On reading James Flynn

Read a short book by James Flynn this evening while watching the Midnight Mass in the Vatican. Very uplifting - both of course. A main point he makes - the book by the way is Does Your Family Make You smarter? (He has lots of books of course). But the uplifting point I found and indicated in my Amazon review is that your family circumstances are not necessarily going to dictate the level of intelligence - your IQ - for life. The scope of this inquiry in the book is less than the overall success of individuals but aimed at a narrower focus limited to measurable IQ scores - which can of course affect success but except for pointing out intelligence isn't everything, does not attempt to explore everything else. The target of the book is the message of the twin literature which may be misleading and can result in a pessimistic outlook on the part of those who would like to advance beyond the limits of their given family life and circumstances. To this the good news is you can go beyond that and at least reach the level your genes "intended" provided you use your own autonomy to do the things that will increase your IQ. These include things like not only joining a library club but more especially loving to read. The significance of family influence whether positive or negative can be detrimental in your SAT scores, for example, which can limit what kind of university you enter and what profession you achieve. What families influence most is vocabulary. After 17 the influence of the family drops off and you can level off at the range permitted by your genes. So the answer is that your family can make you smarter but only up to a certain point at which time you are free for good or bad to better yourself or not. So don't use the twin effect to counter the Flynn effect. How this is exciting to me is how it dovetails with my aims in course work. In logic of course I aim to help students improve their logic skills and in all my courses I aim at helping increase vocabulary. Both of these are items he lists as keys to IQ. So it is nice to find a book that supports what I think I am doing in my work. Nice.

Past Deadline

Since it is now past the deadline I am going to complete filling in the grades for my remaining classes based on what I have received as of now. After this the grades will be permanent. I already completed the grades for the Logic class last week. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday break. See you next year!

Thursday night class final session

This evening we watched the movie Ex Machina and considered the question of what it means to be a person. Specifically, might someday Artificial Intelligence be able to fool us into thinking it is human. And if so, will they treat us nicely? If you are interested there is a new book titled Superintelligence that discusses the topic. This ends the semester for me except turning in grades. Please make sure you have everything in to me ASAP but no later than Saturday or it won't be included in your grade. Have a great holiday break and stay safe.

Tuesday classes final session afternoon

We voted on and then watched Monty Python The Meaning of Life (because I did not bring the Quest for the Holy Grail) but judging from the laughs it was a success until everyone left half way though because they had to catch the bus. Sorry for not thinking about that! Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. And please remember to send me everything before the weekend!

Tuesday classes - final sessions

For Introduction to Philosophy this morning for our final session we watched The End of the Tour and afterwards watched a few minutes from the Charlie Rose interview. Please remember to send everything in ASAP if you haven't yet. The End of the Tour was the end of the course. Have a great holiday break and hope to see everyone back again next semester on campus. I am not sure as I write this what movie the class will select for the final session of Anient and Medieval Philosophy this afternoon....

Monday Logic - Last session

For the last class the vote was for the Monty Python movie The Life of Brian. Afterwards we watched some of the debate between John Cleese, Michael Palin, Malcolm Muggeridge and the Bishop of Southwark.

Thursday classes

For our last regular session before finals week the quiz question for both my morning Introduction to Philosophy course and my afternoon Ancient and Medieval Philosophy course was do you think you got your money's worth from this course? You may also want to suggest how to make it more worth while if you like. For my evening double session of Introduction to Philosophy the first half quiz question was what movie do you want to see for the final session next week if you are coming? (Remember attendance on the last session is not mandatory except for me. If you are coming vote on which movie you would like to watch and discuss. The second half quiz question is do you think you got your money's worth from this course?

Wednesday Logic

Today is the last class day of the semester for this course except for the final session next Monday from 10 to 12:45. Attendance at the final session is not required. All work should already be turned in via email by then. For those who want to participate we will watch a movie and discuss the logic of the film. The quiz question today is what movie would you like to watch? As long as I have it we can watch whichever movie those students who intend to attend vote for. If you do not intend to attend please let me know that rather than vote on a movie. Notice I do not post grades on Blackboard because it is too complicated. Grades will be posted on UAOnline after Wednesday midnight.

Tuesday classes

The quiz question for both my classes today is what movie would you like to see on the final session?

Monday Logic

Today we watched a lecture by Jared Diamond on his book Collapse in order to analyse an extended argument. This topic is chapter 16 in the old book but is deleted from the new book. The quiz question assumes that the sort of lecture and book! are examples of an ongoing conversation. I also mentioned Thomas Friedman in this respect. So the quiz question is how much time each day do you spend being part of this conversation? Do you follow the news? Do you have a blog yourself?

Thursday Classes

For Introduction to Philosophy this morning I do not remember what the question was! Did I forget to ask one? If I forgot here is a good one: what sort of language games are you a fluent speaker in? For Ancient and Medieval Philosophy today the quiz questions was: If you were to find a relic of the church to be false would you still promote it as true to continue acquiring funds for the church? For this evening's Introduction to Philosophy the first half quiz question is do you think there ought to be a National (or better International!) authority that licenses individuals (and organizations?) to profess religious doctrine. (What I am thinking about here is something along the lines of Miroslav Volf in his book Flourishing.) For the second half the quiz question is what sort of language games are you a fluent speaker in?

Wednesday Logic

The quiz question for today concerned the cause and effect relationship between disgruntled Islamists and individual acts of terrorism as for example in the Ohio State University attacks from the other day. I also mentioned DARPA's various studies to understand how they may be able to use Social Media to detect these kinds of events before they happened and change the mind of the individuals before they act.

