Emerson: think for yourself

Actually, I think you can both "absorb" and think for yourself. In fact, people who don't absorb others' (best) thoughts tend to think a little too highly of their own.

“On this day in 1837, Emerson delivered his famous “American Scholar” address at Harvard. He told the students to think for themselves rather than absorb thought, to create rather than repeat, and not to look to Europe for cultural models.” https://t.co/ZDv3B77m8r

— Phil Oliver (@OSOPHER) August 31, 2020

John Post

John gave me my first footnote citation, in his book "Faces of Existence"... He was a kind man, and a humane philosopher. https://t.co/uOPyLWJzU6

— Phil Oliver (@OSOPHER) August 31, 2020

You should all now be able to post comments...

I've tweaked some settings on the site, so everyone should now be able to post your introductions and comments in the appropriate comments sections. 

I'm not sure yet if we'll be able to add more Authors now, but let's plan in any case to conduct most of our day-to-day conversation in the comments sections beneath my posts. You won't need to do a longer Author post until the midterm assignment is due in October. 

We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Thanks for your patience.

jpo

Dogs have their day

A day late, but...

It’s #InternationalDogDay? pic.twitter.com/pBAR3kP5Fd

— Phil Oliver (@OSOPHER) August 27, 2020

pic.twitter.com/wAmlvlJAgx

— Phil Oliver (@OSOPHER) August 27, 2020

Hegel's birthday

🎂It’s the birthday of philosopher Georg Hegel (books by this author), born in Stuttgart (1770). He started out as a theologian, particularly interested in how Christianity is a religion based on opposites: sin and salvation, earth and heaven, finite and infinite. He believed that Jesus had emphasized love as the chief virtue because love can bring about the marriage of opposites. Hegel eventually went beyond theology and began to argue that the subject of philosophy is reality, and he hoped to describe how and why human beings create communities and governments, make war, destroy each other’s societies, and then build themselves up to do it all over again.

He came up with the concept of dialectic, the idea that all human progress is driven by the conflict between opposites, that each political movement is imperfect and so gives rise to a counter movement that takes control — and that is also imperfect — and gives rise to yet another counter movement, and so on to infinity. Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx argued that the most important dialectic of history was between worker and master, rich and poor, and their ideas led to the birth of communism. TWA

Questions Aug 26/27

LISTEN. W 26/Th 27 Socrates and Plato-LH1, FL 1-2, HWT Intro & prologue. How the World Thinks, and other things (my Wednesday dawn post)...
==

ZOOM Recordings (these links will be archived in the right sidebar):

TUE 25 #10, Passcode: m&KG.0tf
TUE 25 #11, Passcode: 9&W9p%bL

==

Some questions* for you to ponder, and write about in your weekly essay if you wish. But you can write about anything in or prompted by our texts you'd like. This first week, your introduction can count as your weekly 3-point essay. I encourage you to formulate and respond to your own and your classmates' discussion questions, and not just mine.

You get 3 points for that weekly essay, and up to 2 more each week if you've posted two additional comments. Include a brief summary of all your online activity with each weekly essay (you can go back and edit those, if you've posted or commented or just had new thoughts you want to share late in the week.) Your weekly summary can look something like this:

• Tuesday: posted an essay called [Your title here]-3 points
• Wednesday: commented on Joe Blow's essay called [Whatever]-1 point
• Thursday: commented on Sue Who's essay called [Whatever]-1 point
• Thursday" commented on Bill Chill's essay called [Whatever]

Notice, you max out at 5 points each week... but additional comments look good and earn your professor's respect (which could come in handy, at grading time).

==

*Discussion Questions (DQs)

• Do you agree with Socrates' conception of what a successful conversation looks like (see LH p.2), or his definition of wisdom (p.3)?
• Do you think Plato was on the right track when he compared the human condition to that of cave-dwellers who are clueless about what's "outside"? (p.5)
• Would you want to live in Plato's so-called utopian Republic? (p.6)

• Have we become a nation more interested in "truthiness" than truth, in alternative "facts" and fake "realities"? (FL p.4)
• Are you with the 2/3 of Americans who believe in angels and demons (etc.)? (p.6)
• Do you agree with Martin Luther's "only prerequisite for being a good Christian"? (17)

