PHI 231. Knowing, Being and Doing: Philosophical Method and Its Applications
Prof. Kyoo Lee, Suite 325-4, Dept. of Philosophy, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Office Hours: T/Th 3:30-5:00pm (and by appointment)
<Some Examples of the "Philosophical" Text>
- Alcoff, "Habits of Hostility on Seeing Race"
- Aquinas, excerpt, "All Things Are Directed to One God," Summa Theologica
- de Beauvoir, I am a Woman, Introduction to the Second Sex
- Caso, excerpt, "The Human Person and the Totalitarian State," Latin American Philosophy in the Twentieth Century (ed.)
- Fulghum, excerpt, "Moving is a Blow to My Self-Image," All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
- Hegel, excerpt, "Certainty at the Level of Sense Experience,"The Phenomenology of Spirit
- Hurston, "How It Feels To Be Colored Me"
- King, "Letter from a Birmingham Jail"
- LaoTzu, Tao Te Ching
- Linklater, Waking Life (Film)
- Merleau-Ponty, In Praise of Philosophy
- Nozick, "Why Do Intellectuals Oppose Capitalism?"
- Phillips, excerpt, "Why Ask Why," Socrates Cafe: A Fresh Taste of Philosophy
- Plato, the Apology
- Plato, excerpt, "Dialogue between Diaotima and Socrates on Love," Symposium
- Russell, "Why I Am Not a Christian"
- Sartre, "New York, the Colonial City"
- Wisdom, "the Meanings and Questions of Life"
I. LOCATING ISSUES AND EXAMPLES
08/28 Administrative Orientation
Advance Planning
09/02 What is Philosophy?
In-class Material: What is Philosophy? (video)
Lecture Note: Branches of Phil, Propositions, Isms
In-class Material: Derrida, A Philosopher on Love (video)
09/04 Why Ask Why?
Read In Advance: Phillips, Why Ask Why, Socrates Cafe: A Fresh Taste of Philosophy
Supplementary Read: Plato, the Apology (Hyperlinked Synopsis; Read at least a Few Passages by Following the Links that Interest You.)
Supplementary Read: Duban, Contrived Ignorance, Legal Ethics and Human Dignity
Supplementary Read: Bloom, From Socrates' Apology to Heidegger's Rektoratsrede, The Closing of the American Mind
Supplementary Read: Merleau-Ponty, In Praise of Philosophy
Supplementary Read: King, Letter from a Birmingham Jail
Supplementary Read: Watson, Socrates' Mistake
In-class Material: Derrida, A Philosopher on Love (video)
09/09 Why Ask Why?
Read In Advance: Phillips, Why Ask Why, Socrates Cafe: A Fresh Taste of Philosophy
Read In Advance: Watson, Socrates' Mistake
Supplementary Read: Plato, the Apology (Hyperlinked Synopsis; Read at least a Few Passages by Following the Links that Interest You.)
Supplementary Read: Duban, Contrived Ignorance, Legal Ethics and Human Dignity
Supplementary Read: Bloom, From Socrates' Apology to Heidegger's Rektoratsrede, The Closing of the American Mind
Supplementary Read: Merleau-Ponty, In Praise of Philosophy
Supplementary Read: King, Letter from a Birmingham Jail
In-class Material: Derrida, A Philosopher on Love (video)
09/11 Writing Workshop
A Sample Analysis of Good/Bad Writings
Lecture Note: Guideline for Philosophical Writing
Lecture Note: EXAMPLE: Suggestive illustration of how one could think and write more clearly, critically and creatively
Lecture Note: EXAMPLE: Suggestive Illustration of Active Reading: Don't just look at words but process and reorganise them in your head.
09/16 Paper #1 Due by 11:59pm
Class ID: 2377909
Enroll: PHI231
II. KNOWING
09/18 Detecting That Which Is Logically Fishy: Philosopher, a Fallacy Detective
In-class Material: Arturo Perez Torres, Heather Haynes, Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary (video)
Supplementary Read: Evaluating Moral Arguments
09/23 Detecting That Which Is Logically Fishy: Philosopher, a Fallacy Detective
In-class Material: Arturo Perez Torres, Heather Haynes, Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary (video)
Supplementary Read: Evaluating Moral Arguments
09/25 Learning The Main Story of Western Philosophy in Under One Week
In-class Material: Plato's Allegory of the Cave - a Unique Interpretation (video)
In-class Material: History of Western Philosophy (about 5 minutes) (video)
In-class Material: History of Western Philosophy (another 5 Minutes) (video)
In-class Material: History of Western Philosophy In a Song (about 3 Minutes) (video)
Lecture Note: Plato on Knowledge: Jusfied True Belief
10/02 Learning The Main Story of Western Philosophy in Under One Week
In-class Material: History of Western Philosophy (about 5 minutes) (video)
In-class Material: History of Western Philosophy (another 5 Minutes) (video)
In-class Material: History of Western Philosophy In a Song (about 3 Minutes) (video)
10/07 Knowing the Difference Between Appearance and Reality
Read In Advance: Russell, Appearance and Reality, Problems of Philosophy
In-class Material: Arturo Perez Torres, Heather Haynes, Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary (video)
Lecture Note: Russell on Appearance and Reality
10/16 Paper #2 Due by 11:59pm
Class ID: 2377909
Enroll: PHI231
III. BEING
10/21 Being Alive/Towards Death
Read In Advance: Donne, Death be not proud, though some have called thee and Dickinson, Because I could not stop for Death
Read In Advance: Wisdom, the Meanings and Questions of Life
Supplementary Read: Aristotle, "Happiness makes life choiceworthy..." Nicomachean Ethics
Supplementary Read: Augustine, "I Saw Only Death..." Confessions
Supplementary Read: Saramago, Blindness
Supplementary Read: Sartre, "Although I did not ask to be born...," Being and Nothingness