Tuesday classes

For Introduction to Philosophy the quiz question is do you think there ought to be a National (or better International!) authority that licenses individuals (and organizations?) to profess religious doctrine. (What I am thinking about here is something along the lines of Miroslav Volf in his book Flourishing.) The quiz question for Ancient and Medieval Philosophy today was should I use just Internet sources or texts in the future for this course?

Monday Logic

Today we were discussing statistical reasoning and the quiz question concerned Malthus' prediction regarding population growth versus available resources. Do you think the programs that feed the hungry are only making poverty worse in the long run? I mentioned Sally Struthers in this regard. The TED talk we watched was by Thomas Piketty.

Wednesday Logic

The quiz question today on moral arguments is what cultural group do you associate with your moral beliefs?

Tuesday Classes

Beginning our look at Pragmatism for Introduction to Philosophy we ask what unique characteristics of the American experience had to do with the can do philosophy of the pragmatists. The quiz question today was what do you think those characteristics were? For Ancient and Medieval Philosophy the quiz question concerned abortion - what did Aquinas consider the point at which the soul entered the fetus?

Monday Logic

We are zipping through some chapters to catch up to where we are supposed to be. Today we zipped through Analogical Arguments, and then Legal Arguments. The quiz question was from chapter 10A part II question 3 - discuss! Next class we should do Moral Arguments and Statistical Arguments. We will probably finish those chapters.

Thursday classes

For Introduction to Philosophy this morning the quiz question was why does Nietzsche say "God is dead"? For Ancient and Medieval Philosophy the quiz question was what does Aquinas mean by Natural Law? For Introduction to Philosophy this evening we began looking at Marx and since economics was a main area of his interest the quiz question was do you think President Elect Donald Trump will be good for business? The second quiz question of the evening was why does Nietzsche say "God is dead"?

Wednesday Logic

Today we went over more translation issues with regard to symbolic logic and went over the final exam questions. Note that the final exam is posted on the web at the bottom of the syllabus. The quiz question today is in regard to issues with translation and that is do you think movies are/is the most powerful tool we have to change other cultures to be more like ours? As examples of this I compared an American song which was modified in its presentation in the US to appear primarily romantic with the songs use in Germany and France where it was the main song in a musical that puts an entirely different slant on the words! (Is Europe trying to influence the US culture?) As a further comparison I brought up Disney's Frozen (again) and the translation of that into at least 25 different languages - as for example Arabic. Notice that often the translations are modified to appeal to the foreign culture.

Tuesday classes

For Introduction to Philosophy this morning we began looking at Marx and since economics was a main area of his interest the quiz question was do you think President Elect Donald Trump will be good for business? For Ancient and Medieval Philosophy there were two questions today. One was when discussing the relationship between faith and reason, what sort of things do you have faith in? (We were looking over Aquinas Summa when asking this.) A fun second question was how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

Monday Logic

Today in Logic we reviewed Conditional Proof and Indirect Proof, then went on to Predicate Logic introducing the symbols used. A question regarding the translation of normal human speech into symbolic systems about what is lost in translation brought up the difficulties in translating even normal speech between humans, as for example this quote from The Atlantic "When he makes claims like this, the press takes him literally, but not seriously; his supporters take him seriously, but not literally." My quiz question is how could computers - using the symbolic language we are examining - deal with this kind of nuance? Can we lose so much in human language translating into symbolic languages and enable computers to deal with the complexity in human issues?

Thursday classes

For my morning Introduction to Philosophy class the quiz question today was comparing Kierkegaard's presentation of Agamemnon in contrast to Abraham do you feel a closer affinity toward either one? For Ancient and Medieval Philosophy the quiz question is why do some philosophers argue the sacred scriptures are misleading? For my evening Introduction to Philosophy course the first quiz question regarding Mill is a fill in the blank: "It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a ____ satisfied." The second quiz question today was comparing Kierkegaard's presentation of Agamemnon in contrast to Abraham do you feel a closer affinity toward either one?

Tuesday classes

Today in Introduction to Philosophy we talked about Mill and the quiz question was a fill in the blank: "It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a ____ satisfied." For Ancient and Medieval Philosophy the quiz question was do you think all three of the religions of the book are the same religion? Better, I should have asked, do they all worship the same God?

Monday Logic

Today we went over problems from exercise 8F which will be the exercise the test questions come from on Wednesday. We will start from the beginning of class on Wednesday. Remember you can use your book, notes, web, and conversation - but remember how that usually results in shared wrong answers! If you need more points after the test you can earn them by doing more exercises. The quiz question for today was problem 17 which does have the answer in the back of the book. Try doing it yourself first and then compare to the suggested solution in the back. There are often more than one way to solve these.

Thursday classes

For Introduction to Philosophy this morning the quiz question is what do you think about the lecture David Foster Wallace gives titled This is Water. For Ancient and Medieval Philosophy the quiz question is how do you think Thomas Becket should have avoided death? For Introduction to Philosophy this evening the first quiz question was in two parts: first, in the Detroit scenario what do you feel your categorical imperative would be - to interfere or not? two, what do you imagine yourself actually doing? The second half quiz question is what do you think about the lecture David Foster Wallace gives titled This is Water.

Wednesday Logic

Note that the test will be postponed to Wednesday next week instead of being on Monday. The quiz question today was to do problem 11 in exercise 8F section IV. Notice also that the test will be from this section of exercise 8F.

Tuesday classes

For Introduction to Philosophy this morning the quiz question was in two parts: first, in the Detroit scenario what do you feel your categorical imperative would be - to interfere or not? two, what do you imagine yourself actually doing? For Ancient and Medieval Philosophy the quiz question today was what characteristics do you think should be added to the definition of God that Saint Anselm gives us in his Ontological Argument?

Monday Logic - Happy Halloween!

