Thursday classes

For Early Modern Philosophy we talked about William James, Josiah Royce, American music, Charles Murray, and even religion. So the quiz question was did you ever hear of the Swedenborgians before? (Henry James Sr was a Swedenborgian theologian.) Check out my videos of Bryn Athyn. The grounds. Why did they call Hegel "the old man" while he was in Tubigen? That is the quiz question for Introduction to Philosophy for the afternoon session. For my evening double session of Introduction to Philosophy the topic was Kant and the quiz question was in two parts. You are in traffic that is stuck and three guys get out of their car and try to break in on a young woman next to you in traffic. First part, what is your moral imperative - to interfere or not to interfere? Second part, what do you think you would actually do? For the second half on Hegel the question is Why did they call Hegel "the old man" while he was in Tubigen?

Wednesday Logic

Remember that the next test is postponed from April 3 until April 10. For today the quiz question was write out the eight implication rules. Are you finding these easy to memorize?

Tuesday classes

For Early Modern Philosophy this morning we picked up with Sartre and then started working on American Pragmatism. The quiz question was what music do you think is quintessentially American music? For Introduction to Philosophy today the topic was Kant and the quiz question was in two parts. You are in traffic that is stuck and three guys get out of their car and try to break in on a young woman next to you in traffic. First part, what is your moral imperative - to interfere or not to interfere? Second part, what do you think you would actually do?

Logic Monday

There was almost a quiz today but it was too easy and I did it in class. And then I forgot to think up another quiz question, so there was none today. But we did postpone the next test a week since we are behind in the material. Make sure you are learning the inference rules since test 3 will be to do proofs found on pages 436 - 440 without the book!

Friday Ancient and Medieval Philosophy Augustine lecture 2

There was only one quiz question this evening and that was do you feel that my interpretation of Augustine's theology is similar to conceptions of Christianity you have experienced? Part 1 Part 2

Thursday classes

This morning's Early Modern Philosophy class was on Existentialism and we ended up staying late. The quiz question I asked was why did we stay late? For Introduction to Philosophy this afternoon we were doing Hume and I asked do you think philosophy is a complete waste of time? For my double session of Introduction to Philosophy this evening we discussed Berkeley first and the quiz question was do you have a persistent self? Then for the Hume segment I asked do you think philosophy is a complete waste of time?

Wednesday Logic

For Logic today we started looking at arguments using symbolic logic. The quiz question for today is which fallacious argument is similar to Modus Ponens?

Tuesday classes after Spring Break

Today for Early Modern Philosophy we discussed Kierkegaard and Existentialism. The quiz question is what is the meaning of life? For Introduction to Philosophy today we discussed Berkeley and the quiz question was do you have a persistent self?

Monday Logic after Spring Break

Now doing symbolic logic. My quiz question today is contrast hypothetical syllogism and the Aristotelian Syllogism Barbara. How are they similar?

Updated web pages

I have updated my web pages with those courses I am scheduled to teach for summer 2017. As usual for the summer they only run if there are sufficient students enrolled so please let your friends know or join me yourself if you are interested. I will be doing one section of Introduction to Philosophy on line, one section of Logic on the Eagle River campus meeting Monday evenings, and one section of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy also on the Eagle River campus meeting Friday evenings.

Ancient and Medieval Philosophy Friday class

This evening we discussed the Neo Platonists and then started working on Saint Augustine. The quiz question for Plotinus was have you ever experienced being one with everything? For Saint Augustine the quiz question is do you believe in Original Sin?

Thursday classes

For Early Modern Philosophy today we discussed Feuerbach (in connection with Marx, Mill, Comte) and the impact of Humanism on the development of state religions in England and the US following Mill and The Utility of Religion, Comte in France, and through Marx on Communism. The quiz question was what do you think of Marx' line regarding religion being the opiate of the masses? (Sorry I have neglected to bring in batteries for my video camera lately! I keep forgetting.) For Introduction to Philosophy this afternoon we discussed Leibniz and Newton and the quiz question I asked was if light passing us at speed C - obviously looks like light to us, what do we look like to light? (Since wouldn't we be traveling light speed to that passing light?) For my evening Introduction to Philosophy we covered Locke and Leibniz. For John Locke I asked the famous question If a tree falls in the forest and there is nobody there to hear it does it make a sound? For Leibniz I asked if light passing us at speed C - obviously looks like light to us, what do we look like to light? (Since wouldn't we be traveling light speed to that passing light?)

Wednesday Logic

For Logic today we started propositional logic so began with the symbols. The quiz question today was how many words in English can you think of that use the dot operator as the truth conditions for their use? Have a nice Spring Break everyone. See you in a week....

Tuesday classes

For Early Modern Philosophy today we discussed John Stuart Mill and Utilitarianism. My favorite Mill question was fill in the blank: Better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied, better to be a Socrates dissatisfied than a (what?) satisfied. For Introduction to Philosophy today we did John Locke and asked the famous question If a tree falls in the forest and there is nobody there to hear it does it make a sound?

Monday Logic test 2

Today in Logic we took test 2. For those who missed the class and didn't take the test or those who want to retake the test please arrange that with me.

Friday Ancient and Medieval Philosophy

For Ancient and Medieval Philosophy this evening the first quiz question was what philosophy of life does this song represent? Lyrics Eblouie par la nuit - Stoic? Epicurean? The second quiz question is what do you think motivated Christian martyrs to sacrifice their lives?

Thursday classes

Early Modern Philosophy class this morning we discussed Schopenhauer and for the quiz question I asked something like is it right for me to discourage people from studying philosophers who are discouraging? For Introduction to Philosophy this afternoon we discussed Spinoza and the question I asked for the quiz was do you think his proposition number 15 is correct? For this evening's Introduction to Philosophy class the first quiz question today we did Hobbes and the quiz question concerns the rights you think we should consider necessary for our social contract. How do you think the health care issues should play out in our national discourse? Is health care a right that should be supported by the government? The second half we discussed Spinoza and the question I asked for the quiz was do you think his proposition number 15 is correct?

Wednesday Logic

Today was spent in preparation for the test on Monday. We went over syllogisms and the rules for valid syllogisms. Hopefully, everyone will be ready for the test on Monday. The quiz question today was what do you think of rule 6?