PHIL 100 Section 005
Spring 2012
Course Materials
For the ancient Greeks, the owl was a symbol of philosophy, as well as of many other things. Why this owl has a spear, a shield, and an excellent owl-size helmet, not to mention a human-like arm, is not clear. Possibly it is fed up with goat attacks ?
Course information
Prof. Cherubin's office: Robinson B 461
Office phone: 3-1332
Email: rcherubi (at) gmu.edu
Links to online readings
Weeks 1-2 (Jan. 24 - Feb. 2)
Cherubin, The First Philosophers of Ancient Greece (optional)Cherubin, Notes
on Plato's Euthyphro (required)
King, Letter
from
Birmingham
Jail in .pdf format (required)
Week 4 (Feb. 14-16)
You will receive the reading from Aristotle's Metaphysics in class (it is a photocopy), but if you would like to get a head start, there is another good translation of the text available on the web. Click on this link, then click on Book I. We will be reading only the first 2 chapters of Book I. (Book I is the same as Book A.)
Cherubin, Notes
on
Aristotle's Metaphysics A1-2 (Book A is the
same as Book I.) Required reading.
Weeks 5 and 6 (Feb. 21 - March 1)
Optional supplementary notes on the connections among philosophy, the Scientific Revolution in the 17th century in Europe, and the political revolutions in Europe and the Americas in the 18th century (these notes were developed for my HIST 100 section)
Fowler, Life of Galileo (University of Virginia) This page is required reading. If you are interested in Galileo's new vision of science, follow the links to Prof. Fowler's other excellent pages of notes (optional).
Notes on Descartes' Discourse Part Four This page is required reading.
Notes
on Descartes' Discourse Part Five This page
is required reading.
Weeks 7 and 8 (March 6 - 22)
Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human
Understanding. This text is available in hard
copy in the Bookstore. Click on this link to reach the table of
contents. The sections we will be reading are Sections I, II,
III, IV, V, VII, and XII. If you would like to download the
whole book onto a computer, disk, USB drive, etc., see the
instructions on the table of contents page.
Weeks 9-11 (March 27 - April 12)
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan : Click on this link to reach the table of contents for Leviathan, the required reading by Thomas Hobbes. Once you reach the table of contents for Leviathan, click on Chapters 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 21. We will NOT be reading the other chapters of Leviathan - just these. If you would like to download the whole book onto a disk, see the instructions at the bottom of the table of contents page.
John Locke, Second
Treatise of Civil Government : Click on this link to
reach the table of contents for the Second Treatise of Civil
Government, the required reading by John Locke. Once you
reach the table of contents for the Second Treatise of Civil
Government, click on Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7. We
will NOT be reading the other chapters of the Second
Treatise of Civil Government - just these six. If you
would like to download the whole book onto a disk, see the
instructions at the bottom of the table of contents page.
Mary Wollstonecraft, A
Vindication of the Rights of Woman (optional): Click on
the link to reach the table of contents. The recommended chapter
is 9.
The
American
Constitution,
Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence
This
link
goes to the main National Archives Experience page. To reach
each document (Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration), click
on the headings near the top of the page. This will bring you to
pages introducing the documents; from there, click on "read
transcript" to see the text of the documents.
John Stuart Mill, On Liberty : Click on
this link to reach the table of contents. We'll be reading
Chapters 1, 2, and 4 (required). Chapters 3 and 5 are optional.
John Stuart Mill, The
Subjection of Women (optional): Click on this link to
reach the table of contents. Recommended chapters are 2 and 3.
Weeks 12-14 (April 17 - May 3)
Optional
supplementary
notes on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics
A scan of Alain Locke's "The Ethics of
Culture."
Writing guide and other helpful information on writing in philosophy
Writing Guide
for Philosophy, by Philosophy Writing Fellows in
collaboration with Prof. Cherubin, with contributions by
additional members of the Philosophy Department, and with
support from the Writing Across the Curriculum Program.
Criteria for good
writing in philosophy (developed by the GMU Philosophy
Department with support from the Writing Center)
Examples
of
Plagiarism
vs. Examples of Legitimate Use of Material Written by Others
(developed by Prof. Cherubin)
A
nicely detailed and well-explained page on plagiarism from
Indiana University
Effective
Argumentation:
Identifying
and Avoiding Fallacies (PowerPoint presentation by Prof.
Cherubin)
Tips
for
writing
effective arguments (.doc form; by Prof. Cherubin)
More on argumentation: "Statements,
Arguments,
Validity,
Soundness, and Informal Fallacies" (compiled by Prof.
Roger Paden, Philosophy Department, GMU)
Prof. Cherubin's main web page