The quiz question for Logic today was to do word problem 4 from exercise 8E (p 427 in the new edition and p 398 in the old). So with this one first you have to translate the sentences into the symbols given. Then use the implication rules and the first five replacement rules to show the argument is valid.

Thursday classes

For Introduction to Philosophy this morning the quiz question was how do you know you have a persistent self? For Ancient and Medieval Philosophy today the quiz question was do you think a city could be a city of God if it did not have an orchestra? For my evening Introduction to Philosophy class the first question was do you think the United States is getting more secular in the way that France is secular? The second question was how do you know you have a persistent self?

Wednesday Logic

Today the quiz question was to do problem 6 in section II of exercise 8B.

Tuesday classes

For Introduction to Philosophy this morning the quiz question was do you think the United States is getting more secular in the way that France is secular? And for Ancient and Medieval Philosophy today the quiz question was what city was the City of God for Augustine, and what city was the city of Men?

Monday Logic

The quiz question today has nothing to do with what we are doing in class but has been bugging me lately. Since Einstein said that nothing can go faster than the speed of light (C), then how does he give us the formula E = MC2? Doesn't that imply to be energy energy must go the speed of light squared - or faster than the speed of light? Can there be energy then? But obviously there is.

Thursday classes

For Introduction to Philosophy class this morning the quiz question is the famous one: if a tree falls in the forest and there is nobody there to hear it does it make a sound? (This should set us up for our discussion of Berkeley next class.) For Ancient and Medieval Philosophy today the quiz question was how do you account for human freedom? For Introduction to Philosophy this evening the first quiz question is how do you keep the average education level of voters from resulting in poor policy in a democracy (based on average understanding of the issues instead of expert understanding)? and the second quiz is the famous one: if a tree falls in the forest and there is nobody there to hear it does it make a sound? (This should set us up for our discussion of Berkeley next class.)

Wednesday Logic

Today we went over test 2 and began the symbolic portion of the course. The quiz was with regard to the exercise on WFFs and specifically problem 10. Is it a WFF or not? (I did start to record this portion of the class but the batteries died almost immediately - so, sorry about that. But I did find this old lecture on symbolic logic. Sorry for how terrible these are.

Tuesday Classes

For Introduction to Philosophy this morning the quiz question is how do you keep the average education level of voters from resulting in poor policy in a democracy (based on average understanding of the issues instead of expert understanding)? For Ancient and Medieval Philosophy the quiz question is how do you teach complexity in faith to those who have been raised on a child's understanding of their religious narratives without creating a sense of betrayal by the young adult?

Monday Logic

For Introduction to Logic test 2 there is this version and there is this practice version. One of them will be the test to turn in. Don't forget your name on each page, and for those that are invalid make sure you include what rules they break.

Thursday classes

For Introduction to Philosophy this morning the quiz question was do you think health care should be considered a right? For Ancient and Medieval Philosophy the quiz question is what do you think motivated Christian martyrs to sacrifice their lives? For my evening Introduction to Philosophy class the quiz questions were how do the Idols of the Theater reflect a new interpretation of religion? and do you think health care should be considered a right?

Wednesday Logic

Today we did a variety of syllogisms to prep for the test next class. Also note that a midterm progress grade must be submitted by October 14th so please make sure you have test 1 and quiz responses emailed to me ASAP.

Tuesday classes

For Introduction to Philosophy today the quiz question was how do the Idols of the Theater reflect a new interpretation of religion? For Ancient and Medieval Philosophy today the quiz question was what philosophy of life does this song represent? Lyrics Eblouie par la nuit - Stoic? Epicurean?

Monday Logic Columbus Day

For Introduction to Logic this morning the quiz question was to do syllogism AEE-3.

Thursday classes

For Introduction to Philosophy class this morning the quiz question was does the earth go around the sun or does the sun go around the earth? For Ancient and Medieval Philosophy today the quiz question was what is the difference between politics and sociology? For Introduction to Philosophy class this evening the first quiz question is is how many angels can dance on the head of a pin? The quiz question for the second half is does the earth go around the sun or does the sun go around the earth?

Wednesday Logic class

Today's quiz question was give an example of the syllogism Baroco (AOO-2).

Tuesday classes

For Introduction to Philosophy this morning the quiz question is how many angels can dance on the head of a pin? For Ancient and Medieval Philosophy today's quiz question is what do you think the connection is between love and the soul?

Monday Logic

The Quiz question today was to put the sentence "If a person has 10 dollars in her checking account then she is not rich" into a standard form categorical statement. As some noted the answer is right under that in the text. As an additional fun thing to do with this, and the main thing is to practice putting ordinary statements into categorical statements to see how they work, try putting an ordinary language statement that someone says into a standard categorical statement form.

Thursday classes

For the Introduction to Philosophy morning class the quiz question is what would you think of life in monastery or convent? Here is an example of the rule by which people are supposed to live in a religious order. For Ancient and Medieval Philosophy class the quiz question is what do you think is the dominant fallacy used in the Monty Python witch trial scene? And for reference here is one list of fallacies. For Introduction to Philosophy evening class the first quiz question is what does it mean to be Saved? And have you ever been Saved yourself? The second half quiz question is what would you think of life in monastery or convent? Here is an example of the rule by which people are supposed to live in a religious order.

Wednesday Logic

For Wednesday Logic class the quiz question is what do you think is the dominant fallacy used in the Monty Python witch trial scene?

Tuesday classes

For Introduction to Philosophy this morning the quiz question is what does it mean to be Saved? And have you ever been Saved yourself? For Ancient and Medieval Philosophy the quiz question is can something exist without substance?

Logic Monday

Who is your favorite comic and what sort of logical fallacy seems the technique they use the most?

