Friday evening Ancient and Medieval Philosophy last class before Final

So for our Friday evening Ancient and Medieval Philosophy last class before Final we covered most of the rest of the book to finish up including a few odds and ends along with it - such as who Charles Sanders Peirce was....rather than a quiz question I asked if you have any comments on how to improve the course. Also for our final session note that we will watch a movie decided by those that come next Friday evening. Attendance is optional. But I will be there and watch a movie of relevance to the course and discuss it. Thank you to all who took the course!

Thursday classes - last week before finals

These are the last regular classes before finals. Early Modern Philosophy meets the last time during finals week on Tuesday May 2 at 10. Introduction to Philosophy afternoons meets for the final session on Tuesday May 2 at 1. Thursday evening's Introduction to Philosophy meets at the same Thursday at 6:30 schedule next week. On each of these the class elects to watch a movie and discuss it with regard to its relevance to philosophy. Attendance for finals are not mandatory so if you have a conflict and need to leave early or not come at all it is up to you. I will be there and bring movies that people can vote on to watch. If you have a movie to bring you think might be good we can vote on that too.

Wednesday Logic - last class before final

Today we discussed statistics and their uses and misuses - mostly their misinterpretation. As a central topic of discussion I played some of Sam Harris' podcast with Charles Murray titled Forbidden Knowledge. This was our last regularly scheduled class. On Monday May 1 we have our final session at 1 PM when we will watch and discuss a movie TBD.

Tuesday classes

Today for Early Modern Philosophy we discussed Daniel Dennett and the Brights. The quiz question is have you gotten encouragement for being bright? For Introduction to Philosophy this afternoon we discussed Quine and Neopragmatism. The quiz question is how does Quine's Two Dogmas of Empiricism impact the modern world?

Monday Logic

We are rushing through the remaining chapters of the book since this is our last regular week of classes. The quiz question was what movie would you like to see and discuss on our last meeting. May 1: Final session - Final test due via email. Attendance is not required but class meets 1:00 PM - 3:45 PM. We will discuss a movie.

Friday Ancient and Medieval Philosophy class

For Ancient and Medieval Philosophy this evening we finished with Aquinas and moved on to late Scholasticism and the Reformation. The one quiz question for this evening is what movie would you like to see on our final session if you are coming. The second quiz question was how might contemporary events in Europe today seem connected to events in Europe towards the end of the Middle Ages?

Thursday classes

For Early Modern Philosophy we were talking about modern Monotheism and the quiz question for discussion is do you think atheism is a religion? For Introduction to Philosophy this afternoon the discussion was on pragmatism and the quiz question was how has Dewey's philosophy of education impacted your education? For my evening section of Introduction to Philosophy both halfs of the class were on pragmatism and the quiz question was who do you think is the sexiest philosopher alive? For the second half the quiz question was how has Dewey's philosophy of education impacted your education?

Wednesday Logic

Today we discussed analogy, moral arguments and perhaps some more. My quiz question is how should the Supreme Court rule regarding issues not covered by the Constitution? (In short, should the court be an activist court or attempt to be more traditional? Here is an example they are discussing today: The Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 according to today's docket. (How do you think they will rule on this? I suspect they will approve and let the position stand.)

Tuesday classes

So for both classes today the quiz question was who do you think is the sexiest philosopher alive?

Monday Logic

Today we went over the questions from test 5. The quiz question was what do you think of my analogical argument that Beverly Hills Chihuahua is a frightful interpretation of the Monomyth since it uses comic characters to represent the myth and so under cuts any belief in it. Notice this debate after The Life of Brian came out: Malcolm Muggeridge and John Cleese

Friday Ancient and Medieval Philosophy

For this evening's class we covered a few philosophers on the syllabus for last week that we did not get to last Friday. Starting with Robert Grosseteste who I especially find fascinating. The quiz question I like asking at this point is how amazing is his speculation regarding creation in comparison to the Big Bang Theory? But then we did begin Aquinas who can easily be thought of as the climactic philosopher of the course as he brings everything together and in many ways is still the reigning dogmatist of today. How do you think he achieves that for us?

Thursday classes

For Early Modern Philosophy (which we clearly have gone beyond the early modern....) discussing Quine primarily as the last or next to last cohort in philosophy where personal contact with the greats was a necessary key to becoming a "great" yourself - as Daniel Dennett with Quine for example, leads me to ask how a person can discern priorities today since there is so much available - it is like deciding what part of the ocean you should swim in or where you should fish. How do you prioritize your own studies and interests today? For Introduction to Philosophy we discussed Nietzsche and my question is how do you feel about being an Ubermensch? For Introduction to Philosophy this evening we discussed Marx in the first half and the quiz question was what do you think is the best use of our time in class? Should I suggest videos to watch prior to class and then we can discuss them in an open forum instead of a lecture? The second half of the evening was on Nietzsche and my question is how do you feel about being an Ubermensch?

Wednesday Logic

For Logic today we started going through the rest of the book. The quiz question today is how does the Quantifier Exchange rule impact current thinking? You might find the Wikipedia article on Two Dogmas interesting.

Tuesday classes

Quiz question for today in both classes was what do you think is the best use of our time in class? Should I suggest videos to watch prior to class and then we can discuss them in an open forum instead of a lecture?

Monday Logic

Today for logic we did test 3. Starting Wednesday we should begin covering the rest of the book before the end of the semester.

Friday evening Ancient and Medieval Philosophy

This evening for Ancient and Medieval Philosophy we glanced over several great Islamic philosophers and the Jewish Philosopher Moses ben Maimonides. But most of the discussion was on Islam itself using Tariq Ramadan and Reza Aslan as two references. Note also Hans Kung was the author behind most of my opinions. My quiz question is do you use the truth fairy story for your kids or do you feel stories like that are lying to them? Does the same issue apply to the way religions are taught?

Thursday classes

For Early Modern Philosophy today we discussed philosophers associated with the History of Thought as a contemporary example of Hegelian philosophy of our times. Starting with Isaiah Berlin and including Charles Taylor, Michael Ignatieff, and Frances Fukuyama, I also started the class reading today's article by George Will For the quiz question I asked if you think your education so far is preparing you for your future. Interesting discussion on this in class today! In Introduction to Philosophy this afternoon the topic was Existentialism and Kierkegaard, and Sartre. The quiz question today is what is on the other side of your leap of faith? For this evening's double session of Introduction to Philosophy we first discussed John Stewart Mill and the quiz question on Mill was a fill in the blank. Better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied, better to be a Socrates dissatisfied than a (blank) satisfied. Then for part two we discussed the topic of Existentialism and Kierkegaard, and Sartre. The quiz question for the second half is what is on the other side of your leap of faith?

Tuesday classes

For Early Modern Philosophy this morning the quiz question was on how you feel Dewey's philosophy of education influenced your own schools. For Introduction to Philosophy the quiz question on Mill was a fill in the blank. Better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied, better to be a Socrates dissatisfied than a (blank) satisfied.

Monday Logic

We did more exercises and then introduced the last of the replacement rules today. Next class we will begin exercises using all the rules in preparation for the test which will be April 10. Notice the syllabus has not been updated to reflect this change, so at this point we are behind in the syllabus. No quiz question was given today.

Friday evening Ancient and Medieval Philosophy

In class this evening we went over Boethius, Anselm, Abelard, Hildegard, and John of Salisbury pretty quickly. We didn't pose a quiz question as I recall. But you are welcome to comment on the general thesis I posed that life during the Middle Ages was at least interesting to some people and not really a Dark Age.