• Do you enjoy encountering new (to you) ideas, philosophies, religions, traditions etc., and comparing them to your own? Do you find value in that? Do you think most people do? (HWT p.xiv)
• Do you agree that we cannot understand ourselves if we do not understand others? (xviii)
• Do you value reason and rationality, and generally the notion that we all have an obligation to base our ideas on defensible reasons? (xxiv)
• Are multi-cultural, multi-lingual persons and societies more creative and insightful? (xxxii)

This is fun, and quite plausible. https://t.co/a38RUYehXV

— Nigel Warburton (@philosophybites) August 26, 2020

URGENT, Please Read: New Zoom times & links

Due to schedule conflicts and an address error in previous communications, we have a new Zoom meeting plan for TTh, and new Meeting IDs for all. Check your Tuesday morning email for the correct info. I'm told my emails have been going to Outlook folders in D2L, perhaps that's why some have not seen them. Also, note that the Author invitations are coming not from me but from Blogger. Perhaps some have overlooked them, on that account. If any of you can offer clear instructions to your classmates as to where they can find these rogue emails and Author invites, please share that in a comment below.

CoPhi #10 TTh 1 pm

CoPhi #11 TTh 2:40 pm 

CoPhi #12 MW 1 pm

Sorry for the confusion.

jpo
==
Postscript. Here's the link to the session recording for #10 Tuesday-
Zoom recording T25 #10-https://mtsu.zoom.us/rec/share/2cpTL7DrrGZJT5HW82rSRPYsH7vVX6a8gSEZ8vENnUsPxeSVUHr7fKtxLpHHx-P9, Passcode: m&KG.0tf

#11-
https://mtsu.zoom.us/rec/share/xehVILer0kNISaOXzW7cCqoaOd7sT6a81ilIq_VcmRt6N-MT0ga5d2KFuKnVCB5L Passcode: 9&W9p%bL

If you missed yesterday's Zoom...

you can join us for today's at 2 pm. Check your latest email  (Tuesday morning) for the link.
==
Opening Day, part 2 (from my blog Up@dawn)

LISTEN. Opening Day on Zoom was indeed different, and a bit rushed. I didn't get around to saying everything I'd intended. Congress-people read things into the record all the time, why can't I? So, for the record (and since today is still Opening Day, for the students who'll be Zooming with me at 2 pm)... (continues)

Open your author invitations please

There are still 40+ unopened author invitations on our site. Open them, please, and post your intro.

For those who are confused about this: author invitations come from Google Blogger, not directly from me. They're different from the Zoom-link email.

Check your spam folder to see if yours ended up there. If you can't find it let me know, I'll have them send another.

A writer you should know

Margaret Renkl is a Nashville resident who writes a wise weekly column for the national newspaper of record, the New York Times. Here's how she concludes her latest essay.

We may be in the middle of a story we don’t know how will end, or even whether it will end, but we are not helpless characters created and directed by an unseen novelist. We have the power, even in this Age of Anxiety, to enfold ourselves in small comforts, in the joy of tiny pleasures. We can walk out into the dark and look up at the sky. We can remind ourselves that the universe is so much bigger than this fretful, feverish world, and it is still expanding. And still filled with stars.

Her essays are consistently good, as is her first book Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss. I don't know if she'd say so herself, but she's a worthy philosopher.

Opening Day, sorta

Just got word that Zoom is malfunctioning this morning, let's hope it works at 1 pm. jpo

UPDATE, 4:20 pm. Well it worked well enough, good to see so many of you. Looking forward to seeing the rest tomorrow... and if you're in section #12 and missed today's session, feel free to join tomorrow's at 2 if you can. Unfortunately, though, today's recording apparently didn't happen. Not sure why, it worked fine for my Environmental Ethics class.  Hope it works tomorrow.

If you've not yet opened your Author invitation (which is not the same as the email with the zoom link), please do so. If you need another, let me know ASAP. jpo

First day of the fall semester. The new normal. Video lectures, zoom meetings, virtual office hours, discussion boards, Blackboard... pic.twitter.com/JVBaqjY1ZU

— Gregg Caruso (@GreggDCaruso) August 17, 2020

First day of the 2020 Fall term.

Good luck, and stay safe. pic.twitter.com/YsFoa7ePbE

— Robert Talisse (@RobertTalisse) August 24, 2020

I believe that it was OTD in 1989 that I decided to change my college major from Econ to Philosophy.

When I told my dad of my plan, he was puzzled, but not unsupportive. However, he sincerely asked, “The professors who teach that major... do they get paid?”

