DAY 18 More ALFQs

In my absence today, please continue working on your novel in class as you have been for a couple days now - great job everyone!  We'll watch the film next week.

Bon Weekend!

DAY 17 Feb 25 More ALFQs

This was another in-class reading note-taking day.  A good opportunity to get some clarification from me on expectations and content of the books.

See yesterday's blog for options and the handout for this assignment.

DAY 16 Feb 24 Answering Life's Fundamental Questions

Metaphysical questions permeate every aspect of human existence. Perhaps this is why so
many books and movies focus on answering questions such as, What is reality? What is the
meaning of life? and Does a supreme being exist?

Books and movies that deal with metaphysical questions challenge people to clarify their
responses to the questions raised, something that I have challenged you to do throughout Metaphysics.

This Answering Life's Fundamental Questions activity requires you to watch a movie and read a book, each of which deals with an issues of Metaphysical importance. In doing so, you will draw on your understanding
of metaphysical questions, concepts, and theories to evaluate how effectively the book and movie handles them.

Day 15 Feb 23 Life's Fundamental Questions

First things first - I collected the rest of the Snowdon projects along with the two copies of peer edited work.

Then I had a lookie at your notebooks - clearly some of you think you can get through a Grade 12U course without taking notes and well, I'm going to be marking your notebooks so please get over that thought (those of you who don't take notes).

To complete your prep for the next project, you spent the rest of the class on the following work listed below.
We started this by having a light-hearted look at Aquinas by having a boo at this video (ignore the first 30 seconds, I can't understand it either??).  You may want to have a look at some of the other related videos on that page of YouTube, although some are not for the faint of heart as there is a fair bit of bad language so be careful.


Read Chapter 8, pp. 155 - 171 and take notes where relevant.
Create a new note to complete Questions 1, 2 & 3 on page 172.  

For Question 2 you can use this chart on the Arguments FOR and AGAINST the Existence of a Supreme Being to help organize your thoughts. 

DAY 14 Feb 22 Meaning for Existence

First things first - everyone submitted their good copy of Snowdon along with their two peer edited rough drafts.  Yay!  Obviously I had a belief (faith) that was greater than the collective ability of the class to live up to.  Several of you did, in fact, submit a good copy of Snowdon and two peer edited copies (Tia, Emily, Sam, Dan).

This next section of Metaphysics deals with the meaning of life and systems of belief.  We will be looking at the concepts of Supreme Beings and their existence or non-existence, Freedom of Thought, and the influence of the non-physical.   Is there a Supreme Being or God?  Why are we here?  Are we free to make our own decisions?  These are some of the main ideas we'll examine.

Keeping in mind the ideas above, we first watched this video of a light-hearted look at how the 10 Commandments came to be followed by a brief discussion.

Next I asked everyone to respond in writing to the question, "Are we free to believe?" as your first Philosophy Bites entry - this is a little like your own diary, journal, in your head meeting minutes, record, thinking legacy . . . well, it's hard to describe, but a place to write what you're thinking when a new idea is raised in this class.

Next I asked everyone to respond in one coherent sentence to the question, a oldie but a goody, "What is the meaning of life for you?"

Some of the ideas that arose from this ended up in three categories on chart paper on the back wall (Tia, Raven and Sophie wrote for the class):
Theological - emotions, divine purpose, altruism, passing traditions and beliefs to the next generation, 

Philosophical - leaving a legacy, exploring, happiness, nihilism, creating your own meaning, gain power,

Scientific - procreation, survival, finding beauty in nature, finding the meaning in life,

DAY 13 Feb 19 Snowdon Peer Edit Day

See yesterday's post for the Snowdon assignment and the note-taking preceding it.

Today is peer edit day - your peer edited work needs to be submitted along with your good copy on Monday.

So far I'm thoroughly enjoying listening to all of your insightful comments in this class - well done everyone! 

And welcome to Emily !

DAY 12 Feb 18 Mind or Matter and Snowdon

This is generally a work period for everyone as you probably haven't finished the work below as of last night.
Your job: read pp. 133 - 139.  Create a new note, as per good note taking form discussed earlier, on the following:
    Personhood
    John Locke
    Daniel Dennett
    Mary Anne Warren
    Annette Baier
    Personal Identity
    Derek Parfit

For each person above be sure to create a note covering their entire theory, including quotes if possible.

Here's your first marked assignment:

Listen to Paul Snowdon's discussion on Persons and Animals".  Based on this discussion, in approximately 1000 words explain which Philosopher (from Step 4 above) you think Paul Snowdon would agree with the most, in terms of constituting personhood.  Do you think animals with no understanding of consciousness should be considered persons?

Rough draft is due on Friday, Feb 19 - two copies for peer editing - beginning of class.
Final good copy including peer edited copies due on Monday, Feb 22, beginning of class.

Here's the marking scheme:

Knowledge:        /20
   /10 Your chosen philosopher's theory is clearly explained and you use quotes to support your idea.
   /10 You clearly link the premises (ideas) outlined in your philosopher's theory, supported with quotes, to the ideas in Snowdon's discussion, again supported with quotes.       

