PHIL 200
Introduction to Philosophy
Fall 2015
Oran Magal
Lectures: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 8:35-9:25, Adams Auditorium
Office hours: Monday & Wednesday 10:00–11:00, Leacock 941
What is this course about?
What is philosophy? There is no better way to answer this question than to engage in philosophy together.
We begin with Socrates: on trial for his life, he explains what philosophy is and why it is valuable both
for a person’s own life and for society at large. From there, we go on to discuss a range of other topics,
drawing both on ‘classical’ and contemporary readings. Each topic is discussed briefly; the idea is to
introduce a few of the main questions and arguments concerning each topic, as an invitation to further
reading and study.
Topics:
1. The trial of Socrates: what is the value of philosophy?
2. Freedom of speech and its limits
3. Conflicts of duty, moral dilemmas, lawful and unlawful orders
4. Just and unjust wars and the ethics of warfare
5. Searching for secure foundations for knowledge, and whether there are any
6. Faith and reason: theodicy and the problem of evil
7. Science vs. pseudo-science; do we ‘believe in science’?
8. Dilemmas of the near future: human cloning and genetic engineering
9. The ‘absurdity’ and point of existence
10. Is artificial intelligence possible?
11. Time travel and its paradoxes
Required background:
No previous background required.
Required reading material:
All reading materials will be provided on the course website. No textbook or other purchase necessary.
Marking and Assessment:
The final mark is composed of weekly reading assignments (20%), one short essay with one round of
revisions (25% + 5%), and a final exam (50%). Full details will be given in class and on the course website.
Policy for Late Work: Extensions to deadlines set will be granted only in exceptional circumstances,
usually only for medical reasons and with a medical note or other, similar emergencies, appropriately
documented. Late work will be penalized at the rate of 3 percentage points per day overdue.
McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism
and other academic offences under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures (see www. mcgill. ca/ integrity ).
Introduction to Philosophy: List of Readings
Oran Magal
Department of Philosophy
McGill University, Montreal
Fall 2015
September 4-11, 2015
Introduction: What is philosophy? Socrates as a rôle-model:
The Trial of Socrates: Plato, The Apology
Optional: Plato, Euthyphro
September 14-18, 2015
Freedom of Thought and Speech:
J. S. Mill, On Liberty (excerpts)
D. van Mill, “Free Speech”
September 21-25, 2015
Conflicts of Duty and Moral Dilemmas:
Plato, Crito
Sartre, Existentialism is Humanism (excerpt)
Optional: Plato, Euthyphro
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September 28-October 2, 2015
Philosophy in a time of violence, part I:
M. Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars (excerpts)
B. Orend, “War” (excerpts)
October 5-9, 2015
Philosophy in a time of violence, part II:
Is torture ever morally permissible?
H. Shue, “Torture”
A. Dershowitz, “Should the Ticking Bomb Terrorist Be Tortured?”
October 12-16, 2015
Searching for the foundations of knowledge: Plato, Descartes
Plato, Meno (excerpts)
Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (excerpts)
Optional: Plato, Protagoras ,Meno (full text), Gorgias
October 19-23, 2015
Against the search for foundations: Nietzsche, Wittgenstein
F. Nietzsche, On Truth and Lies in a Non-Moral Sense
L. Wittgenstein, On Certainty (excerpts)
October 26-30, 2015
Faith and reason, part I:
The rationality of belief and the problem of evil
J. L. Mackie, “Evil and Omnipotence”
J. Hick, Evil and the God of Love (excerpt)
November 2-6, 2015
Faith and reason, part II:
Science and pseudo-science; do we ‘believe in science’?
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K. Popper, Conjectures and Refutations (excerpts)
Optional: R. T. Pennock, “Demarcation Revisited”
November 9-13, 2015
Philosophical dilemmas of the near future:
May we clone human beings? Should we ‘design’ perfect children?
M. Sandel, “The Case Against Perfection”
L. Kass, “Preventing A Brave New World”
November 16-20, 2015
Our existence as ‘absurd’ and yet worthwhile:
S. Kiekegaard, Fear and Trembling (excerpts)
F. Nietzsche, The Gay Science (excerpts)
F. Kafka, “Before the Law” (short story)
A. Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus (excerpts)
November 23-27, 2015
The Possibility of Artificial Intelligence:
J. Searle on the “Chinese Room” Thought Experiment
T. Bison, “They’re Made out of Meat” (short story)
Optional: D. Cole, “Chinese Room” (SEP entry)
November 30-December 7, 2015
Time Travel and the Reality of Time:
D. Lewis, “The Paradoxes of Time Travel”
Optional: J. E. McTaggart, “The Unreality of Time”
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