PHL100Y1Y (L0201) Introduction to Philosophy

Lecture: MW11am-12pm
Fall: NF003 Winter: PB B150 (Mondays) and MC102 (Wednesdays)
Tutorials: See below
Description
This course will introduce you to philosophy. Its main purpose is to acquaint you with the kinds of questions
philosophers ask and to impart an understanding of why those questions matter. A secondary purpose is to improve
your skills as a critical reader, thinker, and writer. We will consider some of the perennial philosophical problems:
problems to do with (among other things) the existence of God, free will, personal identity, knowledge, the relation
between mind and body, science, morality, justice and political authority, and the meaning of life.
Instructor
Dr. James John
Office: University College, Room F209
Office Hours: WTr3-4pm (and by appointment)
Email: jim.john@utoronto.ca
Email policy: I will read messages only if they are from a UTORmail email account and their subject lines
include the course identifier and a clear statement of purpose (e.g. PHL100Y: I have a conflict with the
final exam). Where a question cannot be answered with a brief reply email, I will indicate that you should
see me or your TA during office hours. I will take up generic questions that could be of interest to all
students at the beginning of the next class.
Required Text
There is one required book: The Elements of Philosophy: Readings from Past and Present, edited by Tamar Szab
Gendler, Susanna Siegel, and Steven M. Cahn. With one exception (noted below), all required readings are from
this book. Books are available at the University of Toronto Bookstore.
There may be additional non-required but suggested readings. These will be posted on the courses website. Go to
portal.utoronto.ca and login with your UTORid and password. PHL100Y will appear on the top right hand portion
of the welcome page. Click on the link to access our site. Please check this page regularly for important
announcements.
There will be a number of handouts. Sometimes they will be distributed in class and later posted on the course
website; at other times they will be posted to our site ahead of class. In the latter case, I will send out an email
announcement at least 24 hours in advance instructing you to print a copy of the handout and bring it to class. (On
these occasions, it will be your responsibility to come to class with the appropriate handout.)
Assignments and Grading
Your grade will be determined as follows:
Four papers (5-7 pp. each)
First-term test (2 hrs.)
Final examination (3 hrs.)
Mandatory attendance and participation in tutorial

4 10% = 40%
15%
35%
10%

Your written assignments are due in lecture on the dates indicated below. Work will be counted late beginning with
the end of lecture (from 12pm on) and will be penalized by dropping 1/3 of a letter grade for each day (not counting
weekends) the work is late. Instructions on how to submit late work will be provided on all assignment sheets. The
Faculty deadline for the submission of term work is the last day of classes (12/2 in Fall, 4/2 in Winter). Extensions
beyond this deadline may be granted only if they do not interfere with the submission of grades. Otherwise, you
must petition your College Registrar.

Plagiarism is a grave offence and is absolutely forbidden; all cases will be prosecuted. Next week (at our 9/15
meeting) I will distribute a statement on the nature and unacceptability of plagiarism. In the meantime, I urge you
to visit www.artsci.utoronto.ca/osai/students. This is the Office of Student Academic Integritys website. They
have useful information on how to avoid plagiarism. See also www.utoronto.ca/writing, the Writing Centres
website.
The University of Toronto is committed to accessibility. If you require accommodations for a disability or have any
accessibility concerns about the course, the classroom, or any course materials, please feel free to approach me or to
contact Accessibility Services as soon as possible at disability.services@utoronto.ca.
Term I (Fall) Schedule of Meetings and Readings
Note: there will be tutorials every week of the term with the exception of Weeks 1 and 13.
Week 1
Monday 9/8:

Introduction to course

Wednesday 9/10:

Primer on arguments

***9/14: Waiting lists close.***

Week 2: For Gods Existence
Monday 9/15:
The Argument from Design: William Paley, The Argument from Design
Wednesday 9/17:

The Ontological Argument: Saint Anselm, The Ontological Argument and Gaunilo, In
Behalf of the Fool

***9/21: Last day to add a Y course.***

Week 3: Against Gods Existence
Monday 9/22:
Perfection and Evil: John Hick, The Problem of Evil
Wednesday 9/24:

Hick continued
***Paper 1 assignment sheet distributed in lecture!***

Week 4: Are Our Wills Free?

Monday 9/29:
Free Will and Determinism: A. J. Ayer, Freedom and Necessity
Wednesday 10/1:

Free Will and Indeterminism: Roderick Chisholm, Human Freedom and the Self

Week 5: Free Will and Feeling

Monday 10/6:
Liberty and Emotion: Peter Strawson, Freedom and Resentment
Wednesday 10/8:

Personhood and Memory: John Locke, Of Identity and Diversity

Week 6: Personal Identity I

Monday 10/13:
Thanksgiving (no class)
Wednesday 10/15:

Locke continued
***Paper 1 due in lecture!***

Week 7: Personal Identity II

Monday 10/20:
Personhood and Paradox: Derek Parfit, Personal Identity

Wednesday 10/22:

Parfit continued

Week 8: What is Knowledge?

Monday 10/27:
True Belief and an Account: Plato, What is Knowledge?
Wednesday 10/29:

The Gettier Problem: Edmund Gettier, Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?

