Introduction to philosophy B
6 points * 3 hours per week * Second semester * Clayton
Students select any two of the following four components:
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(i) Metaphysics
Aubrey Townsend
Some of the best science fiction stories explore metaphysical ideas. Much of the pleasure to be had in reading them comes from thinking about the metaphysical issues they raise - we wonder whether they present a coherent possible world. Stories about time travel, for example, provoke speculation about time, causation, and human freedom. Similarly reflection on what it is to be a person, and about personal identity, can issue from stories about personal survival in fantastic situations. In this course, science fiction will be used to introduce and illustrate the discussion of serious philosophical issues in metaphysics. Readings for the course will include selections from both science fiction and the philosophical literature on time, cause and freedom, personal identity, consciousness and artificial intelligence, dreams and reality. The course is intended to provide a suitable foundation for later studies in epistemology and metaphysics.
Assessment
Essay (1200 words): 25% * Examination: 25%
Prescribed texts
A collection of readings is available from the department
Recommended reading
Glover J I The philosophy and psychology of personal identity Penguin
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(ii) God, freedom and evil
Edward Khamara
The existence of evil raises a problem for anyone who believes that God is all-powerful and wholly good. For if God is all-powerful, why does he not prevent evil? And if he is wholly good, why does he not wish to prevent it? One traditional solution to this problem is to say that God is not responsible for the moral evil in this world. God gave us freedom, the capacity to choose between good and evil; and moral evils are due entirely to the bad choices made by human beings. But could God not have done better? Could he not have seen to it that, when we make free choices, we never commit evil? A natural reply would be to say that we would not then be genuinely free. Which raises the central questions to be addressed in this course: what exactly does free action involve? And are we ever genuinely free, or is our sense of freedom no more than an illusion?
Assessment
Essay (1200 words): 25% * Examination: 25%
Prescribed texts
A collection of readings available from the department
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(iii) Morality and objectivity
Michael Smith
Is moral practice essentially a sham, based on hypocrisy, or can we objectively justify both our moral beliefs and our moral motivations? These questions are to be the subject of this course. We will examine the relationship between morality and religion, self-interest, the natural human disposition to be sympathetic and the capacity to engage in rational reflection.
Assessment
Essay (1200 words): 25% * Examination: 25%
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(iv) Introduction to logic
Aubrey Townsend
The only prerequisite for this option is an interest in thinking and reasoning clearly and correctly. We all distinguish between valid (or correct) and invalid (or incorrect) reasoning and argument. Logicians seek to make this distinction precise and to develop systematic accounts of valid argument. We will be doing this at an introductory level in this course.
Assessment
Four exercises: 5% each * Test: 30%
Prescribed texts
Townsend A V Primary logic (available from the department)