PHIL 111
INTRODUCTION: KNOWLEDGE, REALITY, AND THE HUMAN CONDITION

1. Catalog Entry

PHIL 111. Introduction: Knowledge, Reality, and the Human Condition
Three hours lecture (3).

This course introduces students to philosophy through an examination of fundamental questions about the nature of reality, the possibility of knowledge, and the human search for meaning. By reading and discussing the work of several major philosophers, students learn to engage in careful and critical reflection on their own lives and on what it means to be a human being. This course has been approved for General Education credit in the Humanities Area of the curriculum.

2. Detailed Description of Content of Course

This course introduces students to philosophy both as an academic discipline with a significant history and a unique subject matter and as a highly personal enterprise of self-examination and critical inquiry. Students learn to engage in careful and sustained reflection on their own lives and times by reading, discussing, and writing about original texts of several major philosophers from throughout history. Because this course is taught by several instructors, the specific philosophers and texts may vary, but in every case students will be introduced to primary texts of such thinkers as Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Kant, and Nietzsche. Whether organized historically or topically, the course will involve students in the critical examination of fundamental questions in three broad areas of philosophical concern:

Questions about the nature of human knowledge:

What, if anything, can we know with certainty? How is knowledge possible? Are there limits to what can be known? Does all knowledge come from experience ? How can we distinguish genuine knowledge from belief or opinion?

Questions about the nature of reality:

What are the most basic characteristics of what we call reality? How can we distinguish reality from mere appearance? Is there a dimension to "being" beyond what we experience in ordinary life? Is there such a thing as mind or soul distinct from a material body?

Questions about the nature of the self, value, and the human condition:

What is a self? How is a self related to others and to a world? Is there such a thing as free will? Is there a universal good in human life? How do human beings find or create meaning in their lives? How do we find or create value? Is there a best way for human beings to order their individual lives and their communities?

By thinking about these and similar questions in a systematic way and in the company of some of the world's greatest philosophers, students will gain not only a basic understanding about what philosophy is and how it is relevant to their lives, but also a deeper understanding of the human condition itself--of what it means to be a human being.

3. Detailed Description of Conduct of Course

Though primarily a lecture course, this course will also involve students in small group and open class discussion and in a variety of formal and informal writing activities. Because this course is taught by several instructors, the specific format may vary, but in every case the course will involve a plurality of instructional strategies designed to engage students in doing philosophy and not just learning about philosophers. Whether or not a formal research paper is assigned in the class, students will be expected to employ basic research skills, including the use of computer technology, to investigate and gather information on various topics and figures discussed in class. Among the teaching activities students can expect in this course are the following:

• Lecture and discussion led by instructor
• Small-group discussion
• In-class formal or informal debates
• Individual and group oral presentations
• Informal in-class and out-of-class writing assignments
• Journals
• Individual and collaborative research activities involving library and Internet searches
• Written and oral analysis of texts
• Written summaries/evaluations of out-of-class events

4. Goals and Objectives of the Course

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to demonstrate:

(1) a basic understanding of the nature and methods of philosophy as an academic discipline
(2) a basic knowledge of some of the most important thinkers and most fundamental issues in the Western philosophical tradition
(3) an awareness of the value of logical clarity and precision in both thought and expression
(4) an appreciation of the relevance that philosophy--as critical reflection on one's experience and one's world--has in their own lives.

Broad General Education Goals

As part of the General Education program, this course is designed to help students achieve a number of broad learning goals in addition to the course-specific goals identified above. Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:

• Think critically and creatively about the ideas, issues and problems encountered in the texts and lectures of the course.
• Identify and analyze logical arguments in the texts and construct logical and persuasive arguments appropriate to the subject matter of the course.
• Employ basic research skills, including the use of computer technology, to investigate and gather information on various topics and figures discussed in class.
• Work cooperatively with others in small group discussions, research projects, and presentations.
• Identify personal and cultural assumptions and values underlying the views presented in the texts and by classmates.

Goals for Area 4 - Humanities

In addition to the course-specific goals and the broad General Education learning goals indicated above, this course is intended to help students achieve a number of learning objectives in the Humanities Area of the General Education program. In particular, upon successful completion of this course students should be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the general nature and various methods of inquiry in the humanities.
• Demonstrate an appreciation of the characteristically human quest for meaning, value, and order in life.
• Analyze and evaluate historically and culturally diverse conceptions of the meaning and purpose of human life.
• Interpret and critically evaluate classical and contemporary philosophical texts as diverse expressions of the human condition.
• Discuss in speech and writing the relevance of humanistic inquiry into meaning and value as this relates to their own lives.

5. Assessment Measures

Student progress in achieving the course-specific objectives and the General Education goals established for this course will be measured in a variety of ways. Because this course is taught by several instructors, the specific assessment instruments employed may vary, but in every case the instructor will employ a number of the following methods to evaluate aspects of student learning:

• Graded and ungraded homework assignments may be used to measure the student's ability to read texts carefully, to identify underlying values and assumptions, to articulate central concepts, to analyze and construct logical arguments, and to employ basic research methods.
• Journals may be used to measure the development of self-reflection and progress in critical and creative thinking about the ideas, issues, and texts of the course.
• Class discussions, debates, and small group discussion may be used to measure the student's logical reasoning and oral communication skills as well as the student's ability to work with others in a shared process of inquiry.
• Individual and group oral presentations may be used to measure the student's understanding of particular philosophical positions or issues as well as the student's ability to present logical and persuasive arguments.
• Quizzes and objective tests may be used to measure the student's basic knowledge of the course material and the student's ability to read carefully and think with clarity.
• Essay exams may be used to measure the student's understanding of the nature and methods of philosophy, knowledge of the course material, ability to analyze and construct arguments, and ability to think and to write with clarity.
• Research reports may be used to measure the student's ability to employ appropriate research methods and technologies.
• Term papers may be used to measure the student's understanding of the nature of philosophical inquiry and knowledge of specific figures or issues addressed in the course, as well as to measure the student's ability to develop a sustained and persuasive argument, to think and write with clarity, and to demonstrate an appreciation of the significance of philosophy to his or her own life and concerns.
  

7. Other Course Information

Approval and Subsequent Reviews

Date Action Reviewed by
July 1991 Compilation from all instructors
May 1994 Reviewed Kim J. Kipling
May 1995 Catalog entry revised Kim J. Kipling
January 27, 1997 Title change, catalog description Approved by Revision VPAA
April 17, 1998 Reviewed Kim J. Kipling
March 31, 1999 Syllabus revised Kim J. Kipling
September 18, 2001 Reviewed Kim J. Kipling