INSTRUCTOR AND OFFICE INFORMATION: Dr. Stefan Sencerz (Philosophy); FC261; 825-2392; Hours: MW 3:45-4:45, TR 3:15-4:45 and BA; E-mail: sencerz@falcon.tamucc.edu; web: http://falcon.tamucc.edu/~sencerz/stefan.htm.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: What is the nature
of the self? Does the self survive through time? Can we travel in
time or is this impossible? What is the nature of a person? Can
animals or sophisticated "machines" be persons? What are the limits
of our obligations? Can we have direct obligations to nature and
animals?
For a long time philosophers have been using imaginative examples,
frequently borrowed from the science fiction literature, to address
these sorts of issues. The role of such examples is to elicit
insights about deep meaning of out concepts and thus come to a better
understanding of these concepts. In this course the method of using
such examples will be taken one step further. We will actually study
works of art (movies, stories, etc.) to discover philosophical
assumptions and theories that underlie them.
The course would combine reading purely philosophical works with
watching several episodes of the TV series "Star Trek New Generation"
(and other SF movies) and reading some short SF stories.
REQUIRED TEXTS: Richard Hanley,
Is Data Human (Basic Books, 1997).
Philosophical
Methods
Additional readings will be assigned later and may include some of
the following: Pierce Anthony, "On the Farm" (a short story); Peter
Singer, "All
Animals Are Equal", Tom Regan,
"The
Case for Animal Rights"
HANDOUTS: If you miss a class, make sure
that you have copies of any handout distributed in the class. Many
required readings will be distributed in class in the form of
handouts. Make sure you have them.
There may be additional handouts intended primarily as aids to the
understanding of the lectures and readings. They do not cover all of
the material, and they do not contain complete accounts of the topics
they do cover. Merely memorizing the handouts will not enable you to
pass the course.
COURSE ORGANIZATION: Class meetings will consist of both lectures and discussions. Questions, discussions, disagreement and argument is expected and strongly encouraged at any time. The amount and quality of your participation will contribute to your grade. The emphasis will be put on rational procedures for evaluating controversies, both within philosophy and elsewhere. Your grade will not depend on any particular view you may adopt. But it will depend on your understanding of these views and arguments in their support.
OBJECTIVES: The course objectives fall into three main categories: content, skill and motivation.:
REQUIREMENTS:
GRADED WORK
PLAGIARISM: Representing someone else's work as your own is known as plagiarism. Whether it is done intentionally (e.g. cheating) or innocently (e.g. failing to place proper quotation marks) plagiarism is a serious offense. All such cases will be handled accordingly.
THE FINAL PAPER should relate material from our meetings and readings to some philosophical issue that interests you. The paper should be approximately 10- 12 double spaced pages. Please do not attach cover page to any of your papers (let's try to preserve the environment). Here are some topic suggestions:
MAKE-UP TESTS AND INCOMPLETES: Unless it is a case of demonstrable emergency, all papers must be turned in on time. An incomplete for the course is possible only in cases where course work is nearly complete, and the student has a good reason for not completing the course work by the end of the semester.