Professor S. Rodde
roddesw@yorku.ca

Times and locations: This course depends on remote teaching and learning. There will be no in-person interactions or activities on campus. The online lectures will be delivered live (synchronously) on Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:30-12:30, and a recording of the lectures will be posted on moodle for students who are unavailable during class time.

Virtual office hours: Virtual office hours will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays at around 5:00 using Zoom.

Philosophical problems arise in many contexts. In this course we will look at a number of these problems, the some of the positions that have been taken on them, the arguments have been put forward in support of those positions, and possible problems with these arguments. During the first week of class students will vote for the problems that they would like to study. The choices are:

• Destiny: Do human beings possess free will? (Edwards, Stace, Kane, Frankfurt)
• Desire: Does the good life lie in the satisfaction of whatever desire we happen to have? (Plato)
• Death: Is death an evil? (Epicurus and Lucretius, Nagel, Williams)
• Dream: Are dreams significant? (Aristotle, Cicero, Freud)
• Doubt: Can I be certain of anything? (Sextus Empiricus, Descartes, Russell)
• Dialectic: Why should we accept a scientific theory? (Aristotle, Popper, Kuhn)
• Distributive Justice: Can a just society permit vast inequality? (Mill, Rawls, Nozick, Moller-Okin)
• Dualism: Is the mind separate from the body? (Descartes, Smart, Nagel)
• Deceit: When is it okay to lie? (Aristotle, Kant, Mill)
• Divine: Is it reasonable to believe that miracles have occurred? (Hume, Mackie, Hudson)
• Diabolic: Does the existence of evil provide a good reason for thinking that god doesn’t exist? (Hume, Mackie, Hick, Rowe)
• Diversity: Should minority groups have group-differentiated rights? (Barry, Klymlicka, Shachar

Students will select six of the topics, and the TAs and the instructor will each select one. Through an examination of primary texts students will gain an understanding of some of the positions which have been taken on these issues and the arguments for those positions.

Technical requirements for taking the course: This course will be delivered fully online. You will need a stable internet connection to access the lectures, participate in online discussions and upload your work. You will also need a computer with a microphone. A webcam is desirable but not required.

Here are some useful links for student computing information, resources and help:

Student Guide to Moodle

Zoom@YorkU Best Practices 

Zoom@YorkU User Reference Guide

Computing for Students Website

Student Guide to eLearning at York University

To determine Internet connection and speed, there are online tests, such as Speedtest, that can be run.]

There is no textbook in this course. All readings will be posted on Moodle as links or as files for download

Reflective Summaries (2). . . 20% (Due before material is covered in lecture)

Online Commentaries (20) . ..10% (Due before material covered in lecture)

Essays (2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40%

Interactive Assignment. . . . . .10%

Final Exam. . . .  . . . . . . . . . . .20%

This course has both synchronous (live) and asynchronous elements. Most of the coursework can be completed on your own time. However, there will be an online  final exam in April that must be written at a time scheduled by the Registrar’s Office. There will also be an interactive component to the course which can be completed synchronously or asynchronously

Students are strongly encouraged to watch and participate in the lectures synchronously (live) as it allows students to ask questions while the material is being covered. However, students are only required to participate synchronously for the final exam.

By the end of this course you will have read selections from the works of a number of philosophers and you should have a basic familiarity with their views. In addition, you should have developed your ability to:

• Read and understand difficult and challenging texts
• Critically assess the strengths and weaknesses of arguments
• Appreciate unfamiliar ideas and points of view
• Write clearly, concisely and effectively in support of your claims

• At the end of the course you will have the opportunity to complete a course evaluation. These evaluations are taken seriously. They enable us to improve the course design, and they figure prominently in the evaluation of instructors.
• A late penalty of 2%/day will be given for late assignments or essays.
• The online commentaries must be submitted before the start of lecture. The reflective summaries must be submitted before the material has been covered in class.
• Students may not duplicate, copy and/or distribute recordings of the lectures without the instructor’s permission. These recordings are protected by copyright laws, and the university may take disciplinary or legal action against students who violate copyright.