PHIL 1 - Spring 2025 - A Short Introduction to Philosophy

Waitlist and Add Code Policy

Waitlist: For the first five days of instruction, students are automatically added to the class from the wait list as spaces open up. No add codes will be distributed before then. You may find that your position on the wait list changes over time. We have no control over this. The online system automatically prioritizes certain students (for instance, seniors), and will place them ahead of you on the wait list.
Getting Add Codes: Add codes are distributed only by TAs, and none are given out until after the fifth day of instruction (which is when the wait list stops automatically adding students). TAs may give priority to students who have shown a special commitment to the course, or have especially good reasons for requesting an add code. Contact information for TAs is available below.
Switching Sections: Contact the TA for the section you’d like to get into and request an add code. There is no guarantee that the TA will prioritize students who are already enrolled in the class and need to switch sections, ahead of others requesting add codes for their sections. If you are switching between sections for the same TA, you don't need to do this formally -- just talk to your TA.

NOTE: THIS VERSION OF THE SYLLABUS IS TENTATIVE AND WILL NOT BE FINALIZED UNTIL THE END OF THE FIRST FULL WEEK OF CLASSES.

This course exposes students to a sampling of topics addressed by philosophers, and provides an introduction to tools such as logic, definitions, counterexamples and thought experiments, that philosophers use to reason about complex and controversial claims.

By the end of the course, in addition to understanding the arguments that have been provided for and against prominent philosophical views, you are expected to be able to apply basic tools of argumentation, argument criticism, and conceptal clarification in your own writing about topics you have encountered in the class and to be able to apply these tools to examples of philosophical texts encountered for the first time.

Lecture Times/Location and Primary Instructor Information
(Prof.) Colin Allen <colinallen@ucsb.edu> Lectures: Mon/Wed 9:30-10:45 CHEM 1179 Office hours: Wed 11-1 in South Hall 5719 and by appointment
Teaching Assistants and Section Meeting Times/Locations
Keith Dyck <keithdyck@ucsb.edu> Sections: Mon 4:00-4:50 GIRV 2127 and Mon 7:00-7:50 GIRV 2116 Office hours: Mon 5:00-5:40 and 6:20-7:00 in South Hall 5705	Kerong Gao <keronggao@umail.ucsb.edu> Sections: Thu 12:00-12:50 ILP 4207 and Thu 1:00- 1:50 ILP 4207 Office hours: Wed 10:45-12:45 in SH 5721
Katherina Gontaryuk <kgontaryuk@ucsb.edu> Sections: Wed 5:00-5:50 ILP 4101 and Thu 9:00-9:50 ILP 4105 Office hours: Wed 11:00-12:00 in SH 5701 and by appointment	Lee Hristienko <hristienko@ucsb.edu> Sections: Tue 9:00-9:50 ILP 4105 and Tue 5:00-5:50 ILP 4103 Office hours: Thu 3:00-5:00 in South Hall 5707
Wolfe Randall <rwrandall@ucsb.edu> Sections: Mon 12:00-12:50 ILP 4211 and Mon 2:00- 2:50 ILP 4205 Office hours: tba in SH 5702 and by appointment

The textbook is Learning from Arguments: An Introduction to Philosophy written by UCSB professor Daniel Korman. The book is provided free of charge through Canvas. It can also be downloaded free of charge at https://philarchive.org/rec/KORLFA. If you want a printed and bound paperback copy you can buy it for $6.36 at Amazon.

We will not be covering all the chapters in the book, nor will we do them in order. The order of reading is Introduction-1-2-5-3-6-8-9-10. You should also read Appendices 1 and 2 by the end of week 3 of the course.

Mon/Wed lectures will highlight aspects of the readings, provide important context, and introduce more ideas about how to respond to the arguments presented in the textbook. Attendance at lectures will not be fully monitored but occasional quizzes delivered via iClicker will be available only to those in attendance at that lecture. One portion of the score for each quiz will reflect participation and another will reflect whether the question was answered correctly. At the end of the quarter, you will be forgiven up to two missed quizzes with no excuse necessary. If you miss more than this for excused absences please talk to me.

Discussion sections will elaborate and clarify the main topics and you will work on applying the argumentative and analytical tools used in philosophy to develop your own positions on the issues covered in lecture and the book. Policy for assessment of participation and attendance in sections is up to the individual TAs.

Concerning note-taking and studying styles, you are advised to read the following two articles from the cognitive science of learning.

Grades will be based on classroom quizzes administered in lectures (5% of the grade) and particiation in discussion sections (5% of grade), an in-person midterm exam on Monday April 28 (20%), a paper due by midnight on Thursday May 29 (35%), and an in-person final exam on Wednesday June 11 8-11 a.m. (35%). There is also an initial paper plan deadline on Thursday May 15 to allow you to receive feedback on the approach you will take.

Exact formats of the midterm and final exam will be announced one week before each exam, but you should be prepared to answer multiple choice and short-answer questions about anything in the assigned readings or covered in lectures and sections prior to the exam.

Paper prompts will be provided immediately after the midterm exam. Detailed instructions for writing and submitting your paper using Googledocs will be provided via Canvas.

Late papers will be penalized 5 points after the first 24 hours (i.e. receipt after midnight on Friday May 30), then one point per additional 24 hour delay. Late papers will not be accepted at all after Friday June 6.

