INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY COURSE MATERIALS

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Syllabus for Introduction to Philosophy

Unit One: What is Philosophy?

Part A: the break from calculative thinking

Part B: a critical foundation for knowledge

Part C: tools exercises for unit one (including the question for Vanilla Sky)

Discussion Guide for Vanilla Sky

Story and Character Development Graphic

Unit Two: The question of Freedom: Who controls my life?

Tools Exercises for Unit Two

Unit Three: The Basic Questions of Ethics: "Should I care more about others than I care about myself?"

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Tools Exercises for Unit 3

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Review for Midterm

Unit Four: The Basic Questions of Ethics: "Does goodness lie in happiness or in acting according to the moral law -- that is, doing what is right?"

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Tools Exercises for Unit 4

Unit Five: The Basic Question of Metaphysics: "Should we accept a scientific or a religious idea of the world as a whole?"

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Tools Exercises for Unit 5

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Unit Six: The Metaphysics of Mind: "Are we mortal or eternal beings?"

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Tools Exercises for Unit 6

Final Review