Thinking:        /20

   /10  The inferences/assumptions that you make about Snowdon's opinion regarding consciousness are warranted based on reason.   
   /10  You use substantiated evidence (quotations/examples from the lecture) of Snowdon's ideas to support your assumptions.   

Application:        /20
   /5  A clear connection has been made between your philosopher's theory and Snowdon's idea of a person, using quotes to support the connection(s) you make.           
   /5 Your personal opinion as to why animals are or are not persons is clearly and effectively explained.         
   /10 Two copies of your rough draft are ready on Friday for peer editing.  They are both submitted, with your peers' edits on them, along with the final good copy on Monday.

Communication    /20
   /5 Written language clearly conveys your understanding of information and ideas.                       
   /5 Proper language conventions (style, syntax) are used and there are no spelling or grammar errors.                   
   /10 None of your ideas overstep evidentiary limits (you use substantial proof from your philosopher and the lecture).  

Here's a link to Snowdon assignment including the marksheet.

DAY 11 Feb 17 Mind or Matter

After excellent discussions yesterday we finished the lecture on the Bonobo Monkeys with a brief discussion.  Again, the discussion came around to physical attributes vs. potentialities.  What about the baby who cannot yet walk but has every potential to walk in the future - are they currently "persons"?  What about the person who can do less than the Bonobo monkey (e.g. brain damage)? 

Next step: respond to the question: "What is more important to your personal identity: Mind (Consciousness) or Matter (Brain & Body)?"

Read pp. 133 - 139.  Create a new note, as per good note taking form discussed earlier, on the following:
    Personhood
    John Locke
    Daniel Dennett
    Mary Anne Warren
    Annette Baier
    Personal Identity
    Derek Parfit

For each person above be sure to create a note covering their entire theory, including quotes if possible.

DAY 10 Feb 16 Persons, Minds & Brains

We started by having a discussion about your responses to First Class Travel - interesting indeed!  We had responses including:

Teleportation = a way of dying.  Body and mind no longer exist during the process, therefore from a Materialistic (materialism) point of view, one cannot be alive, hence cannot be considered a person.

Teleportation = is a quick way of cell replacement in the same way that nature replaces most of our cells in a seven year cycle, therefore it's not equivalent to dying. 

Teleportation = the experience of teleportation does not change the ultimate outcome wherein one's personality/mind/spirit etc. remains intact therefore it's not equivalent to dying.

Teleportation = we can ignore the idea of the "goo" in the process as that's total fantasy.  But the idea of dismantling and then reconstructing the same cellular structure through teleportation only accounts for a physical replica and the same human potential, in fact we couldn't even tell if someone had been through the teleporter.

Then I asked everyone to consider the questions, "What is a Person?" and "What is Personal Identity?" as we watched this video of an orangutan behaving like a human.  Discussion followed.

Then, still keeping in mind the questions, "What is a Person?" and "What is Personal Identity?" watch this video clip from a lecture of Susan Savage-Rumbaugh discussing Bonobo monkeys and her challenge to us to rethink how much of what a species can do is determined by biology -- and how much by cultural exposure.


Then a discussion of this question: "What is more important to your personal identity: Mind (Consciousness) or Matter (Brain & Body)?

DAY 9 Feb 12 First Class Travel

This was an in-class work day for you to complete First Class Travel - see yesterday's post for details.

DAY 8 Feb 11 Review of Metaphysics Theories & First Class Travel

Today we did some review of the theories discussed so far in Metaphysics (see yesterday's work).  Many of you spoke to the class about which theory resonates best with you and you offered splendid examples of how that is so.

Read "First Class Travel", p. 140 and complete this question:

1.  Is stepping into the transporter a way of traveling or a way of dying?  Why?
2.  What would Hobbes (a materialist) say about Q. 1 above?
3.  Would this be an acceptable way of travel to a philosopher who adheres to the:
    - substance theory (Descartes)
    - bundle theory (Hume)
    - project theory (Sartre)

DAY 7 Feb 10 Metaphysics Note-Taking

This is an in-class work period for you to complete the text work as assigned at the end of yesterday's class as follows:

Read Chapter 6, pp. 112 - 119, and p. 122 & p. 125 and take notes on the following ideas:
    Idealism
    Realism
    Materialism
    Monoism
    Dualism
    Determinism
    Ontology
    Substance Theory
    Bundle Theory
    Narrative Structure
    Project Theory

The key to making effective notes is to use headings and sub-headings and to write the information in your own words.  For each new piece of information you should include an example.  What you want to create are notes that are easy to scan each day (or at least 4 times a week) and then read, so please don't be shy of colours for heading and subheadings and use colours for underlining too.

DAY 6 Feb 9 More on Reality vs. Perception

We did a review for a few students who missed yesterday's introduction to Metaphysics - Dualism, Idealism, Materialism, God, etc.

We watched the 6 minute clip on Survivor (an immunity challenge) and then we watched another animation of the Allegory of the Cave.  Your next question was, "What is Reality and what is Perception?".  Many of you wrote answers and some did not - but those who did not thought well about the issue and explained it well to the class.

