The University of Dayton
A Multidisciplinary Course:
Philosophy 340 / Humanities 410
FREEDOM AND DETERMINISM
TTh 3:00-4:15 HM 468 seminar room. Winter, 2000
DESCRIPTION OF THE COURSE
With Calendar and assignments.
Research Paper and Presentation
Paper Themes (with presentation dates)
Writing Assignment Requirements
Class Notes Index Page
Final Exam Assignment
Instructor: Michael H. Barnes, Ph.D.
Office: HM 446
Phone: x2034 (home: 223-3300 before 9:00 p.m.)
Regular office Hours: MTWThF, 11:30 - 1:30.
Other times by prior arrangement.
Introduction
BRIEF COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Inner freedom has long been in dispute. Karma rules for Buddhists and
Hindus; Christians preach Predestination; Muslims submit to the will of
Allah. Philosophers have argued about this from the Stoics to Sartre. Marxists,
Freudians, and behaviorists have added their opinions. Evolutionary psychologists
now claim our behavior and values are molded by innate tendencies. The
course will review sources and others to find out how free we are, what
inner freedom might consist of, and whether it can be taught or learned.
These are the major sections of the course:
• Introduction: readings and a film to provide a sense of the issues
at stake.
• A survey of major religious positions on fate and predestination,
with an emphasis on Western beliefs
* A review of major philosophical positions on inner freedom, especially
Western thought
• An wide examination of several positions from sociobiology, anthropology,
and psychology
• Student presentations based on their research papers
• Summary and conclusion of course.
For further information about specific course content, see
the calendar of classes and the topics and readings listed.
TEXTS: The only full book for the
course is the
Bhagavad Gita, available in the bookstore. Numerous
other readings, and at least one film, are part of the course. See the
calendar of classes for the sequence. These will be handed out in class.
EVALUATION: Thirty percent
of the grade will be based on a ten to fifteen page Research
Paper on the topic of inner freedom, using resources selected by each
student. Forty percent will be based on four
brief (5-6 page) analyses based on classes and texts at the end of
each of the four first sections of the course. Twenty percent will be based
on a final "exam" of 10 to 12 pages. Five percent will be based on the
student's brief presentation about the paper. The last five percent will
be based on participation in class.
OTHER REQUIREMENTS
As in any course you are responsible for whatever
happens in class, even in your absence. In case of your absence sure to
have someone who can inform you about class material and announcements.
If you are going to miss an exam or be late on an assignment, please call
me in advance if at all possible.
All assignments for this class must represent
new learning for this course; papers done for other courses are not acceptable,
though you are welcome to build upon your work in another course provided
you clear it with me, Barnes, in advance.
Cooperative learning is good. Please feel
free to work with others in the course to learn with and from them, especially
if you are having trouble with aspects of the course. But on the exams
and on the paper, the material you hand in must be your own understanding
and your own wording of that understanding. Always be sure to identify
any sources from whom you are taking material. It is especially important
that you cite your source when you quote; and it is important to use quotation
marks when you are quoting. (See the student handbook, 37-39 for more on
this.) (As always any instance of plagiarism can earn an "F" for the entire
course. See the student handbook for descriptions of plagiarism.)
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