PHIL 1 — A Short Introduction to Philosophy — Spring 2026

Spring 2026 Syllabus and Schedule

Last updated March 31, 2026 — accessed:

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: If you are switching between sections for the same TA, you don't need to do this formally -- just talk to your TA. Otherwise, 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.

Date	Topic	Readings / Exams
Week 1
Sections this week	Basic logical notions	Introduction §1-§4 + Appendix A §1-§2
Mon 03/30	Validity & Soundness of Arguments	Introduction §1-§4 + Appendix A §1-§2
Wed 04/01	Problem of Evil	Ch1 Can God Allow Suffering? §1-§3 + Appendix A
Week 2
Sections this week	Argumentative Strategies / Problem of Evil	Introduction $sect;5-§7 + Ch1 Can God Allow Suffering?
Mon 04/06	Problem of Evil	Ch1 Can God Allow Suffering?
Wed 04/08	Religious Belief	Ch2 Betting on God §1-§3
Week 3
Sections this week	Philosophical Writing / Philosophy of Religion	Ch2 + Appendix B §1-§2
Mon 04/13	Belief	Ch2 Betting on God §4-§6
Wed 04/15	Free Will	Ch5 No Freedom
Week 4
Sections this week	Free Will	Ch5 + Appendix B
Mon 04/20	Free Will	Ch5 No Freedom
Wed 04/22	Personal Identity	Ch3 What Makes You You?
Week 5
Sections this week	Personal Identity + General Review	all previous readings
Mon 04/27	What Makes You You?	Ch3
Wed 04/29	Review	all previous readings
Week 6
Sections this week	New Skill: Extracting Arguments	Selection from Aquinas Summa Theologiae
Mon 05/04	MIDTERM exam	MIDTERM EXAM
Wed 05/06	Epistemology	Ch6 You Know Nothing
Week 7
Sections this week	Epistemology + argument extraction	Ch6
Mon 05/11	Epistemology	Ch6 You Know Nothing
Wed 05/13	Animal Ethics	Ch9 Eating Animals
Week 8
Sections this week	Applied + Extracting Arguments	Ch6 + Jeremy Bentham: Excerpt from Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation
Mon 05/18	Animal Ethics	Ch9 Eating Animals
Wed 05/20	Theoretical Ethics	Ch10 What Makes Things Right?
Week 9
Sections this week	Theoretical Ethics	Ch9 + Ch10
Mon 05/25	Memorial Day	No class!
Wed 05/27	Theoretical Ethics	Ch10 What Makes Things Right?
Week 10
Sections this week	Review and Practice
Mon 06/01	Extracting arguments	Selection from Hume "Of Miracles"
Wed 06/03	Extracting arguments	Hume selection as above
Finals Week
Tue 06/09	Final exam	FINAL EXAM 12:00 - 3:00 p.m.

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Generic Course Information and Other Resources

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

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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.

Classwork expectations

Undergraduate full time load at UCSB is a minimum of 12 units and an average of 15 units. Based on a 40-hour work week, this comes out to between 2.7 and 3.3 hours per credit hour per week. Thus, in a 3 unit course you should be spending roughly 9 hours per week on the course, and for a 4 unit course, it would be 12 hours. If your course meets for 75 minutes twice a week, that's 2.5 hrs of contact time leaving 6 to 9 hours per week of outside lecture time. If you have a discussion section, then one hour is allocated there, leaving 5 to 8 hours per week outside class. In other words, you should be spending 2 or more hours outside class on readings and assignments for every hour in class.

Basic Technology Resource Program

For those who do not own a portable computing device they can bring to class, the Basic Needs Resources office is able to provide Chromebooks at no cost, issued on a first-come first-serve basis for enrolled students who meet the eligibility criteria. They also have loaner laptops and iPads for students meeting the criteria.

Notetaking and Studying

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

1. Mueller & Oppenheimer 2014 The Pen is Mightier than the Keyboard
2. Karpicke & Roediger 2006 Test-Enhanced Learning
3. Kosmyna et al. 2025 Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task

TLDR:
(1) taking notes on a keyboard is less effective than taking notes by hand;
(2) practicing recall via repeated testing is more effective than re-reading for long term retention;
(3) using LLMs to write essays has negative cognitive and neural consequences.

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 UCSB's Anti-Discrimination Policy page.

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 the UCSB title ix website. 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.