One underlying theme that many of you raised is the potential for multiple realities . . .  e.g. based on your experiences you interpret things differently and hence have different realities.  Look at Truman from the Truman Show - the only thing he ever knew was the reality created for him by Christof, the show's producer along with all of the other people who helped to maintain the world.

Here's your next job:
Read Chapter 6, pp. 112 - 119, and p. 122 & p. 125 and take notes on the following ideas:
    Idealism
    Realism
    Materialism
    Monoism
    Dualism
    Determinism
    Ontology
    Substance Theory
    Bundle Theory
    Narrative Structure
    Project Theory

DAY 5 Feb 8 METAPHYSICS

This was a day of discussion and introduction to Metaphysics, the first big unit of study in the course.

We had a nice round-table discussion of various ideas in Metaphysics and everyone present was pushed to their intellectual limits with some of the questions posed.

In the handout, Intro to Metaphysics, we covered Idealism, Dualism, Materialism, The Problem if Evil, and then the Idea of God (Cosmological Argument, Argument from Design, Ontological Argument).

Today a number of people skipped my class.  This was very disappointing to me - it's an academic level Grade 12 class from which you can use your mark for College or University applications so this mark counts!  You cannot do well if you miss many classes.  Also, I'm "Mr. Approachable" so there's really no reason not to speak to me if you need to miss my class for a legitimate reason.

Day 4 Feb 5 THIS: I Believe

This I Believe is an international project engaging people in writing, sharing, and discussing the core values that guide their daily lives. These short statements of belief, written by people from all walks of life, are archived here and featured on public radio in the United States and Canada, as well as in regular broadcasts on National Public Radio. The project is based on the popular 1950s radio series of the same name hosted by Edward R. Murrow.

Listen
Go to the website  This I Believe   or this site as a backup This I Believe CBC .  Look around the site to see who has contributed.  Writers include famous actors, Nobel Prize winners, students, parents ... people from all walks of life.  Find an essay that appeals to you.  Listen to it, and answer the following question: 
How does this belief mesh with my own beliefs?  Make sure your answer includes the name and author of the essay. Respond in writing (a full paragraph or two or three, please - this IS a 12U course so get to work.

Read
Look at the work of one of your peers after they've printed it or sent it to you via email.  Write a response to your peer's response to the "essay" that they listened to online.

DAY 3 Feb 4 Intro

The Socratic Method ("Ya But . .")- Question and Answer -
Ask a simple question which is straightforward, e.g.
Q. What is Courage? (Straightforward Question)
A. Courage is the lack of fear in facing a potentially hazardous situation. (Straightforward answer).

Then - ask a question with a counter-example refuting some of what was in the first answer.
Q. What about the mother who is afraid of dogs yet still protects her small child from a bad dog?  (This question indicates that the original answer was somehow incomplete, incorrect, biased, or needing further clarification).
A. Well, yes, the mother has fear in that case, but not enough fear to keep her from protecting her kid.

This Q & A continues until both sides agree that the original question has been answered clearly enough.

Then people practiced with topics like love, justice, loyalty, happiness, what a swan is. 

SYLLOGISM
An Argument - a series of statements beginning with a premise (or premises) and a conclusion.
The premise is a statement (proposition) that provide a reason for arriving at the conclusion.
e.g. The premise, "All humans are mortal", is true.
"I am human, therefore . . . 
I am mortal".

It wouldn't work to leave out the middle premise, "I am human."   e.g.
"All humans are mortal.
Therefore I am mortal."   Because there's no logical connection between the two statements.

Also, you must start with and continue with correct premises to reach a valid conclusion.
e.g. "All mortals are human.
I am a mortal, therefore . . .
I am a human."    This is not true because the first premise is incorrect.

or "All humans are immortal.  I am a human.  Therefore, I am immortal."

or . .  "All swans are white.  I am a swan, therefore I am white."

Aristotle's "syllogism" consists of two premises and a conclusion.

In these invalid cases, the argument is valid but the conclusion is not.

DAY 2 Feb 3

We started by rolling the dice and we came up with some ideas that you want to discuss (as well as some ideas about what Philosophy is all about . . . as follows:


Raven knows that it is not true that Sophie's hair is blonde. She knows this because she can see that Sophie's hair is red.

Sam would like to know which came first, the chicken or the egg. Danny suggests that this requires circular reasoning.

Sean knows that anything that you can sense must be reason, a cat for example.

The Ship of Theseus - is it the various parts of the ship that make it the ship? What makes the ship the ship? Is it the "intention" of the ship? At what point could it be a new ship during the reconstruction process?


Then we went to the Library to make everyone a Gmail account that includes your first and last name and then you joined as a follower of our class blog where everything you ever needed to know about this course will be stored and we'll update it daily.

Welcome to Philosophy ! !

This is where to find all the information you could ever imagine you'd want about the course - dates that you choose for assignments, notes from class, assignments, whatever, it will be here.

Yay for us!!

Here's a link for the licensed online text.

Welcome to Philosophy ! !

Welcome to our class - this is where all the information you could ever possibly want about the course will be posted. Notes from class, dates that the class agrees to, my comments, whatever, it's all here.