Department of Global and Interdisciplinary Studies

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PHL300ZA(哲学 / Philosophy 300)
Advanced Topics in Philosophy I

Joel Van Fossen

Class code etc
Faculty/Graduate school Department of Global and Interdisciplinary Studies
Attached documents
Year 2024
Class code A6300
Previous Class code
Previous Class title
Term 春学期授業/Spring
Day/Period 金2/Fri.2
Class Type
Campus 市ヶ谷 / Ichigaya
Classroom name 市外濠‐S601
Grade 3~4
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) 制度ウェブサイトの3.科目別の注意事項(1)GIS主催科目の履修上の注意を参照すること。
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) 300-level Advanced Courses(上級)
Category (commenced 2020-2023) 300-level Advanced Courses(上級)
Category (commenced 2016-2019) 300-level Advanced Courses
Arts and Literature

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Outline and objectives

Philosophy of Emotions

Love, anger, disgust, awe, jealousy—these emotions are familiar to us all. But what is an emotion exactly? Emotions are a product of both our evolutionary history and our place in society. Moreover, emotions are connected to ways of feeling, being motivated, and evaluating the world and ourselves. Emotions also have an important ethical dimension. For instance, one might think it is best to avoid jealousy but worthwhile to pursue compassion. Emotions also interact with rationality—they can make us do crazy, irrational things. However, sometimes it is irrational not to experience certain emotions, as well. In this course, we will explore all these features of emotions with a focus for the final third of the course on love specifically.

Goal

This course has four primary learning goals. First, students will learn about various and diverging views on the philosophy of emotions. Second, students will improve critical thinking skills when engaging with abstract reasoning, especially in the context of philosophical debate. 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. )

Each meeting will include an interactive lecture with slides and an active learning period. The lectures will occupy roughly one hour of each meeting. Students will also participate in a class discussion. Students will prepare questions for the discussion period as homework before coming to class. The instructor will assess students primarily on their final paper. Students will produce a paper proposal before writing a paper draft. After the proposal has been approved, students will write a draft of their paper. Students will then exchange papers with each other, and they will write a peer-reviewed report of another student’s paper. Students should consider this report when revising their final drafts. The instructor will provide written feedback for the proposal, reports, and the final paper 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

A brief history of the philosophy and science of emotions

2[対面/face to face]:The Ontology of Emotions

Affects, motivations, and dispositions

3[対面/face to face]:Emotions and Science

Emotions, biology, and social construction

4[対面/face to face]:Theories of Emotions 1

Feeling Theories

5[対面/face to face]:Theories of Emotions 2

Motivational Theories

6[対面/face to face]:Theories of Emotions 3

Evaluative Theories

7[対面/face to face]:Emotions and Normativity 1

Emotions and Belief

8[対面/face to face]:Emotions and Normativity 2

Emotions and Practical Reason

9[対面/face to face]:Emotions and Normativity 3

Emotions and Meta-ethics

10[対面/face to face]:Emotions and Normativity 4

Emotions and Morality

11[対面/face to face]:Philosophy of Love 1

The No-Reasons View

12[対面/face to face]:Philosophy of Love 2

The Qualities Theory

13[対面/face to face]:Philosophy of Love 3

The Personhood Theory

14[対面/face to face]:Philosophy of Love 4

The Relationships Theory

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 time for this class is 3-4 hours, and review time for this class is 2 hours.

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

The philosopher Jim Pryor has created helpful guides for writing and reading philosophy papers. Writing: http://www.jimpryor.net/teaching/guidelines/writing.html Reading: http://www.jimpryor.net/teaching/guidelines/reading.html

Grading criteria

Participation (15%), Discussion questions (20%), Peer-review report (15%), Final paper (50%)

Changes following student comments

In previous semesters the content of this course was mostly focused on love. The course now focuses on emotions more broadly with a single unit on love.

Equipment student needs to prepare

Please bring a computer for in-class surveys.

Prerequisite

None