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“Philosophy For Work and Life” 

Brisbane College of Theology Unit H51060/72060 INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY

Griffith University Unit 2401THL 7017THL

 

CAIRNS INTENSIVE JUNE 2005

 

UNIT OUTLINE:

An issues-based introduction to philosophy for the sake of theology and professional involvements, including some work on logical reasoning.

 

Objectives:

1) Participants will be provided with a wide-ranging issues-based introduction to philosophy in its varied dimensions.

2) Participants will be given the opportunity to delve for themselves into one or two philosophical issues of particular interest to themselves and/or of particular relevance for their task as theologians/teachers/nurses/pastoral workers whatever.

3) Participants will be given enough practical 'Logic' to recognize the more common forms of valid reasoning and to be able hopefully to recognize the most common fallacies that beset common life, scientific, philosophical and also theological reasoning as well as reasoning in various professional contexts.

 

Teaching/Learning Strategies:

(a) June Intensive: five topics over five days, with logic thrown in at regular intervals.  The objective is to open up the topics or issues, treating only a few aspects in any depth – each of the (family of) issues could be treated in one or more units by themselves and open up almost infinite vistas for further thought and research.  Towards the end of each day there will be a little bit of input on logic plus a time for group discussion to get our thinking on each topic going.

(b) Personal and/or Group Work over the next ten weeks or so, a topic at a time, delving into the Book of Readings and anything else considered useful.

(c) Personal research on a topic or topics of particular interest to the participant.  This can also be enlivened by discussion with others as useful.  This can be going on from the beginning, but comes into its own after the mid-semester break.

 

Assessment Tasks:

 

  • There will be a short Logic test on the last day of the Intensive, following on the pattern of some Logic Homework during the Intensive, worth (an easy) 10%.

 

  • Participants in the unit are asked to write at least an A4 page of personal response on each of the major topics treated during the course, giving a brief response to lecture input and their own thoughts on the topic and listing briefly as they want further reading they may have managed and what they may have thought of that.  This may be fairly personal, need not be all that sophisticated and does not need a separate bibliography.  This is mainly a way of processing the material of the unit as given and is not meant to be very scholarly.  This process is likely to have begun already during the week set aside for the Intensive and might be continued, a topic at a time, re-reading lecture notes, reading some of the Book of Readings, thinking, discussing as you can, over the next ten weeks or so. People may well form themselves into groups as they want, but this is not essential. This should be submitted if at all possible by Friday 9th September (= before St Paul’s Mid-Semester Break).  40%

 

  • Students are asked also to do some personal reading and to write an essay on one of the topics set for lecture input and discussion, or if desired a suitable combination of the same.  This major essay is due on Friday 4th November (= last day of normal semester lectures).  50%

 

Written work may be submitted as email attachment or as hard copy as people want.  Please send a copy to me plus another for sake of record and your own security to info@st-pauls.qld.edu.au or else St Paul’s Theological College P.O. Box 110, Banyo Q 4014.

 

My email addresses: gjmoses@mpx.com.au ; g.moses@st-pauls.qld.edu.au .  Mailing address: to be notified, or send via St Paul’s.

 

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2005 Second Semester:  List of Topics

 

One per day over the five days, with Logic thrown in (about half an hour each day) at regular intervals.

 

Introduction:  what is philosophy anyway?

 

What is philosophy? 

*Philosophy as thinking/feeling/talking through matters of concern more deeply together beyond the taken for granted;  Philosophy, the History of Philosophy, and contemporary technical academic philosophy; Philosophy and Leadership; Philosophy and Theology

 

 

Topic 1: Human Action: Freedom, Moral Responsibility and the Discernment of Moral Value

            Freedom/Responsibility Overheads

      Ethics Overheads

Natural Law PowerPoint Notes

  • Freedom: Human Freedom: what does it mean and when (if at all) do we have it?  With what kind of causal explanation is it consistent? 

 

  • The relation between freedom and Moral Responsibility and the phenomena of praise and blame. 

 

  • Responsible decision making: the options and how to put it all together.

 

  • How do we distinguish between Right and Wrong anyway? Do sentiment and feeling have a place? Or is it a purely ‘rational’ process?  Rehabilitating the moral emotions.

 

Basic concepts of logical argument #1 (notes for all the Logic here)

 

 

Topic 2: Knowing, Truth and Meaning

            Knowledge Overheads

            Hermeneutics PowerPoint Presentation (OUTLINE ONLY; for full presentation, please email.)

