PAPER #1
PHILOSOPHY G100 – INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
Worth up to 160XP
TOPIC:
You are to take ANY of the discussion topics (prompts) from Lessons 3­12 ONLY! and expand on one of them, making use of the ideas from AT LEAST one other Lesson, according to the following instructions and guidelines.
“Below are lessons and discussion topics: Please tell which discussion topic number you are working on”:
Topic for each lesson: Unit One – Knowledge and Skepticism
Lesson 3 – “Man is the Measure of all Things” – Socratic Dialogues and the
Philosopher’s role in society
Lesson 4 – The Grandfather of all Philosophy: The legacy of Plato, The Cave, and his
theories of knowledge
Lesson 5 – Descartes Meditations; Watch “The Matrix”(1999) before doing the reading!
Lesson 6 – Hume’s Skepticism
Unit Two – Personal Identity and The Mind-Body Problem
Lesson 7 – Ship of Theseus
Lesson 8 – The mind-body connection: This Above All
Lesson 9 – Cartesian Dualism and Conjoined Twins
Lesson 10 – Do souls exist?: Hoops of Steel
Lesson 11 – What makes us who we are?: The Devil Himself
Lesson 12 – Parfit and the Unimportance of Identity Lesson discussion topic :( Pick any one)
Lesson 3 Instructions: The excerpt I gave you finishes off with Socrates saying, “Then now let me ask the awful question, which is this: Can a man know and also not know that which he knows?” I would like you to do your best to answer this awful question. First, you will have to clarify what he means by “knowing”, “not knowing”, and “knows”. All three of these can mean different things, so do your best to answer his question. You also must clearly state whether the answer to his question is “Yes” or “No”. If you want to answer “maybe” then your answer should actually be “Yes, when…” Why did you give the answer you gave? Why might people disagree with you? What does your answer say about knowledge in general? Why?
Lesson 4 discussion: What is Plato (through Socrates) saying about the nature of reality and how we know it? There have actually been books written about this topic, so let me break this down into the smaller questions that make it up: How do we experience the world? How do we get knowledge?
Can we have incorrect “knowledge”? How can we have real knowledge? Do most people see the true nature of reality? Why or why not? Lesson 5: Instructions: Do you think it is possible that you have been deceived into thinking that you
are living in the “real world” but are actually living in a “dream” world? Describe why Descartes thinks
it is possible that the real world isn’t actually real. Then use what Descartes has to say on this topic and discuss whether or not you think it is possible that you are actually living in a “dream” world. Why do you think your viewpoint is correct? Do you have doubts about whether or not you are right? Why?
Lesson 6: Instructions: In general, do you trust your senses? Why or why not? There are certainly times when your senses are wrong, like when you feel like a spider is crawling on your leg but nothing is there or optical illusions. When are your senses wrong? Do problems with your senses create problems for your ability to know things? Why or why not? Discuss your thoughts in light of what Hume says (this means you MUST use something that Hume says in your post).
Lesson 7 Instructions: You just purchased a new car and the entire front half of it gets smashed when Godzilla steps on it. Godzilla then steps on another car that is the same in all qualitative traits as yours (it is the same make, model, year, color, etc., and even purchased on the same day) and destroys the entire back half of that car. He then kicks your half­car into the other half­car and with a little bit of fire and magic, fuses the two cars together. The back half of that car was yours and the front half of the other car was Molly’s, who is standing right next to you with an amazed stare on her face. A single key for the car is in the ignition. Whose car is it? Yours? Molly’s? No one’s? Both? Godzilla’s? An insurance company? Why? What makes you give that answer and not something else? Be sure to discuss relevant philosophical aspects of identity when answering this prompt.
Lesson 8 Instructions: Go ahead and finish the story, “This Above All.” What do you think happens? Does the patient say something? Who would it be that’s talking? Greg or someone new? What are the implications of this for identity purposes? What does all of this say about the possibility of survival after going through a procedure like this? Would you get this surgery if you were in this situation? Why or why not?
Lesson 9 Instructions: One day, Stephanie wakes up with all of the memories of George Washington. She genuinely believes she is George Washington, talks like he talked, and is very confused at finding himself in a woman’s body in a strange place in the “future”. Historians and psychologists are fascinated by her and rush over to interview her. As best as they can tell, Stephanie really seems to be George Washington and really believes she is George Washington – the memories check out and brain scans suggest Stephanie isn’t “lying” about being Washington. The next morning, she wakes up, and she is back to herself and asks why everyone is there and how she missed an entire day. She has no memory of being George Washington. Everyone leaves. The next day, she wakes up, and she is George again, asking what happened to the prior day. It turns out every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, she “is” Stephanie. Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, she “is” George Washington. How would you describe her identity? Who is she? What happens to the prior “person” that existed the day before? How does George Washington
relate to Stephanie in this case? Is there something important about how the memories and personality got into the body of Stephanie for each “person”? Why? Lesson 10 Discussion: Go ahead and finish the story, “Hoops of Steel.” What results do you think
they get from their experiment? What are the implications of these results on the existence of souls?
