Course Description This course introduces students to major world views about human nature and philosophies of life. Religious, philosophical, and scientific examples of theories of human nature will be discussed and compared.
Course Objectives Students will learn why the search for a common "human nature" has been pursued by all cultures and all types of intellectual systems. The most fundamental questions about our relationships with the divine, nature, and each other are deeply connected to visions of human nature and its possibilities and limitations. Students will explore and question how philosophies of life, moralities, and religions are connected with theories of human nature. Students will be learn how to be sensitive to others’ perspectives and to be valued participants in group discussions of religious, moral, and social questions. Key skills of careful reading, critical analysis, and evaluative comparison will be developed. Students will prepare for essay examinations, and analytical and argumentative papers, that test these skills.
Required Texts
Stevenson and Haberman, Ten Theories of
Human Nature, 4th edition (Oxford)
Miller, God and Reason, 2nd
edition
(Prentice Hall)
Campbell, Myths to Live By (Penguin)
Handouts
Requirements Your grade will be based on three exams, three papers, and participation in class. Only the better grade from the first two papers will count towards your final grade because you can drop the worse paper grade. This does not include the last longer paper due at the end of the semester, which you must write.
| Exam One | 100 points | |
| Exam Two | 100 points | |
| Final Exam | 200 points | |
| Paper One or Two | 5-6 pages | 100 points |
| Paper Three | 7-8 pages | 200 points |
| Participation | 100 points | |
Total possible points = |
800 points |
Final Grade 800-720 = A 719-640 = B 639-560 = C 559-480 = D 479-0 = F
Regulations OSU Academic Policies and Important Dates are at http://osu.okstate.edu/acadaffr/syllabusattachment.htm Attendance will be recorded for nearly every class. Poor attendance will naturally cause you to receive a poor participation grade, since 5 points will be subtracted for each unexcused absence (after the third absence). A cell phone disturbance will subtract 20 points from participation. Plagiarism, cheating, or any other academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be punished to the appropriate extent. In accordance with Academic Regulation 6.2, an incomplete grade will be available only if (a) you have completed a majority of the course requirements with a grade of D or better, and (b) unavoidable circumstances (a serious medical condition, family emergency, etc.) prevent you from completing the requirements by the end of the semester. This course will not offer any opportunity for “extra credit” or re-taking tests.
Disability Accommodations In compliance with Oklahoma State University policy and equal access laws, I am available to discuss appropriate academic accommodations that you may require as a student with a disability. Students must register with the Student Disability Services office (Michael Shuttic, 315 Student Union, 744-7116) for disability verification, determination of reasonable academic accommodation, and to get information about specific policies and procedures surrounding academic adjustments at OSU. I will gladly comply with those accommodations which are recommended for you by the Student Disability Services.
Office Hours
Monday 10-12pm, Tuesday 2-4pm, Wednesday 10-12pm; and by appointment. Location: 206 Hanner Hall. Phone: 744-9231. Messages and
materials can be placed in my mailbox across the hall from my office. My webpage, which
has links to course syllabi, is at http://philosophy.okstate.edu/shook.htm
PHIL 1213 Philosophies of Life
Dates of tests and paper deadlines are subject to change if necessary.
You will be given reasonable advance notice if there is a re-scheduling.
WEEK |
TOPIC and EVENTS |
ASSIGNMENT |
| Jan 11, 13 | Searching for human nature in religion? Is human nature evil? | Ten Theories: Christianity, pp. 47-67; Augustine, pp. 107-108; Aquinas, pp. 110-113; Hobbes, p. 113 |
| Jan 18 | Is human nature good? | Ten Theories: Rousseau, pp. 117-118 Handout: Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Divinity School Address" |
| Jan 20, 25 | Is human nature a mixture of good and evil? | Ten Theories: Hinduism, pp. 27-46 Ten Theories: Plato, pp. 69-86 |
| Jan 27 | Is human nature without good or evil? | Ten Theories: Confucianism, pp.
10-26 Ten Theories: Skinner, pp. 225-226 |
| Feb 1, 3 | Can human nature be controlled? | Campbell: chap. 7: Zen Buddhism |
| Feb 8, 10 | Religion, East and West | Campbell: chaps. 4, 5 |
| Feb 15 | Searching for human nature in science and reason? | Campbell: chaps. 1, 2, 3 God and Reason: The Soul and Immortality, pp. 187-211 |
| Feb 17 | Exam One | |
| Feb 22, 24 | Rational theology: proving the existence of God | God and Reason: Religious Experience, pp. 107-128; Faith and Reason, pp. 129-153; The Ontological Argument, pp. 25-43 |
| March 1, 3 | Natural theology: the designer and the designed 3rd: Paper One due |
God and Reason: The Cosmological Argument, pp. 25-43; The Teleological Argument, pp. 69-88 |
| March 8, 10 | Natural ethics and Natural law theory | Ten Theories: Aristotle, pp. 87-104 Handout: John Locke, "Of the State of Nature" |
| March 22, 24 | Moral theology: religion for life |
God and Reason: The Problem of Evil, pp. 155-185; The Moral Argument, pp. 89-106 |
| March 29, 31 | Kant and the moral law 31st: Paper Two due |
Ten Theories: Kant, pp. 119-137 |
| April 5 | Exam Two | |
| April 7, 12 | Marx and the economic life | Ten Theories: Marx, pp. 138-155 |
| April 14 | Freud and the unconscious mind |
Ten Theories: Freud, pp. 156-175 |
| April 19 | Sartre and radical freedom | Ten Theories: Sartre, pp. 176-195 |
| April 21 | Mythologies of war and peace | Campbell: chap. 9 Ten Theories: Lorenz, pp. 227-228 |
| April 26, 28 | The destiny of human nature 26th: Paper Three due |
Campbell: chap. 12 |
| Final Exam | 9:00am class:
Thursday May 5, 8-9:50am |