— Robert Talisse (@RobertTalisse) August 22, 2020

Introductions

LISTEN. Opening Day will be a little different this year. 2020 has been a year like no other, hasn't it? [LISTEN to my Opening Day intro last January, which now seems a small eternity ago.]

But Opening Days are still a big deal. We get to introduce ourselves, and I get to begin introducing the course. Everybody's still in first place, we've all still got high hopes (I hope).

If you haven't guessed, from my sporting metaphors, I'm a baseball fan. Raised in the St. Louis area, I went to my first live Cardinals game several stadia ago. I've not got to see them in action much yet in 2020, bunch of them came down with the virus.

My wife and I were in Scottsdale, AZ back in March, enjoying Cactus League Spring Training, when the plug was pulled on this baseball season. The rest of Spring Training was canceled (glad we got to see David Price pitch for LA earlier in the week), MLB's Opening Day delayed ('til late July, it turned out, and that turned out to be too soon). Resumption of our Spring semester was also delayed, and we haven't been in the brick-and-mortar classroom since.

But let's look on the Bright Side. Many of us, thanks to these extreme measures, social distancing, masking etc., have managed to dodge COVID-19. We're healthy enough to carry on by other means. We'll be communicating, in my classes, on this platform and on Zoom. And we'll look forward to the day when we can again share physical space on our currently-lonely campus.

Meanwhile, in spite of everything, it's Opening Day again. As Mr. Cub used to say, let's play two! (He got to play on grass under the big sky at Wrigley Field, before they conformed and added lights and night games, we'll play on Zoom-CoPhi first, then Environmental Ethics). But since I'm a peripatetic, I'll again urge us all to find our own piece of turf and sky each day. I guarantee it will improve your and our experience of the course. As Chris Orlet reminds, in Gymnasiums of the Mind: Solvitur Ambulando, "it is solved by walking"--for pretty much any it.

Nearly every philosopher-poet worth his salt has voiced similar sentiments. Erasmus recommended a little walk before supper and “after supper do the same.” Thomas Hobbes had an inkwell built into his walking stick to more easily jot down his brainstorms during his rambles. Jean- Jacques Rousseau claimed he could only meditate when walking: “When I stop, I cease to think,” he said. “My mind only works with my legs.” Søren Kierkegaard believed he’d walked himself into his best thoughts. In his brief life Henry David Thoreau walked an estimated 250,000 miles, or ten times the circumference of earth. “I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits,” wrote Thoreau, “unless I spend four hours a day at least – and it is commonly more than that – sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields absolutely free from worldly engagements.” Thoreau’s landlord and mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson characterized walking as “gymnastics for the mind.” 

Read the rest, if you're curious about the peripatetic life. It's a short essay, but if you follow the peri-philosophers' footsteps it may just change your life.

Also by way of introducing myself, I suggest you take a look at Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot [video]- he was an early influence on me and my version of Cosmic Philosophy.

And William James's opening lecture on Pragmatism, wherein he insists that we all have a philosophy whether we know it or not.

And my book...

And Brian Cohen...

For the record, here's how things began the last time we commenced a real (on ground, in person) semester:

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Opening Day!

Or Opening Deja-vu, all over again. Like last time, and the time before, and the time before that, but also different. [Fall 2019]

Another fresh start, a blank slate, a return to that form of life we call academia and philosophia. Call it what you will, the first day of a new semester is an always-welcome recurrence I'm happy to affirm. I say yes to the challenge of introducing the next generation to this odd but essential practice of mature reflection on behalf of our adolescent species. The break was actually a little long, in some ways, though the break from that congested commute down I-24 to the 'boro was (as always) a time-giving, anxiety-relieving happy respite.

We'll do our usual Opening Day round of introductions: Who are you? Why are you here? I always encourage students to be creatively and playfully thoughtful with their responses to those questions, and there's usually a small handful of creatively playful responses mixed in with the dull literal Joe ("Just the facts, M'am") Fridays. "I'm Bill, I'm in concrete management, I'm here for the GenEd credit..." Thanks, Bill. Anybody given any thought to who you are independent of your academic and career aspirations, why you're living this life, in this place, with these goals and intentions?

Philosophers and physicists wonder why there's something rather than nothing, a universe where there might (we suppose) have been nought at all. Beyond that, as William James said, there's a mystery as to the existence of every particular, "this very thing," in its very particularity. Today begins, again, the worthy task of getting more of my young charges to grasp and grapple with (or at least acknowledge and value) that mystery, and grow from the encounter.

