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Syllabus
Introduction to
Philosophy
Fall 2001
Marist College
Dr. Greg Moses
Course Description: In this course we will explore various approaches to human life and value, with an emphasis on contributions made by postmodern trends in philosophy. First we read an account of Pritchard's re-connection to American Indian heritage, raising questions about the value of cultural norms in our shared experience. Next we turn to a classic criticism of cultural norms in the work of Nietzsche. The postmodern condition will be explored through the next four books that treat philosophy, art, religion, and science. This will also be a Praxis-based course where students will be asked to participate in community service activities as part of their academic reflections.
Course Method: The fifteen-week semester will be divided into three parts. In each part, we will read two books and write a paper that reviews the textual material and offers critical explorations of relevance for today. Daily work will consist of readings, short written responses, and brief small-group discussions, followed by a forum where we will review main points and issues that arise. The process is designed to sustain an exploratory attitude toward materials, inviting students to participate in critical reconstruction of meanings suggested by our texts. Because of this method, preparations not accompanied by students to class will be counted late.
Outcomes: By the end of the course, students should be able to explore the meaning of value questions in our contemporary world with special notice given to various challenges and contributions that characterize philosophy, art, religion, and science. Frequent assignments and papers will assess student competency in these areas.
Required Texts (in order of use):
- Evan Pritchard. No Word for Time: The Way of the Algonquin People. San Francisco: Council Oaks Books, 2001.
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Friedrich Nietzsche. The Genealogy of Morals. Trans. Francis Golffing. New York: Anchor Doubleday, 1956.
- Jean-Francois Lyotard. The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. Trans. Bennington & Massumi. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota, 1984.
- Hans-Georg Gadamer. The Relevance of the Beautiful: And other Essays. Trans. Nicholas Walker. Cambridge: Cambridge U, 1986.
- Jeremy R. Carrette. Foucault and Religion: Spiritual Corporality and Political Spirituality. London: Routledge, 2000.
- Edward Stein. The Mismeasure of Desire: The Science, Theory, and Ethics of Sexual Orientation. Oxford: Oxford U, 1999.
Course Requirements: The following areas each count for 25 percent of the final grade:
- Preparation, participation, and portfolio
- Paper One: on Pritchard and Nietzsche
- Paper Two: Lyotard and Gadamer
- Paper Three: Praxis, Science and Religion
Attendance Policy: Excused absences should be documented within two weeks. More than two unexcused absences will result in the deduction of a full letter from the final grade. After more than four unexcused absences, the instructor reserves the right to issue a failing grade for the course.
Praxis Report: Each student is required to undertake 12 hours of community service, attend two Praxis roundtables, and submit four pages of reflection on experience and scholarly literature related to the service activities (as part of the final paper).
Weather: Class will be canceled for weather reasons only in the event of official college closing. Please check the college weather line.
Schedule of inquiry:
Sep. 4-Introduction. The postmodern condition. Review of syllabus.
Part One: Pritchard and Nietzsche
In this section of the course we will review Pritchard's excursion into American Indian culture and Nietzsche's classic critique of morality. Taken together, these texts raise questions about the value of what counts for normal morality in the world today. Our first paper will review main challenges and opportunities for moral value that you find in the assigned texts (2 pages per author, total of four pages), and your own reflection on the value of moral norms as you find them today (2 pages). A paper of six pages will be due Oct. 5.
Assessment will be based on completeness of assignment, attention to scholarly habits of citation, composition, soundness of arguments, difficulty, and creativity of your chosen position.
Sep. 7-Into Another Country
Read: Pritchard, to page 61.
Preparation: Three paragraphs, typed. (1) Summarize the main points of the reading, (2) select a passage for critical attention, with brief evaluation, and (3) give an example from your own experience that would be interesting to discuss in light of the passage you selected.
Workshops: Share your preparations, helping to summarize, identify critical passages, and consider examples. Please be sure that each participant gets two to three minutes for presentation.
Forum: On issues and applications in Pritchard.
Sep. 11-Further Along the Path
Read: Pritchard, pp. 62-121.
Preparation: Three paragraphs, typed, as above (1) summarizing the text (2) selecting a key passage for critical response, and (3) suggesting an interesting example.
Workshops: As above, please allow each participant two to three minutes for presentation.
Forum: On issues and applications in Pritchard.
Praxis: Selecting service projects.
Sep. 14-Old Ones Teach Young Ones
Read: Pritchard, pp. 121-181.
Preparation: Three paragraphs: summary, critical selection, and interesting example.
Workshops: Sharing presentations & examples.
Forum: On nature & education.
Sep. 18-Micmac Nation
Read: Pritchard, pp. 181-239.
Preparation: Summary, critical selection, and interesting example.
Workshops: Sharing preparations & examples.
Forum: Micmac v. Big Mac?
Praxis: Announcing service projects.
Sep. 21-Nietzsche's Attack on Morals
Read: Nietzsche, Preface & First Essay: pp. 149-188.
Preparation: Summary, critical selection, and interesting example.
Workshops: Sharing preps, working out the argument.
Forum: Good & Evil revisited.
Sep. 25-Attacking Guilt and Bad Conscience
Read: Nietzsche, Second Essay: pp. 189-230.
Preparation: Summary, critical selection, and community service.
Workshops: Sharing preparations and reflections on community service..
Forum: Guilt, bad conscience and community service?
Sep. 28-Ascetics vs. Esthetics
Read: Nietzsche, Third Essay, pp. 231-299.
Preparation: Summary, critical selection, and interesting example.