Thursday classes

For the morning section of Introduction to Philosophy my question is why do you think Christianity became the dominant religion of the Roman Empire? For Ancient and Medieval Philosophy my question is which of the Greek Aporias do you find most interesting? How would you solve it? For my evening section of Introduction to Philosophy the quiz questions are which civilization had more impact on our own - Greece or Rome? (You may want to take sides on this debate between Mary Beard and Boris Johnson.) and the second question is why do you think Christianity became the dominant religion of the Roman Empire?

Wednesday Logic

For the quiz question today in Logic the question was do you think this scene is pornographic? Or worse - is it child pornography? Moonrise Kingdom Dance Scene Another interesting question you might want to discuss is what did you think of the Ontological Argument? Still another interesting topic to start off next class is who is your favorite comic and do you have a link to a clip for them?

Tuesday classes

For Introduction to Philosophy today the quiz question was which civilization had more impact on our own - Greece or Rome? (You may want to take sides on this debate between Mary Beard and Boris Johnson.) FOr Ancient and Medivela Philosophy today the quiz question was what other imaginary utopias were based on Plato's Republic?

Monday Logic

The quiz question for Logic this morning was to analyse the argument form presented in either of the movie clips we discussed this morning. This included Maleficent True loves kiss or Poisonous Love Achmed the dead terrorist or the debate over the movie The Life of Brian. You could analyse the argument presented in the clip as you interpret it, or my argument as I interpreted it, or just wing it playing with the technique of diagramming arguments.

Thursday classes

For Introduction to Philosophy (the morning section) what would you consider Eudaimonia? For Ancient and Medieval Philosophy the quiz question today is how do you interpret Plato's allegory of the cave? And a second question, what would you do if you had a ring of power? For Introduction to Philosophy (evening section) the first quiz question is give an example of a statement that is true and the other three categorical statements that are on the traditional square of opposition with it. The second quiz question is what would you consider Eudaimonia? All sections are also invited to comment on how they like or dislike the course so far. Is there anything you would like me to do differently?

Wednesday Logic

Today the quiz question is to contrast a merely verbal dispute with a factual dispute. Give an example of each.

Tuesday classes

For Introduction to Philosophy the quiz question is give an example of a statement that is true and the other three categorical statements that are on the traditional square of opposition with it. For Ancient and Medieval Philosophy the quiz question today is what do you think of Plato's theory of knowledge?

Monday Logic

There were two options to the quiz question in Logic today. One was define bike. The second was define woman. What a wonder is are there counter examples of your definition that we would none the less call the same name? (I am trying to find the whole concept of category problematic.)

Thursday classes

For Introduction to Philosophy the quiz question today was to critique Plato's description of the three social classes. For Ancient and Medieval Philosophy the quiz question today was one of my favorites. Jesus comes to your door and you know it is Him and He is God. He tells you to sell all you have, give the money to the poor and follow Him. Do you argue with Him or follow Him? For Introduction to Philosophy Thursday evening the quiz question for part one is do you have a soul and if so, what is it? The second section quiz question is critique Plato's description of the three social classes.

Wednesday Logic

The quiz question today was what do you think is more efficient: a bicycle or a car?

Tuesday classes

For Introduction to Philosophy the quiz question today was do you have a soul? If you think you do, what do you think it is? For Ancient and Medieval Philosophy today the quiz question was what form of government do you think would be best?

Thursday classes

For the morning Introduction to Philosophy today the quiz question is one of my favorites. It is the hypothetical situation where Jesus comes to your door, you know absolutely He is God and He asks you to sell all you have, give the money to the poor, and go follow Him. Would you go? Or would you argue with Him? Interesting. For my Ancient and Medieval Philosophy class the quiz question is to go ahead and look at the list here on the blog below and see if you can pick one that you might like to do your term paper on. Keep in mind you should use that philosopher to see how they throw light on the ancient and medieval traditions - if they do. I am not sure how this is going to work out! So you guys are breaking new territory here. For my evening Introduction to Philosophy class there are two quiz questions. First: what are the ten commandments. Two: the hypothetical situation where Jesus comes to your door, you know absolutely He is God and He asks you to sell all you have, give the money to the poor, and go follow Him. Would you go? Or would you argue with Him?

Philosophers for Term Papers

For Introduction to Philosophy and Ancient and Medieval Philosophy here is the list of philosophers I would prefer you consider for your term paper assignment. Keep in mind that you could use one of these to see how they interpret one of the ancient or medieval philosophers for the term paper in Ancient and Medieval Philosophy. Living Philosophers Charles Murray https://www.aei.org/scholar/charles-murray/ Thomas Metzinger http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Metzinger Owen Flanagan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_Flanagan Joseph Margolis http://www.cla.temple.edu/philosophy/faculty/joseph-margolis/ Peter Sloterdijk http://www.newrepublic.com/article/113387/peter-sloterdijks-philosophy-gives-reasons-living Jurgen Habermas http://www.egs.edu/library/juergen-habermas/biography/ Sam Harris http://www.samharris.org/ Charles Taylor http://www.thenation.com/article/162667/sentimentality-or-honesty-charles-taylor# Alister McGrath http://users.ox.ac.uk/~mcgrath/ Daniel Dennett http://ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/dennett/index.html Martha Nussbaum http://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/nussbaum/ Slavoj Zizek http://www.egs.edu/faculty/slavoj-zizek/biography/ Alain Badiou http://www.egs.edu/faculty/alain-badiou/biography/ Peter Singer https://www.princeton.edu/~psinger/ David Chalmers http://consc.net/chalmers/ Judith Butler http://www.egs.edu/faculty/judith-butler/biography/ Fredric Jameson http://literature.duke.edu/people?Gurl=&Uil=812&subpage=profile A.C. Grayling http://www.acgrayling.com/ Anthony Kenny http://www.europaeum.org/europaeum/?q=node/1239 Philip Kitcher http://philosophy.columbia.edu/directories/faculty/philip-kitcher Frances Fukuyama http://fukuyama.stanford.edu/ Steven Pinker http://stevenpinker.com/ Mary Warnock http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Warnock,_Baroness_Warnock Cornel West http://www.cornelwest.com/ Douglas Hofstadter http://www.soic.indiana.edu/people/profiles/hofstadter-douglas.shtml Susan Haack Tariq Ramadan Reza Aslan Bernard-Henri Levy Umberto Eco Patricia Churchland Paul Churchland Richard Dawkins Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) Alvin Carl Plantinga Hans Kung Alasdair MacIntyre Completely Dead but still relatively recent philosophers Hilary Putnam http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~phildept/putnam.html Michel Foucault Edward Said Vine Deloria Jr. C. S. Lewis Richard Rorty John Rawls Robert Nozick Ronald Dworkin Hans-Georg Gadamer