Atheism and Philosophy begins again today too. In addition to the usual questions we'll ask: Do you have firm convictions regarding religion, spirituality, an afterlife, a deity...? Do you think religion and science are (or can be) compatible? What sources of meaning and purpose in life do you recognize?

So, shall we hit the ground running? And not say, like that jaded bowl of petunias, "Oh no, not again!"

Or maybe I'll just talk about my dogs again, and my canine philosophy. (Did someone mention Diogenes? (He revelled in the nickname of 'the dog' (kyon), which is how the Cynics, or 'dogmen', got their name...)

Let's introduce ourselves, Fall 2020 CoPhilosophy collaborators. (I'll tell you "in class"--eventually I'll stop putting scare quotes around Zoom "classes," I actually had some really good ones in July with my MALA Evolution in America course--why I call my version of the Intro course "CoPhilosophy." But maybe you can guess, from the William James quote above.)

I invite you all to introduce yourselves in the comments section below, and answer some very basic questions: Who are you? Why are you here? (in this course, on this campus, in this state, on this planet...) What do you think Philosophy is? Do you have a favorite philosopher? Do you have an easily-summarized personal philosophy? (Maybe something short like Charlie Brown's sister Sally's?--"No!")

We'll not go over the syllabus or get bogged down in the nuts and bolts of course mechanics on Day One, there's plenty of time for those details later. Peruse the blogsite and syllabus (linked in the right margin) before next class and let me know what's unclear. Meanwhile, read your classmates' intros and post your own.

I'm Dr. Oliver. I live in Nashville with my wife, two dogs we "rescued" in 2018 (Nell, a sweet & gentle Pit/Boxer, and Pita, a sweet and feisty Dachsund/Lab), and an old cat (Zeus). Older Daughter lives in California. Younger Daughter is one of your peers.

My office is 300 James Union Building (JUB), but of course I'm not going to be around there much in the foreseeable future. Remote office hours are listed in the right sidebar, call or text at those times and let me know if you'd like to arrange a private Zoom session.

I've been at MTSU since the early '00s, teaching philosophy courses on diverse subjects including atheism, childhood, happiness, the environment (I'm teaching the Environmental Ethics course this semester, check out my Honors Lecture on the subject if you're interested), evolution, the future, epistemology, identity, metaphysics, Anglo-American philosophy, consciousness, and bioethics. I'm always open to working with students on Independent Readings courses as well, if you don't find a listed course in something you're interested in. Let me know if I can ever help you with that.

My Ph.D. is from Vanderbilt. I'm originally from Missouri, near St. Louis. My undergrad degree is from the University of Missouri ("Mizzou") in Columbia MO. (I wish my schools weren't in the SEC-I don't approve of the inordinate emphasis on major collegiate sports culture or football brain injuries, as I'm sure to tell you again. But I admit, I did enjoy the Titans' playoff run last winter.)

My philosophical expertise, such as it is, centers on the American philosophical tradition of William James and John Dewey. A former student once asked me to respond to a questionnaire, if you're curious you can learn more about me there.

What you most need to know about me, though, is that I'm a peripatetic and encourage you to be one too (If you're not sure what a peripatetic is, ask me. Or look it up.)

I post my thoughts regularly to my blogs Up@dawn and Delight Springs, to this and other course-specific sites, and to Twitter (@osopher). I've experimented with podcasting as a classroom tool, and with supplemental audio and video content. Follow me if you want to.

But of course, as Brian Cohen said, you don't have to follow me or anyone else. (Rhetorical extra credit if you get that reference.) Sapere aude, as Immanuel Kant said. (Real extra credit if you get that one. NOTE: my extra credit is in the form of "bases," as in the umpire's instruction to "take your base.")

So you don't have to follow me, but when a blog or audio link ("LISTEN") or video turns up you might find it helpful to read, listen, or watch.

I think maybe the best way to introduce myself is to introduce you to some recommended texts, videos, and pdocasts:

William James, Pragmatism lecture 1; Gymnasiums of the Mind (on the Peripatetic philosophy); Pale Blue Dot, & WATCH: Pale Blue Dot (Sagan). Also recommended, for general knowledge: What's Philosophy for? School of Life (SoL); LISTEN: What is Philosophy? and Who's Your Favourite Philosopher? (PB Philosophy Bites). And check out the This I Believe website, for examples of others' personal philosophies succinctly summarized.

