COURSE NAME: Philosophy

SCHOOL DISTRICT: Middleburgh

INSTRUCTOR: Deborah Herodes

Half Year

COURSE PREREQUISITES:

BRIEF COURSE DESCRIPTION / OUTLINE:

This course will be a historical introduction to philosophy. By looking at the works of several influential
philosophers at some length, we will explore issues in metaphysics (what exists and what is nature?),
epistemology (what can we know? And how can we know it?), and ethics (what actions are moral and
immoral and what is the good life for a human being?).

Authors and Philosophies studied - Socrates/Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Kant, Nietzsche, Derrida, and others.

Objectives:
" To become familiar with what philosophy is through an examination of primary texts by influential
philosophers.
" To learn how to extract what the argument is in the text.
" To gain the ability to evaluate others' philosophical arguments critically.
" To gain the ability to formulate and defend cogent arguments of one's own in philosophy.

Teaching Procedures: This class will be a mix of lecture and discussion. My lectures will presuppose that one
has done the reading for the day. Time will be set aside to evaluate philosophical positions thoughtfully
(including one's own). Entering into these discussions represents a large portion of one's grade for the
course. Short reading response papers will be assigned and will be presented over the Distance Learning
screen.

This course is designed for those who are serious about learning and for those who want to get a head start
on college level expectations.

2/21/06