      Additions for those who want them: Structuralism Notes, Structuralism Overheads

 

  • What's knowing?  How do you go about doing it well?  Is there a nice clear distinction between ‘science’ and ‘non-science’ and does it matter?

 

  • What is truth?  How to define it and how to go about getting it.

 

  • How to go about understanding texts, e.g., in the case of theology, Scriptures and Church and other historical Documents ('hermeneutics'), and implications generally for working with our fellow human beings in real life, and in History and the Social Sciences.

 

Logical argument #2

 

Topic 3: Personal Identity, Gender, Community and the Natural World: who and what are we and where do we fit it?

Personal Identity

Gender

Individual and Community Notes

            Individual and Community Overheads; Community ppt (outline only)

            Rawls outline (for ppt presentation, please email and I will send a copy)

            Response to Rawls

            Nature Overheads

 

  • Personal Identity, recognition and construction (cont.): what is a person, what are the criteria for us to say it's the same person, and how do we get to be the persons that we are?

 

  • Male and female: who and what are we anyway (cont.): the contribution of contemporary feminism and coming to terms with this.

 

  • Human individual persons and human communities: which comes first, how are they related and which is more important?  Video 1: Are We Social Beings?

 

  • Human beings and nature: where do we fit in?

 

Logical Argument #3, plus some Homework to do

 

 

Topic 4: Souls and Bodies, Minds and Brains, Death and Life after Death 

Souls and Bodies, Minds and Brains and

Life after Death 

Minds and Brains: Select Bibliography

Note on Death from Fr David Hawe

  • Souls and bodies, minds and brains: what are we, anyway? The problem in the history of philosophy from Plato onwards.

 

  • Souls and bodies, minds and brains etc: contemporary perspectives.

 

  • Death and Dying:  facing death, what is it and what should be our attitude to it? 

 

  • Life after Death: any philosophical reason for thinking we might survive?  In what form?  Can personal identity conceivably be retained across death and after death?

 

Logical argument #4: including feedback on the Homework

 

 

Topic 5: God and Religion

Links to Ways 1: the Cosmological Argument and Ways 2: Order and Design,

Plus some notes on Miracles and on Evolution

 

 

 

 

For further resources, go to Philosophy of Religion unit.

 

Logic Test, after the pattern of the Homework.

 

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H51060 etc: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY:  GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS to consult on topics for discussion and essay writing include especially the following:

(Note: Draft Only: needs to be updated, to reflect what the library has acquired recently.  Better version in late May.)

TEXTS:

ISSUES BASED

 

Morris, Tom.  Philosophy for Dummies.  IDG Books Worldwide Inc., Foster City, CA., 1999.

 

Warburton, Nigel. Philosophy: The Basics.  Routledge, London,  Second Edition,  1996.

 

Teichman, Jenny, and Katherine C. Evans.  Philosophy: A Beginner’s Guide. Blackwell, 1991.  Almost all issues covered, and basic historical info at back.  Looks really good, but Analytic in focus.

 

Solomon, Robert. Introducing Philosophy: A text with integrated readings. 7th Edition.  Harcourt College Publishers, Fort Worth, Philadelphis, 2001.  Issues based, very rich.

 

Perry, John, and Michael Bratman, editors.  Introduction to Philosophy. 3rd Edition. O.U.P., 1999.   Issues based, reading classical and contemporary analytic.  A large book (824 pages), a glossary of philosophical terms at the back, and lots of lovely puzzles and paradoxes also at the back.

 

Pinchin, Calvin.  Issues in Philosophy.  Macmillan, London, 1990.

 

McGinn, Colin.  Problems in Philosophy: The Limits of Inquiry.  Blackwell, Oxford, 1993.  Issues based, a particular point of view, seems typically analytic, by no means impartial.  An advanced introductory book.

 

Warnock, Mary.  The Uses of Philosophy.  Blackwell, 1992.  More specialized studies by a famous British philosophy, of use on some topics (see table of contents).

 

Phillips. D.Z,  Introducing Philosophy.  Blackwell, 1996.  Issues based, another thoughtful point of view type introduction.

 

Nagel, Thomas. What does it all mean?  OUP, 1987.

 

Nagel, Thomas.  Mortal Questions.  CUP,  Canto edition, 1991.  Much the same as the other, but more advanced and expressive of his own ideas.

 

 

Frankfurt, H.G. The Importance of What We Care About.  CUP,                                   1988. 