But, enough about me. Who are you? (Where are you from, where have you been, what do you like, who do you want to become,...?) Why are you here? (On Earth, in Tennessee, at MTSU, in philosophy class)? Reply below with your introduction, and read your classmates'...

Looking forward to seeing you on Zoom starting Monday the 24th (connection info emailed and, eventually, in the right sidebar under "NEXT")...

Please always include your section number (10, 11, or 12) in your reply below, and in all future posts on this site.

Our assignments for our second class meeting: (you can always find future assignments listed under "NEXT" in the upper right corner):

W 26/Th 27 Socrates and Plato-LH1, FL 1-2, HWT Intro & prologue

Look for my dated Questions posts, before each scheduled class date, if you need ideas for what to think and write about in connection with our assigned readings.

Syllabus

*

The online syllabus is subject to revision, always check under "NEXT" in the top right on our main page for updates. It's best not to rely on a version printed early in the semester, changes are inevitable.

Introduction to Philosophy-Honors, aka CoPhilosophy ("CoPhi") in Oliver's classes/ PHILOSOPHY 1030- Sections H01, H02, H03: TTh 9:40, 1 pm, 2:40; in HONR 116

Phil.Oliver@mtsu.edu. 300 James Union Building (JUB).

Office hours Fall 2024: T/Th 11 am to 1 pm on campus, other days on Zoom & by appointment... (615) 898-2050, (615) 525-7865 only during office hours please: call before coming in.

We'll use this site, NOT D2L, for online discussion and support. 

Eventually we'll all become "authors" on this site, to post reports etc. Meanwhile, post your thoughts, research discoveries, and questions in the "comments" spaces (which appear below each post).

CoPhilosophy is an open-ended and ongoing conversation/collaboration among ourselves and with philosophers of the past, and anticipating those of the future. Participate in the conversation.

Please read the assigned and recommended texts. There are many among us who would like to deny you that freedom. And as Mr. Clemens said, 

So, don't inflict illiteracy on yourself.

TEXTS

REQUIRED for Fall 2024:

• A Little History of Philosophy (LHP) by Nigel Warburton - see link to etext in sidebar

• Why Grow Up? Subversive Thoughts for an Infantile Age (WGU) by Susan Neiman

• Sick Souls, Healthy Minds: How William James Can Save Your Life (SS) by John Kaag

• THE SOCRATES EXPRESS: In Search of Life Lessons from Dead Philosophers by Eric Weiner 

RECOMMENDED (on 3-day reserve* in Walker Library... I hope you'll read these, and consider reporting on one or more of them. They'll be in bonus questions on the exams):

• How the World Thinks (HWT) by Julian Baggini
• Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire, a 500-Year History by Kurt Andersen (FL)
• Be Not Afraid of Life: In the Words of William James-companion anthology to Sick Souls
• Three Roads Back: How Emerson, Thoreau, and William James Responded to the Greatest Losses of Their Lives by Robert Richardson

• Life is Hard by Kieran Setiya

• Question Everything: A Stone Reader, eds. Catapano and Critchley


ALSO RECOMMENDED (if you're curious about the philosopher I'm always mentioning):

• William James: In the Maelstrom of American Modernism by Robert Richardson

• Writings of William James (WJ) -- James's work is in the public domain, & free on the Internet... but if you'd prefer a handsome keepers' edition in book format I recommend the Library of America's two volumes:

   

• William James : Writings 1878-1899 : Psychology, Briefer Course / The Will to Believe / Talks to Teachers and Students / Essays (Library of America)

• William James : Writings 1902-1910 : The Varieties of Religious Experience / Pragmatism / A Pluralistic Universe / The Meaning of Truth / Some Problems of Philosophy / Essays (Library

And:

• William James, Pragmatism lecture 1; Gymnasiums of the Mind (on the Peripatetic philosophy)
• Pale Blue Dot & WATCH: Pale Blue Dot (Sagan).
• What's Philosophy for? School of Life (SoL);
• LISTEN: What is Philosophy? and Who's Your Favourite Philosopher? (PB Philosophy Bites).
• This I Believe website, for examples of others' personal philosophies succinctly summarized.

Some miscellaneous links and other recommended texts here... Grandfather Philosophy's YouTube channel (he's one of our more mature recent MTSU alumni)...

Feel free to use etexts and audiobooks, when available.