What are the implications of this for identity purposes? What if the results were the opposite? Would
that change things for you? Why or why not? Lesson 11 Discussion: Go ahead and finish the story, “The Devil Himself.” What do you think comes
out of the gate? (Here are a few options: another Derek, Jean, some combination of them, some
altered version of them, or something entirely different) What are the implications of this for identity
purposes? Who is it that appears? What does all of this say about the possibility of our survival after
going through something like a transporter? Do you think it would be “you” that comes out of a
transporter like the one described? Why or why not?
Lesson 12 Instructions: I have a human copy machine that works in a slightly grotesque way. It grabs you by all of your arms and legs (or the closest part to them, if you’re missing one or more limbs) and then tears you into two pieces down the vertical middle. It then recreates the missing half on both sides using an awesome 3d biological printer. What we get as the final product is 2 bodies with ½ of them constituted of original parts and ½ of them newly created. It turns out that with how the mind works, both bodies have the exact same memories, personalities, etc., even though they only have half of the original brain each. They are also biologically identical. Did you survive the copying process? Why would you survive or why would you not survive? If you think that you do not survive, do you think that you anything about you might survive in an important sense? Why or why not? If it’s relevant to your answer, which one would be you? Why
INSTRUCTIONS:
Papers are to be NO MORE THAN 750 WORDS and turned in right here on Canvas. Remember to
draw on arguments and examples used in class and from the readings. Make sure to cite any quotations or references to other works (IN A WAY THAT I CAN TRACE YOUR SOURCE). ANY form of plagiarism will result in an F and appropriate reporting. Don’t do it. If you’re unsure what constitutes plagiarism, look it up or refer to this web page for more information: http://www.goldenwestcollege.edu/admissions/honesty.html (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. . If you are thinking of cheating, please just talk to me before you do it and we could work something out so that you don’t cheat.
You are to cite AT LEAST 2 SOURCES obtained from outside this course. While I want you to go out and use more sources, keep in mind that you do only need 2 external sources. This paper is NOT meant to be a complex research paper, but more of an analysis on the topic. However, this research is meant to help you in your analysis, which is part of the reason I am requiring that you do it. Wikipedia is not an ideal source, but you may use it appropriately as a source, mostly for factual descriptions. However, you should always try to approach Wikipedia as a great place to start some research, but it’s best left there. An easy place to begin is by looking at the articles cited in the course readings. You can also locate sources using the Internet (ie, Google Search, Google Scholar,
philpapers.org, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, etc.), your own books (I wish!), or any of the numerous research engines available to you through the GWC Library (http://www.goldenwestcollege.edu/library/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. ), like the EBSCOHost (and other) Databases (http://www.goldenwestcollege.edu/library/databases.html (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.), especially the Religion and Philosophy Collection and Academic Search Premier. You
can even talk with real­life people! Talk with me or a librarian if you need any help finding sources.
Paper tips/guidelines: The most important thing to do is back up your arguments with good reasons. Create a clear thesis in your paper and make clear, reasoned arguments supporting your thesis. Try to keep your thoughts on point and just say what needs to be said – don’t add “fluff” unless it helps get your point across.
Example of a thesis statement: “I agree with Socrates that Philosophers should rule us.” If you want to add more, then put your strongest and most important reason into it as well, such as by saying, “I agree with Socrates that Philosophers should rule us because they are so amazingly brilliant and kind.” These would be reasonable thesis statements in response to a question like, “Do you agree with Socrates that Philosophers should be rulers? Why or why not?” THEN you would go on to elaborate in good detail giving good reasons supporting your thesis statement.
Part of your grade will be based on how well you recognize the important philosophical aspects of the topic presented in light of what we have read and discussed in the course. You should first identify these aspects – doing so will help you organize your thoughts and make your arguments. When you proofread your work (and you should do this) you should always think that the person grading it will be constantly asking “Why?” and you should be sure you have answers to these “Why?” questions. If you need more help, read your paper aloud to a friend (seriously, despite how bad of an idea this sounds) – you’ll get some good feedback and notice problems for yourself.
Make sure you CONNECT all of your ideas to each other and always be sure that everything you say leads back to your thesis. If something you are saying doesn’t help you make your case, then you should probably leave it out.
Remember that this is only supposed to be a 750­word assignment (NO, works cited DO NOT count in this limit), so only present what is necessary for making your arguments. Be sure to properly cite any references. The most important things to accomplish in this paper are making your position and arguments clear and well­reasoned. While you will state your opinions, you must be sure to back them up with arguments. An argument is NOT simply stating something – you must say WHY it supports what you say it does.
Example of a very simple successful paper format: State your thesis. Say why you like it. Give your reasons that support your thesis and then support these reasons clearly using relevant sources.
Keep it on point and use the best arguments and counterarguments you can. If you’re unsure how to
structure or start your assignment, try this format.
IMPORTANT: You do NOT need to restate the prompt. Dive straight into the problem (I suggest you start by identifying the key issues in the situation). Seriously, don’t waste space with a lengthy introduction. I know what the prompt says since I wrote it – only repeat the details of it if they’re necessary, but avoid summaries.

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