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Course Syllabus

Bachelor 2023/2024

Philosophy

Category 'Best Course for Broadening Horizons and Diversity of Knowledge and Skills'
Category 'Best Course for New Knowledge and Skills'
Type: Compulsory course (Software Engineering)
Area of studies: Software Engineering
Delivered by: School of Philosophy and Cultural Studies
Where: Faculty of Computer Science
When: 4 year, 1, 2 module
Mode of studies: distance learning
Online hours: 30
Open to: students of all HSE University campuses
Instructors: Alexey Aliyev
Language: English
ECTS credits: 4
Contact hours: 30

Course Syllabus

Full Syllabus

Abstract

The present course provides an introduction to several major areas of philosophy, including metaphysics, epistemology, logic, ethics, philosophy of religion, political philosophy, and philosophy of mind. Among the issues we will examine are the following: (a) “What is an argument? How can it be correctly evaluated?”; (b) “What is the fundamental nature of being?”; (c) “What is happiness? What does it take to be happy?”; (d) “What is the best way to organize society?”; (e) “Is there God?”; (f) “If God exists, why does he allow evil?”; (g) “Can it be proven that we are not living in a computer simulation (such as the Matrix)?”; (h) “Are there objective moral truths?”; (i) “Is there a principle or a set of principles that makes it possible to establish whether an action is morally right?”; (j) “What is the meaning of life?”; (k) “Can machines think?”; (l) “Do animals have a moral status?”; (m) “Is abortion morally permissible?” The course proceeds chronologically, and at each historical stage, it focuses on one or more of the foregoing issues. We will begin with an examination of the philosophical views of a number of Ancient Greek philosophers, including Thales of Miletus, Parmenides, Plato, Aristotle, and Epicurus. We will then turn to medieval philosophy. In particular, we will study the philosophies of Saint Augustine, Anselm of Canterbury, and Thomas Aquinas. Next, we will examine philosophical views put forward by some philosophers of the modern period, including René Descartes, Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, and John Stuart Mill. Finally, we will explore contemporary philosophy—in particular, the philosophical views advanced by Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Peter Singer, Judith Thomson, and some others. The course has three main goals. The first goal is to explain to students what philosophy is and why it is valuable. The second goal is to introduce students to a number of central ideas in philosophy, such as the nature of being, skepticism about the external world, free will, the problem of evil, and the meaning of life. The third goal is to improve students’ critical thinking skills—through learning how to (a) correctly interpret texts, (b) identify, construct, and evaluate arguments, and (c) advance strong objections. In closing, it is worth noting that despite its chronological structure, the present course is not aimed at covering a range of historical facts (after all, this is not a course in the history of philosophy!). Rather, its focus is on (a) demonstrating that fundamental reality is considerably more problematic than it may seem at first blush, (b) identifying the problems we all face, and (c) suggesting possible solutions to these problems, including those offered by the greatest thinkers of all times. Upon completing the course, students are expected to have a clear vision of what philosophy is and why the topics it examines are important—both theoretically and practically.
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • The first goal is to explain what philosophy is and why it is valuable.
  • The second goal is to introduce students to a number of central ideas in philosophy, such as the nature of being, skepticism about the external world, free will, the problem of evil, and the meaning of life.
  • The third goal is to improve students’ critical thinking skills—through learning how to (a) correctly interpret texts, (b) identify, construct, and evaluate arguments, and (c) advance strong objections.
Expected Learning Outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes

  • After completing this course, you will be able to: formulate possible definitions of philosophy;
  • explain why philosophy is valuable;
  • provide a general description of the main areas of philosophy, such as metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, philosophy of science, logic, and history of philosophy;
  • differentiate philosophical problems from the non-philosophical ones;
  • construct and evaluate philosophical arguments;
  • formulate philosophical problems and offer potential solutions to them.
  • identify the main schools of thought present within contemporary philosophy;
  • correctly apply a range of basic philosophical categories;
  • critically analyze philosophical argumentation.
Course Contents

Course Contents

  • The Nature of Philosophy
  • Arguments and Their Evaluation
  • The Ontological Status of Being
  • How to Become Happy
  • God’s Existence and the Problem of Evil
  • Knowledge of the External World
  • The Nature of Morality
  • Topics in Applied Ethics: Abortion, Euthanasia, Animal Rights
  • Can Machines Think?
Assessment Elements

Assessment Elements

  • non-blocking Class participation
    The class participation component is based on a student's activity in class, which may include oral answers to relevant questions, discussions with other students, and written work, such as quizzes and short essays.
  • non-blocking Midterm exam
    The midterm exam involves "true/false," multiple choice, and short essay questions covering a part of the course material.
  • non-blocking Final exam
    The final exam involves "true/false," multiple choice, and short answer questions covering all of the course material.
Interim Assessment

