Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Students completing this course should be able to:

• Recognize and evaluate the philosophical assumptions embedded in one’s own ideas and the ideas that permeate our culture in order to critically assess the truth and validity of arguments from diverse sources.
• Identify and reflect on philosophical arguments from the history of philosophy in order to effectively communicate with others that might have divergent points of view.
• Recognize and reflect on the interconnectedness and the historical development of philosophical ideas in order to be conscious of the role  philosophical ideas play in one’s own culture and the cultures of others.

Assessment strategies will include some of the following:

·       Essays in the form of in-class exams, short papers, or term papers.

·       Student presentations.

·       Class and small group discussions.

·       Portfolios.

·       Service learning projects.

·       Attendance.

The course will focus on the following topics and issues with

a primary focus on the Western philosophical tradition:

·       Metaphysics.

·       Epistemology.

·       What is a philosophical question?

·       How have some historically significant philosophers (including, but not limited to Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Leibnitz, Spinoza, Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Russell, Wittgenstein) responded to philosophical questions?

·       Epistemological and metaphysical issues that are raised in other areas of philosophy (e. g., ethics, philosophy of religion, aesthetics, philosophy of science, etc.)

            Competencies and Skills: Students will learn to:

·       Comprehend philosophical writings.

·       Paraphrase, illustrate, and explain ideas contained in philosophical writings.

·       Critique and challenge philosophical ideas.

·       Write philosophically coherent arguments.