Various aspects of class participation will require you to use iClicker on a mobile device or laptop. The iClicker link for the course is https://join.iclicker.com/XUFY. (See UCSB's iClicker Cloud for Students guide if you need detailed instructions on how to set up your device.)

This reading schedule may be adjusted at any time. You will be alerted to changes via Canvas Announcements.

Date	Topic	Readings / Assignments
Week 1
Mon 03/31	Welcome & Course Overview
Wed 04/02	The Problem of Evil	Appendix A + Ch 1, §§1-3
Sections	Validity & Soundness of Arguments	Introduction §§1-4 + Appendix A §§1-2
Week 2
Mon 04/07	The Problem of Evil	Ch1 §§4-8
Wed 04/09	Betting on God	Ch2 §§1-3
Sections	Argumentative Strategies	Introduction §§5-7
Week 3
Mon 04/14	Betting on God	Ch2 §§4-6
Wed 04/16	No Freedom?	Ch5 all §§
Sections	Philosophical Writing / Philosophy of Religion	Appendix B §§1-2 / Chs 1 & 2
Week 4
Mon 04/21	No Freedom?	Ch5 all §§
Wed 04/23	review	Chs. 1, 2 & 5, Appendices A and B, all lecture materials
Sections	Free Will + review	Chs. 1, 2 & 5, Appendices A and B, all lecture materials
Week 5
Mon 04/28	exam	MIDTERM EXAM
Wed 04/30	What Makes You You?	Appendix B + Ch3
Sections	Philosophical Writing	Appendix B §§3-4
Week 6
Mon 05/05	What Makes You You?	Ch3
Wed 05/07	Do You Know Anything?	Ch6
Sections	Writing + Metaphysics of Self
Week 7
Mon 05/12	Do You Know Anything?	Ch6
Wed 05/14	Abortion Ethics	Ch8
Thu 05/15		PAPER PLAN DUE
Sections	Writing + Epistemology
Week 8
Mon 05/19	Abortion Ethics	Ch8
Wed 05/21	Should You Eat Animals?	Ch9
Sections	Applied Ethics
Week 9
Mon 05/26	Memorial Day	No class!
Wed 05/28	Should You Eat Animals?	Ch9
Thu 05/29		PAPER DUE
Sections	Metaethics
Week 10
Mon 06/02	What Makes Things Right?	Ch10
Wed 06/04	What Makes Things Right?	Ch10
Sections	Metaethics + review
Finals Week
Wed 06/11	Final exam	FINAL EXAM 8:00-11:00 a.m.

The material below is generic to all my syllabi. Please ask if you are unsure how it applies to this class.

Still Relatively New to Philosophy Courses?

Except in Logic (PHIL 183), you may find my concise guides to reading philosophy and writing philosophy helpful. You may find them useful even if you are not so new to philosophy.

Missed Assignments

Except when indicated in the main part of the syllabus above, you may request to make up for missed exams or other assignments for and only for University-recognized officially excused absences:

For predictable absences due to competitive events, required activities in other classes, etc., documentation must be provided at least two weeks prior to the absence.
UCSB is committed to providing reasonable academic accommodations to allow students observances of their religious beliefs. Whenever possible, students will be given reasonable time to make up any academic assignment that is missed due to participation in a religious observance. It is your responsibility to inform me as soon as possible of any intended absences for religious observances, no less than two weeks in advance.
For genuine emergencies, illnesses, or deaths in the family, written documentation must be provided when you return to class.

Statement about Academic Misconduct

Students in this course are obliged to comply with UCSB's Academic Integrity Policies. Any student suspected of violating this obligation for any reason during the quarter will be referred via the Academic Integrity procedures detailed at the above link. When you submit assignments with your name on them in this course, you are signifying that the work contained therein is all yours, unless otherwise cited or referenced. Any ideas or materials taken from another source for either written or oral use must be fully acknowledged. If you are unsure about the expectations for completing an assignment or taking a test or exam, be sure to seek clarification beforehand. Use of ChatGPT or similar generative AI products will be discussed in prior to any writing assigments, and may not be used unless you are explicitly given permission to do so, and never without explicit acknowledgment of its use.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and UCSB's Disabled Students Program for information about accomodations and services.

The University of California, in accordance with applicable federal and state laws and University policy, prohibits discrimination against or harassment of any person at the University on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition (cancer-related or genetic characteristics), ancestry, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship, or age. For more information see https://eodp.ucsb.edu/resources/policies.

I ask that everyone in the class strive to help ensure that other members of this class can learn in a supportive and respectful environment. If there are instances of the aforementioned issues, you may contact the Title IX Office, by calling 805-893-2701 or visiting https://titleix.ucsb.edu/. You may also choose to report this to a faculty/staff member; they may also be required to communicate about such issues to the University’s Office of Diversity and Incusion. If you wish to maintain complete confidentiality, you may also contact University Counseling & Psychological Services .

Statement on Classroom Recording

To ensure the free and open discussion of ideas, students may not record classroom lectures, discussion and/or activities without the advance written permission of the instructor, and any such recording properly approved in advance can be used solely for the student’s own private use.

Materials provided for the course may be protected by copyright. United States copyright law, 17 USC section 101, et seq., in addition to University policy and procedures, prohibit unauthorized duplication or retransmission of course materials. See Library of Congress Copyright Office and the University Copyright Policy.

PHIL 1 — A Short Introduction to Philosophy — Spring 2025

Spring 2025 Syllabus and Schedule

The material below is generic to all my syllabi. Please ask if you are unsure how it applies to this class.