Fall 2003 Philosophy 200L (sec. 2)
MW
Problems in
Philosophy: Technology, the Self, God, and Nature
Rex Gilliland
Classroom: Engleman C104
Office: Engleman D210
Office Hours: MWF 11 am – 12 pm,
MW 3:15 – 4:15 pm,
and by appointment.
Phone: 392-6783
Email: gillilandr1@southernct.edu
For guidelines on
writing a philosophy paper, see: www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/humanities/philosophy.html
Schedule
W 9/3 Introduction to the Course
M 9/8 Plato, Euthyphro 41-53 (photocopy)
Topic: What is philosophy?
W 9/10 Plato cont. 53-61
M 9/15 Definitions and Encyclopedia Entries
Topic: What is technology, and what is its relation to nature and culture?
W 9/17 Cont.
M 9/22 Bellamy, Looking Backward 1-95
Topic: Utopian conceptions of technology
W 9/24 Film:
Chaplin, Modern Times; Short Paper #1 Due Paper Guidelines
Topic: Dystopian conceptions of technology
M 9/29 Dostoevsky, Notes from the Underground 14-21
W 10/1 Teleology and Mechanism (photocopies)
M 10/6 Aquinas,
“
Copleston and Russell, “A Debate on the Existence of God” introduction and the argument from contingency www.bringyou.to/apologetics/p20.htm
Topic: Cosmological Argument; The influence of technology on the conception of God
W 10/8 Paley, Natural Theology chs. 1 & 5
www-phil.tamu.edu/~gary/intro/paper.paley.html; Short Paper #2 Due Paper Guidelines
Topic: Design Argument
M 10/13 Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (photocopy)
W 10/15 Introduction 323-327; McCloskey 328-345 (Kline)
Topic: Problem of Evil
M 10/20 Introduction 161-165; Joad 166-171; Robinson 171-179 (Kline)
Topic: Mind/Body Problem; The influence of technology on our conception of the human being
W 10/22
M 10/27 Introduction
215-218; Evans 219-231 (Kline)
Topic: Artificial Intelligence
W 10/29 Film: Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control;
M 11/3 Hunt 232-238 (Kline)
W 11/5 Introduction 367-369; Tolstoy 389-398 (Kline); Short Paper #3 Due Paper Guidelines
Topic: The Meaning
of Life
M 11/10 Sartre 398-308 (Kline)
W 11/12 Stallman, “Why Software Should Be Free”
www.gnu.org/philosophy/shouldbefree.html
Topic: The Ethics of Filesharing
M 11/17 Volkman, “Software Ownership and Natural Rights” www.southernct.edu/organizations/rccs/resources/research/intellectual_property/volkman_nat-rights.html
W 11/19 Global Inequality and the Distribution of Technology (photocopy);
Short Paper #4 Due Paper Guidelines
M 11/24 Domination of Nature; The influence of technology on our conception of nature (photocopy)
W 11/26 Thanksgiving
M 12/1 Thoreau, Walden
W 12/3 Lao
Tzu, Tao Te Ching; Short Paper #5 Due Paper Guidelines
M 12/8 Critical Theory (photocopy)
W 12/10 Heidegger, “The Question Concerning Technology” (photocopy)
Final Exam M 12/15