* "Reserves books are checked out at the Circulation/Reserves Desks. To borrow a reserves book, students must have either their student ID or another picture ID. No more than 4 reserves books can be borrowed out at a time. Reserves books can be returned at the Circulation/Reserves Desks or the book drop on the side of the building. However, I always recommend students return reserves books to the Circulation/Reserves Desks. We are only able to check the book drop periodically and a book may be in the book drop for some time before it is checked in and removed from the student account. Books brought to either desk are checked in when returned.

Typically 3-day loans cannot be renewed and must be returned on the due date. Reserves books that are 14 days overdue will be considered lost. Students will be billed a $75 flat fee ($50 replacement + $25 processing) for the lost item. These fees will be transferred to the Bursar’s Office and reflected on students’ accounts. Students’ fees for replacement books must be paid through the Bursar’s office. Once fees have been transferred to the Bursar’s Office, they can no longer be refunded by the library, even if the books are returned to the library." --Suzy Burkhardt, Walker Library

"Pluralism" means, among other things, respecting and engaging with many voices, many points of view... not because you agree with them all, necessarily, but because they all may nonetheless have something to teach you. So, we'll be considering multiple texts simultaneously. Think of it as a multi-lane highway of ideas. They may not always integrate smoothly, lane-changes may sometimes be a challenge... but if we drive attentively we'll get where we're going. Always read all the assigned material before class.

IMPORTANT DATES Fall 2024

• August 26 – Classes Begin
• September 2 – Labor Day Holiday – No Classes/University Closed
• September 10 -- Select midterm report presentation topic & date
• September 19 --  Mid-term report presentations begin
• October 10 -- Exam 1
• October 12-15 – Fall Break – No Classes
• October 31 -- Select final report presentation topic & date
• November 5 -- Final report presentations begin
• November 27-30 – Thanksgiving Holidays – No Classes (University Closed November 28-30)
• December 3 – Our Last Day of Class. Exam 2
• December 6 -- Final report blog post (final draft) due. Post earlier for feedback
• December 5 – Study Day, No Classes/Exams/Mandatory Meetings
• December 6-12 – Final Exams as Determined by University Approved Exam Schedule
• December 12 – Last Day of Term
• December 14 – Commencement (Days and Times TBD), Official Fall Graduation Date
• December 15 – Deadline for Submission of Final Grades, 11:59 p.m.

* Deadlines. Due dates are firm. Extensions are possible in the event of illness or some other unavoidable or extraordinary circumstance, but must first be authorized by me. jpo

AUG

27 Introductions. Post your response to these questions, interpreted any way you like: Who are you? Why are you here? And, What do you think Philosophy is? Do you have a favorite philosopher? Do you have an easily-summarized personal philosophy? (Maybe something short like Charlie Brown's sister Sally's?--"No!")

29 Socrates and Plato-LHP 1. Weiner Intro, 1-2. Recommended: FL 1-2. HWT Intro & prologue.

SEP

3 Aristotle-LHP 2. Rec: FL 3-4. HWT Sections 1-3.

5 Skepticism-LHP 3. Rec: FL 5-6. HWT 4-5.

10 Epicureans and Stoics-LHP 4-5. Weiner 6, 12. Rec: FL 7-8. HWT 6-8.  Select midterm report presentation topic & date: indicate your 1st and 2d choices for date and topic in the comments space below midterm report presentations.

12 Augustine, Boethius, Anselm, Aquinas-LHP 6-8. Rec: FL 9-10. HWT 9-10. Meet at Walker Library, Room 264A with librarian Rachel Kirk.

17 Machiavelli, Hobbes-LHP 9-10. Rec: FL 11-12. HWT 11-13. Constitution Day: hang with Mike Pence at 3 pm in Tucker Hall (sorry for the irresistible gallows humor)

