Understand some of the standard arguments for and against the existence of the God of western theism.
  3. Appreciate the philosophical implications of contemporary cognitive science
  4. Read philosophical texts critically and with understanding.
  5. Critically view cinema dealing with philosophical issues.
  6. Write effectively about philosophical and scientific controversies.
  7. Write effectively about philosophical issues in contemporary cinema

 

Means of Assessment and Grading:

 

ACADEMIC HONESTY

 

I am including below Eastern's Academic Honesty Code.  It is vitally important that you carefully read it, and that you understand that it is my intention to follow this code to the letter.  I really can't think of a better way to ruin your experience with this course, than to disregard this code.  Obviously, if you have any questions, I can't urge you too strongly to ask me.

 

ACADEMIC HONESTY CODE

 

All members of the Eastern Oregon University academic community are responsible for compliance with its Academic Honesty Code. Students are required to report violations to the respective faculty member of a course. Provisions of the Academic Honesty Code are:

 

  1. Collaboration while taking any quizzes, in-class examinations, or take home examinations without the instructor's written approval is forbidden. The faculty member is responsible for defining limits for other collaborative learning activities for each course.
  2. Plagiarism or representation of the work of others as one's own is forbidden. The faculty member will make clear the format for properly citing sources of information not original by the student.
  3. Explicit approval by all instructors is required if the same work is to be submitted to more than one course, even if is not within the same term.

 

Violations of the Academic Honesty Code may result in both academic and behavioral penalties including possible suspension or expulsion from the University.

An automatic grade of zero for any work which is a violation of the Academic Honesty Code will be assigned by the instructor. The instructor may also assign a grade of F for the course after discussion with the respective School Dean. Students may appeal the course grade to the respective School Dean, who is the final level of appeal on the matter of course grade penalties for academic dishonesty.

The faculty member is also required to file a disciplinary complaint to the Vice President for Student Affairs about any student believed to have violated the Academic Honesty Code. If deemed appropriate, hearing procedures will be implemented by a University Hearing Officer as outlined in the Code of Student Conduct. Possible sanctions considered by the Student Conduct Committee include probation, suspension, and expulsion.

 

 

TENTATIVE COURSE  CALENDAR

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday

9/28

Course Introduction

Arguments

Lecture One

9/29

Inference to the Best Explanation

Lecture Two

9/30

An Inconvenient Truth

Reversal of Fortune

10/1

An Inconvenient Truth

10/5

New Data &
Experimentation

Lecture Three

10/6

Semmelweis and
Childbed Fever

Lecture Four

10/7

Semmelweis and
Childbed Fever

Lecture Five

Inherit the Wind

10/8

Darwin & Common
Descent

Lecture Six

10/12

Darwin, Common
Descent, & Natural Selection

Lecture Seven

10/13

Textual Interpretation

Lecture Eight

10/14

Causes and
Correlations

Lecture Nine

Little Buddha

10/15

Takehome

 Midterm

10/19

Takehome

 Midterm due in-class

Analytical Papers

Lecture Ten

10/20

Statistics: Making
Sense of the Numbers

Lecture Eleven

10/21

Statistics: Making
Sense of the Numbers

Lecture Twelve

The Swimming Pool

10/22

Testimony

Lecture Thirteen

10/26

Inference to the Best Explanation

Exam Review

No recorded lecture

10/27

Religion

"R S Ch 1"

Lecture Fourteen

10/28

Gore's Evidence (short session, technological malfunction)

Lecture Fifteen

Regarding Henry

10/29

Peer Review Analytical Paper Attendance Required!

11/2

World
Views

"R S Ch 1"

Lecture Sixteen

11/3

Cosmological
Argument

Lecture Seventeen

11/4

Cosmological
Argument

Lecture Eighteen

Three Faces of Eve

11/5

Classical Teleolgical
Argument

Lecture Nineteen

Analytical Paper Due In-class

11/9

New Teleological
Argument

"New Teleological"

Lecture Twenty

11/10

Mysticism

"Mystical Testimony"

Lecture Twenty-one

11/11

Schindler's List

11/12

Problem of Evil

"Problem of Evil"

"Friendly Natural Theology"

Lecture Twenty-two

11/16

Takehome

 Midterm -- due, in-class, 11/17

11/17

Dualism

Chapter 1

Lecture Twenty-three

11/18

Materialism

Chapters 2 &3

Lecture Twenty-four

Multiplicity

11/19

Artificial Intelligence

Lecture Twenty-five

11/23

Artificial Intelligence

 

11/24

Evolution of mind

Chapter 4

11/25

Thanksgiving

11/26

Thanksgiving

11/30

Argument from Language

"Argument from Language"

12/1

Neurobiology

Chapter 5

12/2

Free Will

Chapter 8

All of Me

12/3

Personal Identity

Chapter 9

12/7

Take-home Final Due by 5:00