***Paper 2 assignment sheet distributed in lecture!***

Week 9: Knowledge and Skepticism I

Monday 11/3:
The Demon of Doubt: Ren Descartes, Meditations 1 and 2
Wednesday 11/5:

Descartes continued

Week 10: Knowledge and Skepticism II

Monday 11/10:
Turning the Tables: G. E. Moore, Proof of an External World and Certainty
Wednesday 11/12:

Abduction and the Demon: Jonathan Vogel, Cartesian Skepticism and Inference to the
Best Explanation

Week 11: Appearance and Reality

Monday 11/17:
Fall break (no class)
Wednesday 11/19:

Brains-in-Vats: David J. Chalmers, The Matrix as Metaphysics

***Paper 2 due in lecture!***

Week 12: Life

Monday 11/24:

The Good Life: Derek Parfit, What Makes Someones Life Go Best

Wednesday 11/26:

Parfit continued

Week 13: Death

Monday 12/1:

Should We Fear Death?: Thomas Nagel, Death

Wednesday 12/3:

Make-up day (class only if necessary)

***12/2: Last day of Fall classes (with exception of make-up day).***

Date for first-term test TBA. Note: the first-term test will be scheduled during the Universitys official Fall exam
period. Do NOT plan your vacation until you know this date!
Term II (Winter) Schedule of Meetings and Readings
Note: there will be tutorials every week of the term with the exception of Weeks 7 and 13.
Week 1: The Mind-Body Problem I
Monday 1/5:
Mind, Matter, and Essence: Ren Descartes, Meditation 6
Wednesday 1/7:

Mind as Soul: Kisor Kumar Chakrabarti, Understanding Nyaya-Vaisesika Dualism

Week 2: The Mind-Body Problem II

Monday 1/12:
Mind as Behaviour: Gilbert Ryle, Descartess Myth

Wednesday 1/14:

Mind as Brain: J. J. C. Smart, Sensations and Brain Processes

Week 3: Mind and Science

Monday 1/19:
The Problem of Consciousness: Thomas Nagel, What Is It Like to Be a Bat?
Wednesday 1/21:

Nagel continued
***Paper 3 assignment sheet distributed in lecture!***

Week 4: The Value of Morality

Monday 1/26:
Why Be Moral?: Plato, Glaucons Challenge
Wednesday 1/28:

Nobodys Perfect!: Wolf, Moral Saints

Week 5: Moral Theory I

Monday 2/2:
Pleasure and Consequences: John Stuart Mill, selections from Utilitarianism
Wednesday 2/4:

Mill continued

Week 6: Moral Theory II

Monday 2/9:
Duties and Rights: Immanuel Kant, selections from Grounding for the Metaphysics of
Morals
Wednesday 2/11:
Week 7
Reading Week

Kant continued
***Paper 3 due in lecture!***
No class

***2/16: Last day to drop a Y course without penalty!***

Week 8: The Nature of Morality
Monday 2/23:
Relativism vs. Universalism: James Rachels, The Challenge of Cultural Relativism
Wednesday 2/25:

A Very Hard Case: Judith Jarvis Thomson, The Trolley Problem

***Paper 4 assignment sheet distributed in lecture!***

Week 9: Politics I
Monday 3/2:

Authority and the State: Thomas Hobbes, Contract and Commonwealth

Wednesday 3/4:

Hobbes continued

Week 10: Politics II

Monday 3/9:

Justice and Equality: John Rawls, Justice as Fairness

Wednesday 3/11:

Rawls continued

Week 11: Politics III

Monday 3/16:

Justice and Liberty: Robert Nozick, Distributive Justice

Wednesday 3/18:

Nozick continued
***Paper 4 due in lecture!***

Week 12: The Meaning of Life

Monday 3/23:

Meaning and God: Leo Tolstoy, selections from My Confession (available online at
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/tolstoy/confession.txt)

Wednesday 3/25:

Despair, Defiance, and Irony: Thomas Nagel, The Absurd

Week 13: The Ethics of Belief: What Should I Believe?

Monday 3/30:
Belief and Evidence: W. K. Clifford, The Ethics of Belief
Wednesday 4/1:

Belief and Inclination: William James, The Will to Believe

***4/2: Last day of Winter classes.***

Date for final examination TBA. Note: the final examination will be scheduled during the Universitys official
Winter exam period. Do NOT plan your vacation until you know this date!
Tutorials for PHL100Y1Y (L0201)
If you have not already done so, please register in a tutorial as soon as possible. The tutorials for this lecture
section of the course (0201) are numbered T1801 to T2103. The tutorials are listed below by time of meeting;
please take note of the room location and number.
Thursday Tutorials
2pm T1801
T1802
T1803

UC44
UC257
SS621

Friday Tutorials
9am
T1901
T1902
T1903

UC44
UC D301
UC376

10am

T2001
T2002
T2003

UC44
UC67
SS621

11am

T2101
T2102
T2103

SS621
UC44
SS570

***SUPER IMPORTANT!*** Do NOT register in a tutorial for this course unless it is one of the above
tutorials! There is another lecture section of this course, and if you register for one of its tutorials, you will be in the
wrong place.