Workshops: Sharing preps, working out the response.
Forum: Thus spoke Nietzsche.
Oct. 2-Brainstorming Paper One
Preparation: Scholarly outline, with quotes & cites of passages you plan to select for your paper, and conceptual outline with suggested arguments for your own review of moral values today.
Workshops: Sharing scholarship.
Forum: Brief reports.
Oct. 5- First Paper Workshop
Workshops: Sharing summaries.
Forum: Selected readings
Select Video: Contemporary predicament as art--a postmodern exploration.
Part Two. In the first part of the course, we read essays that challenged us to think about the value of morality today. The next two books speak to questions of knowledge and beauty, or philosophy and art. Once again, students will be asked to write a paper that presents important results from the readings (2 pages per author, 4 pages total), with the student's own reflections on the state of knowledge and art today (3 pages). A seven-page paper will be due Nov. 6.
Oct. 9-Knowledge Postmodern
Video Clip: Contemporary predicaments in art.
Read: Lyotard, pp. 3-17.
Preparation: Summary, critical selection, interesting example.
Workshops: Share preparations, work out the argument.
Forum: Knowledge under post-modern conditions.
Oct. 12-Pragmatics & Legitimations
Read: Lyotard, pp. 18-41.
Preparation: Summary, critical selection, and interesting example (perhaps from video?).
Workshops: Sharing preps, working out the argument.
Forum: Legitimation, delegitimation.
Video Clip
Oct. 16-Performativity & Instability
Read: Lyotard, pp. 41-60.
Preparation: Summary, critical selection, and interesting example.
Workshops: Sharing preps, working out the argument.
Forum: Heteromorphous paralogy?
Video Clip
Oct. 23-Getting to Play
New Video/Audio?
Read: Gadamer, pp. 3-31.
Preparation: Summary, critical selection, and interesting example.
Workshops: Sharing preps, working out the argument.
Forum: Plato, Baumgarten, & Kant. A unity of participation & play.
Oct. 26-Symbol
Read: Gadamer, pp. 31-39.
Preparation: Summary, critical selection, and community service.
Workshops: Sharing preps, community service, & working out the argument.
Forum: Community thru symbol.
Clips?
Oct. 30-Festival
Read: Gadamer, pp. 39-53.
Preparation: Summary, critical selection, and interesting example.
Workshops: Share preps, & working out the argument.
Forum: Beauty still?
Nov. 2-Brainstorming paper two
Preparation: Scholarly outline, with quotes & cites of passages you plan to select for your paper, and conceptual outline with suggested arguments for your own critical review.
Workshops: Sharing scholarship.
Forum: Brief reports.
Nov. 6-Second Paper Workshop
Workshops: Sharing summaries.
Forum: Selected readings.
Part Three. In this final part of the course we will explore two recent contributions to religion and sexuality. The study of religion finds inspiration in the postmodern work of Foucault. The study of sexuality raises critical concern with scientific accounts of sexual determinism. As with previous papers, students will be asked to explore the approaches of each author (2 pages each, total of 4 pages), and offer a critical assessment of the value of these studies (3 pages). In addition for this final paper, students will be asked to write four pages reflecting on their praxis experiences, with some research into a relevant social issue. The final paper of eleven pages will be due during the scheduled final exam.
Nov. 9--Silence or Confession
Read: Carette, pp. 25-43.
Preparation: Summary, critical selection, and interesting example.
Workshops: Share preps, & working out the argument.
Forum: Which is it? Religion as the spoken or the unspoken?
Surreal selections?
Nov. 13-Spirit of the Surreal
Wear: Sunglasses.
Read: Carrette, pp. 44-62.
Preparation: Summary, critical selection, and interesting example.
Workshops: Share preps, & working out the argument.
Forum: What the surreal works?
Surreal selections?
Nov. 16-Dark Theology
Read: Carrette, pp. 63-84.
Preparation: Summary, critical selection, and interesting example.
Workshops: Share preps, & working out the argument.
Forum: Redeeming the tragic body.
Nov. 20-Dionysian Silences
Read: Carrette, pp. 85-108.
Preparation: Summary, critical selection, and interesting example.
Workshops: Share preps, & working out the argument.
Forum: Negative theology and postmodern meanings.
Nov. 27-Practicing Belief
Read: Carrette, pp. 109-128.
Preparation: Summary, critical selection, and interesting example.
Workshops: Share preps, & working out the argument.
Forum: Belief is saying or doing?
Nov. 30--Spiritual Practice
Read: Carrette, pp. 129-152.
Preparation: Summary, critical selection, and community service.
Workshops: Share preps, & working out the argument.
Forum: Post-Nietzschean Post-Modernism?
Dec. 4-Metaphysical Issues in Sexuality
Read: Stein, Part I.
Preparation: Summary, critical selection, and interesting example.
Workshops: Share preps and present chapters.
Forum: Essentialism vs. Constructionism
Dec. 7-Determining Sciences
Read: Stein, Part II.
Preparation: Summary, critical selection, and interesting examples.
Workshops: Share preps and present chapters.
Forum: Predestination today?
Dec. 11-Rights of Inquiry
Read: Stein, Part III.
Preparation: Summary, critical selection, and interesting examples.
Workshops: Share preps and present chapters.
Forum: Ethics of science & sexuality.
Final Exam=Final Workshop-Sharing results and sample papers.
Contact Information
Office: 322 Fontaine
Phone: x2217
Email: greg.moses@marist.edu
WWW. gregmoses.net
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