Wednesday Logic

Today the quiz question was what do you think is the main difference between men and women? If you are interested here is an interesting panel discussion on the topic: what next for feminism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dje0Dm7LLS4

Tuesday classes

Today for Introduction to Philosophy the quiz question was what are the ten commandments? For Ancient and Medieval Philosophy the quiz question was if you were Agamemnon would you have killed your daughter?

Introduction to Logic First lecture

Today I mostly introduced myself, the course, and some interesting aspects of Logic. The quiz question for today was: does the earth go around the sun or does the sun go around the earth? Email me your thoughts!

Ideas for Monday

These are my notes for Monday when I am going to meet with new AMCS students at the CERC. Things to cover are Typical topics for discussion include, but are not limited to: Time Management - stress time reading. Becoming fluent in subject vocabulary. Professionalism: Email communication, behavior, and first impressions Plagiarism Tutoring The Writing Process

Email change

As part of the changes being made by the University of Alaska system the email addresses are being changed to one G-Mail system. My email address is changed from wsjamison@uaa.alaska.edu to wsjamison@alaska.edu Notice I also have a regular G-Mail address that I used when starting this blog and it remains the address under which this blog is registered and shown. I do get email using both. As far as I can tell, apart from having to switch programs to run my email and learn to live with the differences, there is no other difference.

Welcome to the Summer

Today is the official start to the summer sessions and I have one ten week online course that is full. As usual, some folks have not received their books yet, and this just means you have to start later and rush a little more to finish on time. There are lots of things to read online on the Internet for philosophy. More than anyone can ever grasp actually. I will mostly be trying to check email frequently to answer questions. But I will be spending a lot of time on my back deck reading!

Friday evening History of Philosophy I

Watching the Name of the Rose, I should have asked you who the "rose" was, and what we might say about the name of the rose? Curious. Thanks everyone for taking the class. You were a wonderful group. Thanks Tom for the pizza!

Friday evening History of Philosophy I

Two quiz questions this evening. One was what movie should we watch for our last session? And I forget what the second question was. Anybody?

Thursday classes

These are the last regular classes for the semester. Next week we are on the final schedule and so History of Philosophy II only meets on Thursday (no class on Tuesday) for a double session starting at 7 AM and going to 9:45. This is optional attendance and we are watching and discussing a movie, probably Jurassic World. The quiz question today was a request for your suggestions on how I could improve the class. For Introduction to Philosophy the quiz question is the same and note the final next week is scheduled for Thursday from 10 AM until 12:45. We will also be watching a movie as yet undetermined.

Wednesday Logic Last class except for final

So today's class is the last regular class. Note there is no class on Monday and the Final session is a double class on Wednesday next from 10 until 12:45. Please make sure all your tests including additional problems from either test 2 or test 3 are in before our last session. Quiz question today is how do you think this course has met your expectations? Can I improve it in some way?

Tuesday classes

The quiz for History of Philosophy II this morning was either what movie do you want to watch for the final discussion or what is your favorite quote from Daniel Dennett. I forget which. For Introduction to Philosophy today the quiz question was what is your favorite Quine quote!

Monday Logic

The quiz question today is if you are coming to the final session which movie would you like to watch and discuss? Also, for Wednesday please read and analyse this essay.

History of Philosophy I Friday evening

There were two quiz questions this evening: what is your favorite Thomas Aquinas quote, and what was Natural Law according to Aquinas? Another good question we didn't cover would have been what Aquinas means by a just war....

Thursday classes

For History of Philosophy II, today the lecture on my presentation posted here my quiz question was regarding the answer you gave earlier in the semester on your metanarrative - the story that gives your life meaning - is there an institution that supports you in that metanarrative? Do you feel you have to go it alone in your beliefs or is there a social network of support from others that belief what you do about the purpose of life? For Introduction to Philosophy today the quiz question is what is your favorite quote from John Dewey?

Logic Wednesday

The quiz question for today was to compare the movies Donnie Darko with It's a Wonderful Life. Also notice the final exam is posted on the syllabus. For those who are still working on test 3 to earn points the problems have to be those that are odd numbers in the exercise since we did the even numbered ones today in class.

Tuesday classes

For History of Philosophy II, the quiz question today was who do know that is a famous pragmatist today? For Introduction to Philosophy today the quiz question was either do you think I should trim my beard more for graduation (if you are graduating) or not, or who do know that is a famous pragmatist today?

Monday Logic

The quiz question today was problem 3 on page 495.

Friday evening History of Philosophy I

First quiz question: who was the first Chancellor appointed in Oxford? Second quiz, what prompted Aquinas to write the Summae?

Thursday classes

Today in History of Philosophy II the quiz question was what is your favorite Quine Quote? Mine is ontology recapitulates philology. (Which is a pun on a famous line by Haeckel. For Introduction to Philosophy today on Nietzsche the quiz question is are there any Nietzscheans that you find likeable people?