 

Litch, Mary M.  Philosophy Through Film. Routledge, N.Y., 2002.  Looks great fun, really excellent.  What would she have made of Star Trek: Nemesis?

 

Radford, Colin.  Driving to California: An Unconventional Introduction to Philosophy.  Edinburgh Univ. Press, 1996.  Once again, looks great fun, while covering important issues.

 

Macquarrie, John. In search of humanity.  Crossroad, N.Y., 1985.  John Macquarrie is a theologian, but well acquainted with both Anglo-Saxon and Continental Philosophy.

 

Ethics

 

Preston, Noel.  Understanding Ethics. Second Edition.  The Federation Press,  Annandale, NSW, 2000.

 

Freakley, Mark and Gilbert Burgh. Engaging with Ethics: Ethical Inquiry for Teachers. The Social Science Press, Katoomba, 2000.

 

Gaita, Raymond.  A Common Humanity:Thinking about Love and Truth and Justice. Text Publishing, Melbourne, Australia, 1999.

 

 

HISTORY-BASED

Palmer, Donald.  Looking at Philosophy: The Unbearable Heaviness of Philosophy Made Lighter.  Mayfield Publishing Co., Mountain View, California,  Second Edition 1994.

 

Osborne, Richard and Ralph Edney.  Philosophy for Beginners.  Writers and Readers Publishing Co., N.Y., 1992.

 

Stevenson, Jay.  The Complete Idiot's Guide to Philosophy.  Alpha Books, Macmillan, 1998.

 

Palmer and Osborne/Edney somewhat similar in presentation, both very good.

 

Flew, Anthony.  An Introduction to Western Philosophy: Ideas and Arguments from Plato to Sartre.  Thames and Hudson, 1971.  Tries to combine approaches.

 

Russell, Bertrand. History of Western Philosophy.  Allen and Unwin, London, 1961.

 

Kenny, Anthony, editor.  The Oxford Illustrated History of Western Philosophy. O.U.P. 1994.

 

Waithe, Mary Ellen, editor. A History of Women Philosophers.  Volumes 1, 2, 3 and 4.  Kluwer, Dordrecht,  1987, 1989, 1991, 1995.

 

Tougas, Cecile T. and Ebenreck, Sara. Presenting Women Philosophers. Temple Univ. Press, Philadelphia, 2000.

 

Gaarder, Jostein.  Sophie's World. An Adventure in Philosophy.  Phoenix House, London, 1995.

 

 

 

OTHER REFERENCES OF GENERAL USEFULNESS might include:

 

The Blackwell Companion to Philosophy, edited by Nicholas Bunnin and E. P. Tsui-James.  Blackwell, Oxford, 1996.  This gives a serious overview of contemporary Anglo-American mostly university philosophy on most but not all of our topics.  It is a bit too much for the level of pitch of the input but may be useful for essays.  A good overall introduction for more serious users with time on their hands

 

Parkinson, G.H.R., editor.  An Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. Routledge, London, 1988.

 

Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited Edward Craig. Routledge, London and N.Y., 1998.  Searchable CD available in Banyo library.

 

An Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited Paul Edwards. Macmillan, N.Y., 1967.

 

And such like…

 

To broaden your horizons:

 

Smart, Ninian. World Philosophies. Routledge, London, 1999.

 

Cooper, David E.  World Philosophies: An Historical Introduction. Blackwell, Oxford, 1996.

 

Keller, John M.  Oriental Philosophies.  Second Edition.  Macmillan, London, 1985.

 

Leaman, Oliver.  Eastern Philosophy: Key Readings. Routledge, London, 2000.

 

Recommendation: get one of the issues based treatments plus one of the history based treatments.  Figure out which one by looking at the library copies.

 

Some books on Logic: 

 

Copi, Irving M.  Introduction to Logic.  Various editions (up to at least 11th Edition).  Has an excellent chapter on fallacies, well organized.

 

Murphy, Nancey C. Reasoning and Rhetoric in Religion.  Trinity Press International, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1994.

 

Hamblin, C.  Fallacies.  Univ. of N.S.W. Press, 1985.

 

Plus the old favourite: Thouless, Robert H. Straight and Crooked Thinking. Pan Books, London, first published 1930.

 

There is quite a lot of Logic online, and a good amount of philosophy generally, including editions in various versions of standard works from the history of philosophy from the Greeks to the present day.

 

For some starters with web searches, go to my website, www.mpx.com.au/~gjmoses or www.members.optusnet.com.au/~gjmoses, click on Philosophy Favourites.

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