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| DETAILS | DESCRIPTION | REQUIREMENTS | EVALUATION |
| TEXTS | HELP | FINAL GRADES|

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Instructors:

First Term: Professor Bill Vanderburgh,  TC327
e-mail: wvanderb@uwo.ca
phone: 661-3453 (department phone)
Office Hours: Wednesdays and Fridays, 1:15-2:15 p.m.

Second Term: Dr. Kent Hogarth, TC323
e-mail: khogarth@uwo.ca
phone: 661-5749, or 661-3453 (department phone)
Office Hours: Wednesdays and Fridays, 1:00-2:00 p.m.

Classes: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 12:00-1:00 p.m., TC341

URL for this page: http://instruct.uwo.ca/philosophy/020e-018/

This course examines a series of difficult and interesting traditional problems in Western Philosophy, focussing on Ethics, Epistemology, and Metaphysics. Among the questions that will be considered are the following: Is it possible to prove that a God exists? How are Faith and Reason related to each other? What is it about a good argument that makes it prove its point? Why should one be moral? Is killing ever justified? What is a "person"? What does it mean to know something? How do you know when you know? What makes science different from other "knowledge"-based disciplines? Is matter all that exists, or are there "minds" as well? Can machines think?

Throughout the course a series of short writing assignments will be used to help improve writing and thinking skills, and to evaluate philosophical development. Students are expected to attend all classes, and to do the reading assignments before coming to class. Since philosophy is a discipline best learned by doing, regular participation in class discussions is strongly encouraged.

First term
five one-page assignments, 2% each:.......10%
one 3-4 page essay:........................5%
one 5-6 page essay:.......................15%
test in the Christmas exam period:........10%
total first term:   ......................40%

Second term
five one-page assignments, 2% each:.......10%
one 3-4 page essay:........................5%
one 5-6 page essay:.......................15%
exam in the April exam period:............30% 
total second term:........................60%

Note: 1/3 of the April exam will cover material from first term.

A prepared package of readings for second term is available at the UWO Bookstore.

Any good text on writing philosophy essays, such as Philosophical Writing by A. P. Martinich, or Writing Philosophy Papers by Z. Seech.

• Good and Bad in Philosophy Essays (Ronald Hepburn)
• Guide for Writing Papers in Philosophy (Ellen Watson)
• A Brief Guide to Writing Philosophy Papers (Richard Field)
• Identifying the Arguments of An Essay (Frank Edler)
• How to Read a Philosophy Paper (Jeff Mclaughlin)
• Guide to the Study of Philosophy (Garth Kemerling)