Wednesday Logic

People were turning in their tests for test 3. If you haven't yet turned in a test please do preferably before the weekend so I can grade them and go over them on Monday. Remember these can be considered a way to check on your understanding so far and you can make up more points if you need them later. The quiz question for today was what was the significance of Quine's discovery - reflected in our text by the Change of Quantifier rule (also known as the Quantifier Exchange rule in some books.) This was in his essay: Two Dogmas of Empiricism

Tuesday classes

The quiz question for Introduction to Philosophy today was what question do you think would be a good question to ask today? For History of Philosophy II the quiz question today was when George Lakoff said "Don't think of an elephant." Did you think of an elephant?

Monday Logic

Today we began test 2 in class. Everyone is continuing to work on test 2 at home. Please turn in your test on Wednesday. The test questions are from the book pages 408 - 410 and are numbers 18, 20, 22, 24, 28, 32, 34, 38. Notice they generally get harder the higher the number of the question.

History of Philosophy I Friday evening

Beginning our discussion of Islam this evening, the quiz question was who do you think should have ruled the Holy Land at the time of the third Crusade? As noted, this question in effect is still an issue even though Israel has been established now since the end of World War II.

Thursday classes

For History of Philosophy II today we covered some information about Berlin, Taylor, Ignatieff, and Fukuyama (and Randall Collins). The quiz question was what cultural influences do you think have affected your beliefs? For Introduction to Philosophy today we covered Kierkegaard. The quiz question is a serious one, why do you think David Foster Wallace committed suicide?

Logic Wednesday

The quiz question today was problem 2 on page 408. This is also the exercise the test questions will be from that we will do on Monday April 4. So be ready for the test Monday! It will work the same as test 2 in class but you can certainly take home those you haven't completed and hand them in on Wednesday.

Tuesday classes

For History of Philosophy II today the quiz question was how many forms of life are you fluent in? For Introduction to Philosophy the quiz question was a fill in the blank: Mill says "It is better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied. Better to be a Socrates dissatisfied than a __________ satisfied."

Monday Logic

The quiz question today was to do problem 27 on page 397. If you feel like it, you could also continue to try and solve problem 11 on page 395. Notice also that test 3 on this section has been postponed at least until Monday next week instead of Wednesday this week.

History of Philosophy I Friday evening

Of course as soon as I started driving home I remembered who John of Salisbury was (he was the main assistant to Thomas Becket. But we will pick up with him next week. The quiz questions tonight were 1: Who do you think Anselm is calling a fool? and 2: What is your favorite Gregorian chant?

Thursday classes

In History of Philosophy II today talking about Husserl and Phenomenology I brought up two examples. One was Van der Leeuw (this link is to a newer edition) and the other was Peter Berger and Sociology of Knowledge As an example of the socially constructed reality I brought up elements of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series - "the journey from the mind of a single mother to a global media franchise" and the quiz question was who do you think the house elves best represent? Would you support SPEW? For Introduction to Philosophy today we moved on to Hegel and for some reason I thought, hey, why not? Let's ask the same question! Would you support SPEW?

Wednesday Logic

The quiz question today was to do the word problem #8 on page 373.

Tuesday classes

For History of Philosophy II today the quiz question was are you glad to be back? A very pragmatic question! For Introduction to Philosophy the quiz question today was what is Enlightenment?

Logic Monday second day of spring

The quiz question for today was to do problems 1 through 10 on page 362.

Friday evening History of Philosophy I

There were two quiz questions this evening. The first was to say whether you were voting for Rome or Greece prior to watching the debate between Boris Johnson and Mary Beard on Intelligence Squared and then the question did you vote differently after the debate ended? (And sort of what did you think of the debate that I think was really smashing...) The second question asked just before everyone left for Spring Break (remember we have no class next Friday) was what do you think of the concept of The Immaculate Conception?

Thursday classes

Have a nice Spring Break! The quiz question today for both classes was what are your plans for Spring Break? Please be safe and have fun.

Wednesday Logic

The quiz question today (Wednesday) was what did you think of Thomas Frank's argument?

Tuesday classes

The quiz question today for History of Philosophy II on Kierkegaard is what gives your life meaning? For Introduction to Philosophy today the quiz question is do you think of energy as spirit? (What did Berkeley meaning by Spirit?)

Monday Logic

Remember to get your test 2 in to me if you haven't yet. Also, I notice there are some who have not sent in test 1! So make sure you do. We began work on chapter 7 today and the quiz question is to do problems 12 through 15 on page 298.

Friday evening History of Philosophy I

The quiz question this evening was what did you think of the way I presented the information this evening. How embarrassing! I promised several people I would video the class last night and post it on youtube. But the first part of the class the batteries cut off after only five minutes – which was probably even before we started. And after I changed the batteries for the second half I forgot to turn the camera on. We had quite a few miss because of various things (thank you all for emailing me ahead of time regarding that) but so I thought I would at least try to summarize things I mentioned. To start though I would like to mention the article by Chris Thompson in this morning’s Dispatch News which was all about Creeds! Part of what we discussed last night was the First Church Council at Nicaea and how they resolved on the creed in support of Bishop Athanasius But I started the class reviewing Plotinus to emphasize that during the early Christian period his version of Platonism was the primary philosophical view accepted and so reflected in Christian doctrine as we will see with Saint Augustine (who we will really begin looking at next week.) Plotinus emphasizes the connection between the material world and heaven through beauty which is primarily mathematical and mystical. In describing the beginnings of the Jewish religion I mentioned the book The Bible as it Was to emphasize that scholars consider the Bible (basically library) to be interpreted from the beginning with an attempt to view the variously collected elements to be parts of a single narrative. But the parts are from different groups and different time periods as Richard Friedman describes in his book Who Wrote the Bible and one such portion is beautifully portrayed in the book of J . I mentioned the various versions of stories regarding Abraham which sets up the ongoing conflict between the heirs of his sons Isaac and Ishmael. In talking about the New Testament I referred to the Front Line presentation Jesus to Christ. By the way, as expected, once I got home I remembered the answer to the one question was Massada!

