Course Information

for Philosophy 205, Fall 1997

Mr. Hugh McDonald's class

Classes are on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 09:40 to 11:00 in Room 306 in St. Vincent's Hall.
I will most likely be in the library from 11:00 to 13:00 if you need to consult with me.
Course Calendar
Attendance and Makeup Assignments
The Paper
Texts and required readings
Go back to First Page of Introduction to Philosophy

Calendar of Classes
Tuesdays	Thursdays	Tuesdays	Thursdays
	September 4	September 9	September 11
September 16	September 18	September 23 Class in Vin. 203 on using Internet	September 25
September 30	October 2	October 7	October 11
Monday Oct. 13 is Columbus Day
October 14	October 16	October 21	October 23
Friday Oct. 24 Midterm ends.
October 28	October 30	November 4	November 6
Friday, November 7: Last day for course withdrawal without permission
November 11	November 13	November 18 PAPERS DUE!	November 20
Tuesday, November 25: Thanksgiving begins after Last Class
Monday Dec. 1 classes resume
December 2	December 4	December 9	December 11
Tuesday, December 16:Examination Week begins
Wednesday, Dec. 17, 14:10-16:00 Phi205 exam
Saturday December 20, Fall Semester Ends

Texts and Readings

The Required Books
Title	Author
Samuel Stumpf	Elementsof Philosophy, 1993 Edition
Thomas Aquinas edited by J. Vernon Bourke	The Pocket Aquinas
Martin O. Vaske S.J	On Being Human
Plato	The Phaedo

Readings

Mandated Readings
book	Page numbers	Topic
On Being Human Vaske	The entire book	This book is a complete and systematic treatment of the philosophy of man.
The Phaedo Plato	The entire book	This is one of Plato's dialogues. Socrates tries to move beyond mythological explanations to a philosophical exposition of the human soul.
The Elements of Philosophy Stumpf	pp. 5-11	An example of the Socratic Method of dialogue, feigned ignorance, definition.
	pp. 251-267	Theory of Knowledge - Plato's Allegory of the Cave
	pp. 261-267	Descartes and the Methodic Doubt
	pp. 304-308	Immanuel Kant -- the apriori conditions of knowledge.
	pp. 314-320	William James and Pragmatism
	p. 355	Thomas Aquinas on the relation of natural reason and grace.
Elements of Philosophy cont...	pp. 358-360	William James and the Will to Believe
	pp. 362-367	Bertrand Russell on Agnosticism
	p. 375	St. Anselm of Canterbury and his argument for the existence of God
	pp. 379-381	Aquinas and his Five Ways of showing the existence of God
	pp. 382-389	William Paley and the Argument from Design for God's existence
	pp. 414-419	Aristotle and the Four Causes
Elements of Philosophy cont...	pp. 424-429	Lucretius and Atomism
	pp. 429-432	Eddington on Atoms
	pp. 440-446	Berkeley denies the reality of matter
	pp. 454-455	Descartes on relation of Mind/Body
	pp. 474-478	Kierkegaard and Death
	pp. 471-474	Hume's Denial of Personal Immortality
The Pocket Aquinas ed. J. Vernon Bourke	pp. 23-35	Intellectual Meaning and Vocal Signs Man's Knowledge of His Own Soul How the Human Intellect is Known On Knowing God Demonstrative Science Knowledge of First Principles Indemonstrable Propositions Sensory Induction to First Principles
The Pocket Aquinas ed. J. Vernon Bourke	pp. 61-78	Principles, Causes and Natural Generation
The Pocket Aquinas ed. J. Vernon Bourke	pp. 97-142	Defining Soul; Psychic Powers of Man; Man's Soul and its Potencies; Volitional Activity and Necessity Free Choice; Union of Soul and Body; Incorruptibility of the Human Soul
	pp. 152-177	Being, Essence and the Act of Existing; The Act of Being; Natures - individual or universal?; God's existence demonstrated from motion; God as cause of existing; Being as One True and Good; Analogy; Potency and Act; Four Causes
	pp. 232-235	Society, Liberty and Government

Attendance Policy

Each absence will result in a deductin of two numeric grade points (out of 100), up to 30 grade points. This policy begins on the second day of class. These demerit points can be redeemed by writing a short paper of 1 to 2 typed pages. The topic of the make-up paper will be decided by the instructor (myself), and will be posted on this page, with a make-up topic assigned for each date.