Supplementary Read: the Bardo, Note On
Supplementary Read: Tibetan Book of the Dead
Supplementary Read: Tibetan Book of the Dead (video)
10/23 Being Alive/Towards Death
Read In Advance: Donne, Death be not proud, though some have called thee and Dickinson, Because I could not stop for Death
Read In Advance: Wisdom, the Meanings and Questions of Life
Supplementary Read: Aristotle, "Happiness makes life choiceworthy..." Nicomachean Ethics
Supplementary Read: Augustine, "I Saw Only Death..." Confessions
Supplementary Read: Saramago, Blindness
Supplementary Read: Sartre, "Although I did not ask to be born...," Being and Nothingness
Supplementary Read: the Bardo, Note On
Supplementary Read: Tibetan Book of the Dead
Supplementary Read: Tibetan Book of the Dead (video)
10/28 Being Alive/Towards Death
Read In Advance: Donne, Death be not proud, though some have called thee and Dickinson, Because I could not stop for Death
Read In Advance: Wisdom, the Meanings and Questions of Life
Supplementary Read: Aristotle, "Happiness makes life choiceworthy..." Nicomachean Ethics
Supplementary Read: Augustine, "I Saw Only Death..." Confessions
Supplementary Read: Saramago, Blindness
Supplementary Read: Sartre, "Although I did not ask to be born...," Being and Nothingness
Supplementary Read: the Bardo, Note On
Supplementary Read: Tibetan Book of the Dead
Supplementary Read: Tibetan Book of the Dead (video)
10/30 Being in Time: LaoTzu, Aristotle, the Stoics and St. Agustine
Read In Advance: excerpts, Being in Time
Supplementary Read: Saramago, Blindness
optional read: lightman, einstein's dreams (copies available at the college library)
11/04 Being in Time: LaoTzu, Aristotle, the Stoics and St. Agustine
Read In Advance: excerpts, Being in Time
Supplementary Read: Saramago, Blindness
optional read: lightman, einstein's dreams (copies available at the college library)
11/06 Being Repeated: Buddhist Philosophy of Time and Karmic Circle
Read In Advance: Brannigan, Buddhist Ethics, Ethics Across Cultures
In-class Material: the Dhammapada
In-class Material: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring (video)
Lecture Note: Buddhism
Supplementary Read: Hoy, Buddhism and Money: the Repression of Emptiness Today
Supplementary Read: Pope, "Is there a difference?": Iconic Images of Suffering in Buddhism and Christianity
optional read: lightman, einstein's dreams (copies available at the college library)
11/11 Being Repeated: Buddhist Philosophy of Being
Read In Advance: Brannigan, Buddhist Ethics, Ethics Across Cultures
In-class Material: the Dhammapada
In-class Material: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring (video)
Lecture Note: Buddhism
Supplementary Read: Hoy, Buddhism and Money: the Repression of Emptiness Today
Supplementary Read: Pope, "Is there a difference?": Iconic Images of Suffering in Buddhism and Christianity
optional read: lightman, einstein's dreams (copies available at the college library)
11/13 Being Repeated: Buddhist Philosophy of Being
Read In Advance: Brannigan, Buddhist Ethics, Ethics Across Cultures
In-class Material: the Dhammapada
In-class Material: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring (video)
Lecture Note: Buddhism
Supplementary Read: Hoy, Buddhism and Money: the Repression of Emptiness Today
Supplementary Read: Pope, "Is there a difference?": Iconic Images of Suffering in Buddhism and Christianity
optional read: lightman, einstein's dreams (copies available at the college library)
11/18 Synthetic Discussion and Student Presentations
11/20 Synthetic Discussion and Student Presentations
11/25 Paper #3 Due by 11:59pm
Class ID: 2377909
Enroll: PHI231
IV. DOING
12/02 Living
Read In Advance: de Beauvoir, I am a Woman, Introduction to the Second Sex
Lecture Note: de Beauvoir - A Few Guiding Questions
In-class Material: de Beauvoir: An Overview (video)
In-class Material: Sexism, Strength and Dominance: Masculinity in Disney Films (video)
In-class Material: Existentialism: An Overview (video)
In-class Material: Does Masculinity Need To be Redefined? (video)
Supplementary Read: Barackroll and Rickroll (video)
Supplementary Read: Butler, Before Sexual Difference: the Art and Science of Genital Embryogenesis
Supplementary Read: Strathern, Gender: Division or Comparison?
Supplementary Read: Male Pregnancy
Supplementary Read: Wilson, The Ties that Do Not Bind: The Decline of Marriage and Loyalty
Supplementary Read: Who Are You Calling a Lesbian?; People of Lesbos Take Gay Group to Court; Islanders From Lesbos Sue Gay Group
Supplementary Read: Walker, Womanist (excerpt), In Search of My Mothers' Gardens
Supplementary Read: Kimmel, Who's Afraid of Men Doing Feminism?
Supplementary Read: Transgeneration (video)
12/04 Doing or Not Doing
Read In Advance: Luban, Contrived Ignorance, Legal Ethics and Human Dignity
In-class Material: PBS, the Frontline, the Torture Question
Supplementary Read: In Defense of Torture
Supplementary Read: Redefining Torture
Supplementary Read: Regarding the Torture of Others
12/09 Doing or Not Doing
Read In Advance: Luban, Contrived Ignorance, Legal Ethics and Human Dignity
In-class Material: PBS, the Frontline, the Torture Question
Supplementary Read: In Defense of Torture
Supplementary Read: Redefining Torture
Supplementary Read: Regarding the Torture of Others
12/11 Paper #4 Due by 11:59pm (Deadline Extended to 12/16)
Class ID: 2377909
Enroll: PHI231