Thursday classes

For History of Philosophy II today the quiz question was what do you think of Karl Marx's love poems? For Introduction to Philosophy the quiz question was what do you think of Leibniz view that this is the best of all possible worlds?

Wednesday Logic

Today we did test 2. If you have not done test 2 already go to my blog for Monday and click on the last link to the test and turn it in on Monday.

Tuesday classes

The quiz question today was the old fill in the quote from John Stewart Mill "It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a (what?) satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, is of a different opinion, it is only because they only know their own side of the question.” So fill in the blank - even though the quote actually gives it away. Do you think Mill is right? For Introduction to Philosophy on John Locke - how do you resolve the epistemological problem of empiricism?

Monday Logic

The quiz question today was what do you think of David Brooks' argument here? We spent the class doing the practice test here. This was in preparation for the actual test to be given or turned in on Wednesday which is posted here.

History of Philosophy I Friday evening

The question this evening was which philosophy we discussed do you feel most comfortable with?

Thursday classes

For History of Philosophy II today the question was what do you think of Wagner's music? For Introduction to Philosophy today the quiz question was what do you think it would mean to be a Pantheist and to think the entire Universe is God?

Wednesday Logic

The quiz question today in Logic was to do syllogism AAO-2 .

Tuesday classes

For History of Philosophy II today the quiz question was regarding the plight of homeless people. Are they people too? But if we use the narrative requirement as a measure of the constitution of selves they may not be. (For my review see this link.) Neither are young children? Even adolescents? Or those with dementia? For Introduction to Philosophy today the quiz question is why do we have religion? Just when you believed the week could not get more exciting.... Ex Machina will be shown on Thursday evening, Feb. 25th, 6:30 - 8:30 pm, ADM 148. Please invite your students. Snacks will be provided. This event is a conference preview, a great chance to chat about philosophy, and also an opportunity to talk about the major and upcoming Fall 16 classes to all who are interested. Thanks to Gunner for organizing and for the cute robot poster, attached. Stephanie Stephanie Bauer, Ph.D. Associate Professor and Chair Department of Philosophy University of Alaska Anchorage (907) 786-4677 slbauer@uaa.alaska.edu

Monday Logic

We began chapter 6 working with syllogisms. The quiz question was to do AII-3 as we were doing them in class. Write out the argument form, diagram it using a Venn diagram, (you don't have to email the diagram unless you have a way to do that of course), determine if the argument is valid or invalid, and if it is invalid explain what rule(s) it breaks.

History of Philosophy I Friday evening

The quiz question this evening was what kind of government do you think we have now?

Thursday classes

For History of Philosophy II the quiz question comes from Hegel's conception of self-consciousness applied to God. Do you think God is self-conscious? (Since this seems to require social dependency would God be as we see God?) For Introduction to Philosophy the quiz question is why do you think Descartes tried to keep his whereabouts secret?

Logic Wednesday

The quiz question today was to do problem 25 on page 187.

Tuesday classes

For History of Philosophy II today we were discussing Kant's conception of our categories of Understanding and how this structure in our minds is itself structured. An example of how education is supposed to effect this structure is the famous lecture by David Foster Wallace This is Water where he argues an education enables you to take control over how you perceive the world around you. And is one of the main reasons for it. But Wallace is gone by his own hand. How does this reflect on the paradigm of meaning that he espouses in This is Water? Why did he kill himself? For Introduction to Philosophy today we discussed Scholasticism and Aquinas. My question is, are today's physicists conceptions of the forces of the universe roughly a continuation of what Aquinas considers Angels?

Monday Logic

The quiz question today was to think up a true or false statement that is not of the form A, E, I, or O - or that can be broken down into one or more of them.

Friday evening class

For History of Philosophy I there is a two part question for tonight. Since Aristotle argued only things that have substance exist the soul must be made of matter. So what is the soul for Aristotle? And the second question: Since the soul for Aristotle is associated with the body and there is no possibility of an afterlife what is the goal of life - of happiness - for Aristotle?

Thursday classes

The quiz question today for History of Philosophy II was in two parts: in the Detroit scenario imagine you were in the car next to the woman. What would the categorical imperative be? To interfere or not to interfere? Second part: what do you imagine you might actually have done? In Introduction to Philosophy today the quiz question was what characteristics do you think God should have in order to be considered God?

Wednesday Logic

So give an example of your favorite fallacy and use it to give an argument you think is psychologically persuasive.

Tuesday Classes

The quiz question for History of Philosophy II today was the puzzle of solipsism. How do you know what you are experiencing is the real world and not some sort of dream or hallucination? For Introduction to Philosophy today the quiz question concerns original sin. What do you think original sin is supposed to be? Do we all have it? Are we all born sinful?

Monday Logic

Talking about humor and fallacies the question today was why do you think comedy in modern western societies is so important compared to how litte comedy there is in other countries and throughout history? (Am I wrong about this?) Daniel Dennett argues our sense of humor evolved to reward us for solving problems. So we seems to have had a sense of humor for a long time, but now it becomes almost like a religious event....

Friday night History of Philosophy I

The quiz question today was please give me a true statement. And indicate which form of statement type it is, A, E, I, or O or a combination of two or more of them. Do you think it is true that all true and false statements have to be of this type or can be broken down into statements of this type?