Interim Assessment

  • 2023/2024 2nd module
    0.4 * Class participation + 0.3 * Final exam + 0.3 * Midterm exam
Bibliography

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

  • A concise introduction to logic, Hurley, P.J., 2017
  • Aristotle : selections, , 1955
  • Augustine the reader : meditation, self - knowledge, and the ethics of interpretation, Stock, B., 1998
  • Augustine. (2019). Confessions. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=2030840
  • Cohen, A. I., & Wellman, C. H. (2014). Contemporary Debates in Applied Ethics: Vol. 2nd ed. Wiley-Blackwell.
  • Confessions. Books 1-8, vol.1, Augustine, 2006
  • Confessions. Books 9-13, vol.2, Augustine, 2006
  • Descartes, R., & Haldane, E. S. (2016). Discourse on Method and Meditations of First Philosophy (Translated by Elizabeth S. Haldane with an Introduction by A. D. Lindsay). [Place of publication not identified]: Digireads.com Publishing. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1537367
  • Groundwork of the metaphysics of morals, Kant, I., 2005
  • Kulp, C. B. (2019). Metaphysics of Morality. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=2231089
  • Lives of eminent philosophers. Books 1-5, vol.1, Diogenes Laertius, 2006
  • Lives of eminent philosophers. Books 6-10, vol.2, Diogenes Laertius, 2005
  • Nagel, T., & Askews & Holts Library Services. (1987). What Does It All Mean? : A Very Short Introduction to Philosophy. New York: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=2096427
  • Nicomachean ethics, Aristotle, 1999
  • Philosophy of mind : classical and contemporary readings, Chalmers, D. J., 2002
  • Philosophy of religion : An anthology, Pojman L.P., 2008
  • Reason, truth and history, Putnam, H., 2004
  • Rene Descartes. (2019). Meditations on First Philosophy. [N.p.]: Dancing Unicorn Books. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=2229240
  • Republic, Plato, ., 1992
  • Searle, J. (1980). Minds, Brains and Programs. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edscog&AN=edscog.7150
  • Singer, P. (2015). Animal Liberation : The Definitive Classic of the Animal Movement (Vol. 40th anniversary edition). New York: Open Road Media. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=959144
  • St. Anselm. (1979). St. Anselm’s Proslogion : With A Reply on Behalf of the Fool by Gaunilo and The Author’s Reply to Gaunilo. [N.p.]: University of Notre Dame Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1239148
  • The Oxford handbook of presocratic philosophy, , 2011
  • The Presocratic philosophers, Barnes, J., 2006
  • Utilitarianism, Mill, J. S., 2004

Recommended Additional Bibliography

  • A companion to Aristotle, , 2009
  • Aristotle : a very short introduction, Barnes, J., 2000
  • Contemporary philosophy of religion, Taliaferro, C., 1998
  • Erdmann, J. E. (2013). History of Philosophy : Volume III. London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=790382
  • Erdmann, J. E. (2014). History of Philosophy : Volume I. London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=790381
  • Erdmann, J. E. (2014). History of Philosophy : Volume II. London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=754505
  • Marias, J. (2012). History of Philosophy. [N.p.]: Dover Publications. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1153756
  • Singer, P. (1993). A Companion to Ethics. Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=44509
  • Singer, P. (2011). Practical Ethics (Vol. 3rd ed). New York: Cambridge eText. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=361604
  • The "Summa theologica" of St. Thomas Aquinas. Vol.1: Ia QQ. 1-119, Ia IIae QQ. 1-4 : with synoptical charts and the encyclical letter of Pope Leo XIII on the restoration of christian philosophy, Thomas Aquinas, St., 1948
  • The "Summa theologica" of St. Thomas Aquinas. Vol.2: Ia IIae QQ. 1-114 : with synoptical charts, Thomas Aquinas, St., 1948
  • The "Summa theologica" of St. Thomas Aquinas. Vol.3: IIa IIae QQ. 1-148 : with synoptical charts, Thomas Aquinas, St., 1948
  • The "Summa theologica" of St. Thomas Aquinas. Vol.4: IIa IIae QQ.149-189, IIIa QQ.1-73 : with syniptical charts, Thomas Aquinas, St., 1948
  • The "Summa theologica" of St. Thomas Aquinas. Vol.5: IIIa QQ.74-90, supplement QQ. 1-99 : chart of the Summa, analytical index, Thomas Aquinas, St., 1948
  • The conscious mind : in search of a fundamental theory, Chalmers, D. J., 1997
  • The Oxford handbook of Descartes and Cartesianism, , 2019
  • Williams, B. (2012). Morality : An Introduction to Ethics (Vol. “Canto edition 1993.”). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=928031

Authors

  • ALIEV Aleksei ARIFOVICH