Department of Global and Interdisciplinary Studies

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PHL100ZA(哲学 / Philosophy 100)
History of Philosophy

Joel Van Fossen

Class code etc
Faculty/Graduate school Department of Global and Interdisciplinary Studies
Attached documents
Year 2024
Class code A6100
Previous Class code
Previous Class title
Term 秋学期授業/Fall
Day/Period 月3/Mon.3
Class Type
Campus 市ヶ谷 / Ichigaya
Classroom name 市外濠‐S306
Grade 1~4
Credit(s) 2
Notes
Open Program
Open Program (Notes)
Global Open Program
Interdepartmental class taking system for Academic Achievers
Interdepartmental class taking system for Academic Achievers (Notes)
Class taught by instructors with practical experience
SDGs CP
Urban Design CP
Diversity CP
Learning for the Future CP
Carbon Neutral CP
Chiyoda Campus Consortium
Duplicate Subjects Taken Under Previous Class Title
Category (commenced 2024 onwards) 100-level Introductory Courses(入門)
Education-Philosophy-Psychology
Category (commenced 2020-2023) 100-level Introductory Courses(入門)
Humanities
Category (commenced 2016-2019) 100-level Introductory Courses
Arts and Literature

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Outline and objectives

Over 2,000 years ago in ancient Greece, Socrates introduced a new mode of general and abstract inquiry, which he described as "the love of wisdom" or "philosophy." This course focuses on two areas of the history of philosophical inquiry in ancient Greece and early modern Europe: metaphysics and epistemology. Metaphysics deals with the first principles of being, causation, and identity. Metaphysical questions covered in this course include: What is most fundamental about reality? What does it mean for one thing to cause another thing to happen? What does it mean for something to be the same thing over time? Epistemology deals with the nature and possibility of knowledge. Questions surveyed include: What is knowledge? Do we know anything? If so, what do we know? Philosophers surveyed in this course include Plato, Aristotle, René Descartes, John Locke, George Berkeley, David Hume, and Immanuel Kant.

Goal

This course has four primary learning goals. First, students will learn about various and diverging views throughout the history of philosophy with a focus on metaphysics and epistemology. Second, students will improve critical thinking skills when engaging with abstract philosophical reasoning. Third, students will improve their reading skills when confronting nuanced and challenging text. Finally, students will improve their writing skills to communicate complex ideas clearly and confidently.

Which item of the diploma policy will be obtained by taking this class?

Will be able to gain “DP 1”, “DP 2”, “DP 3”, and “DP 4”.

Default language used in class

英語 / English

Method(s)(学期の途中で変更になる場合には、別途提示します。 /If the Method(s) is changed, we will announce the details of any changes. )

Classes will sometimes begin with a short quiz to assess comprehension of weekly readings. Feedback for these will be provided at the beginning of the following class. There will be an interactive lecture for each class, except exam days. There will also be several breakout small-group discussions throughout the lecture. Each small-group discussion is followed by a class-wide discussion. The mid-term and final exams will be a combination of multiple-choice, short, and long-form essay questions. These exams will be written in class during exam days. Students will receive written feedback on their exams for the midterm. For the final exam, they will receive feedback via Hoppii.

Active learning in class (Group discussion, Debate.etc.)

あり / Yes

Fieldwork in class

なし / No

Schedule

授業形態/methods of teaching:対面/face to face

※各回の授業形態は予定です。教員の指示に従ってください。

1[オンライン/online]:Introduction

Philosophy before Socrates

2[対面/face to face]:Ancient Greek Philosophy 1

Plato’s Euthyphro

3[対面/face to face]:Ancient Greek Philosophy 2

Plato’s Phaedo and Meno

4[対面/face to face]:Ancient Greek Philosophy 3

Plato's Republic

5[対面/face to face]:Ancient Greek Philosophy 4

Aristotle’s Metaphysics

6[対面/face to face]:Ancient Greek Philosophy 5

Aristotle’s De Anima

7[対面/face to face]:Midterm

Review and midterm exam

8[対面/face to face]:Early Modern European Philosophy 1

René Descartes’s Meditations

9[対面/face to face]:Early Modern European Philosophy 2

René Descartes’s Meditations (cont.)

10[対面/face to face]:Early Modern European Philosophy 3

John Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding

11[対面/face to face]:Early Modern European Philosophy 4

George Berkeley’s Principles of Human Knowledge

12[対面/face to face]:Early Modern European Philosophy 5

David Hume’s Enquiry Concerning Human Nature

13[対面/face to face]:Early Modern European Philosophy 6

Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason

14[対面/face to face]:Final Exam

Review, wrap-up, and final exam

Work to be done outside of class (preparation, etc.)

Students should complete weekly readings before coming to class. Students should also review their own notes and course slides after every class. Preparatory study and review time for this class are 2 hours each.

Textbooks

There are no required textbooks for this course. All readings will be provided by the instructor either in print or online.

References

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is a great resource for delving further into any topics discussed in class: https://plato.stanford.edu

Grading criteria

Class Participation (15%), Quizzes (20%), Midterm Exam (30%), Final Exam (35%)

Changes following student comments

Quizzes have been added to incentivize readings and offset the exam grades.

Equipment student needs to prepare

A laptop for in-class surveys.

Others

Please bring a computer for in-class surveys.

Prerequisite

None.