Thursday Classes

For History of Philosophy II today the quiz question is a choice. If you have never had to deal with the question - the famous question! If a tree falls in the forest and there is nobody there to hear it does it make a sound? then this question is for you. If you have already had that question in Introduction to Philosophy then a better question might be to ask you what you think of my interpretation of Berkeley's concept of Spirit as what becomes for us Energy today. After all, he is in correspondence with Leibniz who speaks the same way calling Monads spiritual beings and today the Monads are considered similar to what are called Quarks. For Introduction to Philosophy today the quiz question concerns the historical Jesus. How do you interpret who Jesus was?

Logic Wednesday

The quiz question for today in preparation for next class where we begin discussing fallacies is to send me a link with your favorite comedian doing some standup. What fallacy do you think the comedian uses? By the way, thank you everyone for your help and patience during the medical emergency we had with the student in the hallway. He seems okay.

Tuesday classes

For History of Philosophy II on Leibniz the question was which of his inventions is your favorite? For Introduction to Philosophy today the quiz question was how is the feast of Trimalchio a contrast with Epicurus' philosophy as we know it?

Monday Logic

The quiz question, using the system in chapter three, analyze the argument by David Brooks.

Friday evening History of Philosophy I

There was only one quiz question this evening and it was rather vague I know, but after discussing the Republic and basically seeing the argument for an Aristocracy I wondered how you felt about this elitist political theory and the contrast with the representative democratic republic we have. Does Plato make a good case?

Thursday classes

The quiz question for History of Philosophy II today was a bit of a repeat question for some - what is your favorite song - but with this constraint - it should be from the life time of John Locke. (So perhaps Purcell or maybe even Locke (Matthew) which I wonder - was he a brother? Two years apart. For Introduction to Philosophy the question is regarding how to choose the greatest good. Intrinsic goods versus extrinsic goods.

Wednesday Logic

Today in talking about meaning and definitions - language matters - the quiz question was do you think it is right that value statements (non-cognitive statements!) should be considered neither true nor false? (And for fun, would you consider this question recursive in nature?)

Tuesday classes

For History of Philosophy II today the quiz question was what rights do you think we should have under our social contract? If you have answered this question for me before you might want to focus on how those rights could be made law considering how wealth determines so much in politics today. For Introduction to Philosophy today the quiz question concerns happiness. What kind of life would make you most happy? How does that fit with Aristotle's concept of Eudaimonia?

Monday Logic

For Logic today the quiz question is What is recursion and how does it play an important part of human language?

Friday night History of Philosophy II

The first half of the class quiz question is: Why are there so few women in the ancient philosophy tradition? The second quiz question of the evening is what is a soul? Do you have one?

Thursday night Logic

First half of class quiz question is: give a valid deductive argument with true premises, that is, a sound argument. Second half quiz question: How does recursion play an important part of human language?

Thursday classes

For History of Philosophy II today the quiz question concerned the relationship between Galileo and Newton. Which was responsible for the concept of gravity? For Introduction to Philosophy the quiz question is does Justice require that the top ten percent have 95% of the world's wealth? I will mention Thomas Piketty in this regard.

Wednesday Logic

For Logic the quiz question today was email me a valid argument with true premises.

Tuesday classes

For History of Philosophy II the quiz question today concerned the dilemma associated with people with a non-modern point of view entering into Europe and coming into conflict with people who have a modern point of view (i.e. Post-Descartes). How do you think Chancellor Merkel should handle the situation of having non-modern people (1 million) suddenly added to Germany in one year? For Introduction to Philosophy today we began discussing the nature of the Soul and I referred to Stuart Hameroff who thinks consciousness is found in the microtubules in our neurons and means we have a quantum computer instead of a Turing machine as the seat of our soul. But my question to you is what do you think the soul is? Do you have one? Or like Steven Pinker do you think it is a side effect of brain activity?

Friday History of Philosophy I

There were two quiz questions for this evening. The first was what are the ten commandments? The second was on the video Conan the Barbarian the Musical. Did this video bother you? (What I mean to question is not simply how --- odd - this short video is, or how annoyingly the melody gets stuck in our heads, but the moral point of view espoused in this is that the Good is crushing your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of the women. Ethics comes a long way just by Plato.

Thursday classes

For History of Philosophy II the quiz question today was a comparison between Augustine's reply to the skeptics (page 290 in the text or here on the web - go to chapter 26) with Descartes' Meditations in the text starting at page 377 or here on the web. This comparison had to be obvious to his contemporaries that all would have been familiar with Augustine... so he became famous among his peers because of his work in mathematics, not the Cogito ergo Sum. For Introduction to Philosophy the quiz question today concerns Socrates argument in the Euthyphro - but sort of updated: if Jesus came to your door and asked you to sell everything you have, give the money to the poor, and then go with Him, would you go? Or would you argue with Him about why you should do this? For Logic in the evening class the quiz question is: what are the ten commandments? for the first half of the lecture. Second half - what is your favorite song? Send me the link!

Wednesday Logic

The quiz question today for logic was what is your favorite song? (Please email me the link if possible.)

Tuesday classes

Met for the first time both History of Philosophy II and Introduction to Philosophy. Quiz question for History was should we drink wine? (Besides wine and beer - and milk! Europeans didn't have anything else to drink in the Middle Ages did they - besides water? I am not sure. Tang was invented for the Space Age. Coca Cola was invented so people could buy a cocaine drink at the soda fountain! Tea and coffee came in late and may partially explain the industrial age! Quiz question for Introduction to Philosophy (should be) what are the ten commandments? We shall see...

Logic

First lecture went well I suppose. Welcome to the new semester. I did give a quiz for the first class: what are the ten commandments? We will discuss them and the reason for the question next class - Wednesday. I did video a bit of this lecture for any that missed it but the batteries died after a few minutes.