19 Montaigne, Descartes, & Pascal-LHP 11-12. Weiner 14. Rec: FL 13-14. HWT 14-15. Midterm report presentations begin.

24 Spinoza, Locke, & Reid-LHP 13-14. Rec: FL 15-16. HWT 16-17.

26 Berkeley, Leibniz, Hume, & Rousseau-LHP 15-18. Weiner 3. Rec: FL 17-18. HWT 18-19.

OCT

1 Kant, Bentham, Hegel, Schopenhauer-LHP 19-23. Weiner 5. Rec: FL 19-20. HWT 20-22.

3 Mill, Darwin, Kierkegaard, Marx-LHP 24-27. Rec: FL 21-22. HWT 23-24.

8 Peirce & James, Nietzsche, Freud-LHP 28-30. Weiner 11. Rec: FL 23-24. HWT 25-26.

10 Exam 1.

Fall Break

17 Russell, Ayer, Sartre, de Beauvoir, Camus-LHP 31-33. Weiner 13. Rec: FL 25-26. HWT 27-28.

22 Wittgenstein, Arendt, Popper & Kuhn, Foot & Thomson-LHP 34-37, Rec: FL 27-28.

24 Rawls, Turing & Searle, Singer-LHP 38-40. WGU Introduction-p.35. Rec: FL 29-32.

29 WGU -p.79 Rec: FL 33-34.

31 WGU -p.122. Rec: FL 35-38. Select final report presentation topic & date

NOV

5 WGU -p.165.SSHM Prologue. Recommended: FL 39-40. WJ, Is Life Worth Living? Final report presentations begin.

7 WGU -p.192. SSHM ch1. Rec: The Dilemma of Determinism. FL 41-42, Setiya Intro-1.

12 WGU -p. 234 SSHM ch2. Rec: The Moral Equivalent of War.  FL 43-44. Setiya 2.

14 SSHM ch3. Rec: FL 45-46. Setiya 3

19 SSHM ch4. Rec: Setiya 4

21 SSHM ch5. Rec: Setiya 5.

26 SSHM ch6-7 Rec: Setiya... Final report presentations conclude

Thanksgiving Break

DEC

3 Last class. Exam 2

6 Final report blog post (final draft) due. Post earlier for feedback

See note above on * Deadlines.

==

EXAMS. Two objective-format exams based on daily questions, each worth up to 25 points. Bonus questions covering Recommended texts.

REPORTS. Midterm (10 minutes presentation), final presentation & related blog post (10 min, 1,000+ words minimum). Worth up to 25 points each. Indicate your topic/date preferences in comments below "Report Presentations" post.

PARTICIPATION. Participation includes attendance, your full and attentive presence in class, and posts, comments (etc.) to our CoPhi site prior to each class. No points formally allotted, but steady participation earns strong consideration for a higher final grade. (Hypothetically, for instance: say you earned a total of 88 points (of a possible 100) on the exams and reports. If you did not participate consistently and well, your course grade would be B+. If you did, it would be A.)

SCORECARDS. Because your professor is a baseball fan, we'll track participation with baseball scorecards adapted to the purpose. Come to class to get on 1st base. Post pertinent comments and questions for discussion prior to class to advance to 2d & 3d base.To come home and "score" a participation run, post a pertinent research discovery-something we wouldn't have known just from the day's assigned reading. Good places for quick online research include the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the Philosophical Dictionary, and the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

(For instance, when we discuss Socrates and Plato you might post a comment indicating your view of his so-called enlightened ignorance -- "I know that I know nothing" etc. -- or of Plato's confident assertion of the possibility of rationally understanding the ultimate structure of reality, "Forms" etc. You might also pose the discussion question "Do you think Socrates should have taken the opportunity to escape Athens before his death sentence was imposed?" And you might share your discovery that Socrates seemed to have a higher opinion of women than most of his companions had, speaking of “men and women,” “priests and priestesses,” and naming foreign women as his teachers: Socrates claimed to have learned rhetoric from Aspasia of Miletus, the de facto spouse of Pericles (Plato, Menexenus); and to have learned erotics from the priestess Diotima of Mantinea (Plato, Symposium). --Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "Socrates"

Keep a detailed and dated log of your posts and comments, appended to your last post each week. Always include your section # (7, 11, or 12 this semester) with your posts.

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"Solvitur ambulando"... the art of walking

A NOTE ON THE BLOG POST FORMAT: Midterm & final report blog posts should include appropriately-bloggish content: not just words, but also images, links, videos where relevant, etc.

A NOTE ON WORD COUNTS. 1,000 words is a minimum. Write more, if you've got more to say. Write a tome, if you've got one in you. But your main goal in writing for our course is always to be clear, to say what you mean, and to say things your classmates (and I) will want to respond to. Think of your weekly blog posts not as "papers" but as contributions to a conversation. And again, do think of them as blog posts, with links, graphics, videos. etc., not just words.