Make up Assignments for Absence

Tuesday September 9th - What is the relation of Wisdom and Science? Two typed pages, use readings from Pocket Aquinas, p. 28-29, and at least on other annotated source.

Thursday September 11th - What is a principle? Library research. Two typed pages. Annotate your sources.

Tuesday September 16th - What are the Four Causes according to Aristotle? Two typed pages.

Thursday September 18th - What are the First Principles of Reason? Two typed pages.(See First Principles in New Catholic Encyclopedia, or Laws of Reason in Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Tuesday Sept 23rd - Who controls the Internet? (1 page typed - research)

Thursday Sept 26th - What are the various ways to define things? ("Definition" - use library resources, Two typed pages)

Tuesday Sept 30th - What are various logical fallacies - two typed pages

Thursday October 2nd - Describe Analogy, Univocity and Equivocity - 2 typed pages
Tuesday October 7th - What is Nominalism? - 2 typed pages
Thursday October 9th - Distinguish Act and Potency - 2 typed pages
Tuesday October 14th - Distinguish Substance and Accidents - 2 typed pages
Thursday October 16th - Distinguish Essence and Existence - 2 typed pages
Tuesday October 21 - test - no attendance
Thursday October 23 - attendance not taken
Tuesday October 28 - what is teleology? - 2 typed pages
Thursday October 30 - what is the common or unitive sense? - 2 typed pages
Tuesday November 4 - Compare the estimative sense in animals to the particular reason in humans - 2 typed pages
Thursday November 6 - Concupiscible and Irascible appetite - 2 typed pages
Tuesday November 11 - The ultimate object of the human will - 2 typed pages
Thursday November 13 - The immateriality of the human intellect -2 typed pages
Tuesday November 18 - PAPER DUE
Thursday November 20 - St. Anselm's proof for the existence of God - 2 typed pages
Tuesday, November 25: - Mindmap diagram of Thomas' 5 proofs of existence of God - 1 large page
December 2 - Transcendental concepts - Being, One, Thing, Something
December 4 - Transcendental concepts - Good, True, Beautiful
December 9 - Empiricism and Positivism
December 11 - NO DEMERIT FOR ABSENCE - review

The Paper

The Paper is worth 20% of the total mark. It must be 7 to 10 typed pages. The paper must substantially incorporate original texts found in the readings. I do not require a bibliography, but all citations must be fully annotated. This means that you must mention the author, the title of the work, the year of publication, the page numbers. If you use a citation from Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas or another philosopher, do not merely cite the page number of a collection, but include the name of the original work from which it is drawn. For example:

We may find in Aquinas' political theory a form of government not unlike that of a modern democratic state: Indeed,such is the best polity, formed by a good mixture of kingship, in the sense that one person is the chief, and aristocracy, in the sense that many men rule according to virtue, and democracy (that is, the power of the people), in the sense that leaders can be elected from among the populace, and further, that the choice of the ruler belongs to the people.[3] Although the citation mentions "kingship", a monarch is simply the single ruler, and an elected president could be considered a king for the sake of this argument. The "aristocracy" could correspond to such a body as the U.S. Senate which is elected, or the Canadian Senate, whose senators are appointed for life. It could also refer to the bureaucracy, wherein indeed all positions are achieved solely by merit.ENDNOTES 3. Thomas Aquinas, Summa of Theology,I-II, 105, 1, c., in Bourke, p. 235.