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Watch this space for updated info on the university's and our department's FREE tutoring service... and learn how to study, get help with understanding difficult course material,  receive better test grades, or simply improve your grade point average.  Tutoring is available in study skills and learning strategies that includes sessions on time management, notetaking, when and where to study, and memory principles.  Tutoring is also available in over 200 courses including biology, history, computer information systems, physics, math, psychology, chemistry, economics, recording industry, and many more.  The central location for tutoring is the Tutoring Spot, located in Walker Library, but is also conducted at various other campus sites.  For available tutoring opportunities, visit http://mtsu.edu/studentsuccess/tutoring.php#on .  For questions, call the Tutoring  Spot at 615-904-8014.

Dr. Cornelia Wills

Director of Student Success

Middle Tennessee State University

P. O. Box 500

Murfreesboro, TN 37132

Telephone:  615-898-5025

http://mtsu.edu/studentsuccess/index.php

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Title IX

Students who believe they have been harassed, discriminated against or been the victim of sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence or stalking should contact a Title IX/Deputy Coordinator at 615-898-2185 or 615-898- 2750 for assistance or review MTSU’s Title IX website for resources. http://www.mtsu.edu/titleix/

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Writing Center

The Margaret H. Ordoubadian University Writing Center serves all MTSU students, from freshmen to PhD candidates, on writing from any discipline, and in any genre. [website...] We have a brand new  digital class visit, a brief introduction to the UWC, which can be embedded in any D2L shell for your students.  

Tutoring sessions begin August 24th, and this semester, students will have two choices for online writing support: ​

• ​Live Chat: students to use their mic and camera and meet tutors in real time to work on a shared document; 

• Document Drop: students upload their text and assignment sheet, identify specific feedback needs, and receive tutor feedback through email. 

​We also support writers through course-specific or assignment-specific workshops. The UWC administrative team has worked closely with faculty in diverse programs and departments, such as Biology, Anthropology, and Professional Studies, to create workshops and writing support for students in those courses. Please email Erica Cirillo-McCarthy, Director of the UWC, at erica.cirillo-mccarthy@mtsu.edu if you are interested in talking about ways the UWC can support writers in your class. 

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Resources for awards, scholarships, grants, Study Abroad etc. from the University Fellowship Office --

Services We Offer

We try to match students with national and international opportunities. As time permits, we can also read essays and give feedback on how to be competitive. Student can simply email Laura.Clippard@mtsu.edu for info. 

 

The Undergraduate Fellowships Office has had students receive numerous scholarships, including Fulbright, Goldwater, Gilman, Critical Language Scholarship, and Udall, as well as finalists for the Marshall Scholarship, Rhodes Scholarship, and Truman Scholarship.

 

Most Popular Fellowships and Links: 

 

Our main website: https://www.mtsu.edu/honors/ufo/index.php

 

Study Abroad Funding: https://www.mtsu.edu/honors/ufo/nationalfellowships.php

For example, there is special funding for students who have a Pell grant with the Gilman Scholarship to study abroad.

Gilman Website: https://www.gilmanscholarship.org

 

Living Overseas after Graduation: https://www.mtsu.edu/honors/ufo/teaching-options-updated-feb-2023.pdf

 

Fulbright: https://us.fulbrightonline.org

 

STEM options:  https://www.mtsu.edu/honors/ufo/additionalresources.php

 

Full List of options: https://www.mtsu.edu/honors/Scholarship_Descriptions.php

 

List of winners: https://www.mtsu.edu/honors/cumulative-awards.php

 

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Additional information of possible interest...

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Register to Vote here

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From Mary Evins, Project Democracy:

 

• mtsu.edu/vote voter registration link... Advise students to register where they will be able to get to the polls in person during Oct. 16-31 Early Voting, which begins the day after we return from Fall Break, or on Nov. 5 Election Day. 

• To schedule a volunteer to come to your class to personally assist your students with voter registration during the month of September, please contact us at amerdem@mtsu.edu or x8241.

 

• If your students will assist other MTSU students to register to vote during the month of September, individually or as a class activity or a BTC activity, please contact our office to set that up or sign up directly here.

• The plenary Constitution Day program, Defining Democracy, will be in Tucker Theatre at 3p on Constitution Day, September 17th. MTSU’s guest panelist will be former Vice President Mike Pence (see attached).

 

American Democracy Project MTSU

Mary Evins, Ph.D.

amerdem@mtsu.edu, x8241

#mtsuvotes

Register to vote! mtsu.edu/vote

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Category: Creativity & Cultural Expression 

• Disciplinary Knowledge in Fine Arts/Humanities

Outcome C1: Students will demonstrate intercultural understanding by building knowledge, self-awareness, and conceptions of global and intercultural perspectives, values, systems, and attitudes.