LSE Ph103: The Big Questions

Lent Schedule

Michaelmas Term

Wk	Date	Topic	Reading Due	Discussion Questions
1	26 Sep	What do I know? Part 1: What do I not know? Lecture 1	Primary Reading: René Descartes, 1641, "Meditations 1-2" (Read French or Latin? Try the French translation, supervised by Descartes himself, from his original Latin!) Further Reading: David Hume, 1748, "Enquiry 12: On academic or philosophical scepticism" Margaret Cavendish, 1666, "On the knowledge of man" (excerpt from her Observations upon Experimental Philosophy) SECTION 3 ONLY of Carter, "The anthropic principle and its implications for biological evolution" René Descartes, 1641, Meditations (remaining chapters)	DQ-1
2	3 Oct	What do I know? Part 2: Here is a hand Lecture 2	Primary Reading: G.E. Moore (1939), "Proof of the existence of the external world" Further Reading: Immanuel Kant, "Refutation of idealism" Rudolf Carnap, Excerpt from, "The logical structure of the world" Gail Stine, "Skepticism, Relevant Alternatives, and Deductive Closure"	DQ-2
3	10 Oct	What is consciousness? Part 1: The hard problem Lecture 3 and Handout	Primary Reading: Chalmers, David J. 1995. Facing up to the problem of consciousness Further Reading: Nagel, Thomas. 1974. What is it like to be a bat? Dennett, Daniel C. 1996. Facing backwards on the problem of consciousness Hardcastle, Valerie G. 1995. The why of consciousness: a non-issue for materialists. Seth, Anil. 2016 The real problem.	DQ-3 Choose a Topic for Formative Essay 1
4	17 Oct	What is consciousness? Part 2: Materialism vs Dualism Lecture 4 and Handout	Primary Reading: Crane, Tim. 2016. The Mechanical Mind: A Philosophical Introduction to Minds, Machines and Mental Representation. 3rd Edition, Chapter 13 (or 2nd edition, Chapter 6) Further Reading: Chalmers, David J. 1996. The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theory, especially Chapters 3 and 4. Papineau, David. 2002. Thinking about Consciousness, Chapter 1 Mørch, Hedda Hassel. 2017. Is matter conscious? Nautilus Magazine	DQ-4
5	24 Oct	Who am I, and how do I exist? Part 1: Personal Identity Lecture 5	Primary Reading: Parfit, 1986, "What We Believe Ourselves to Be" (Chapter 10 of Reasons and Persons) Further Reading: Michael Otsuka, 2016, "Personal Identity, Substantial Change, and the Significance of Becoming" David Hume, 1740, "Of Personal Identity", Book 1 Part 4 Secton 6 of Treatise on Human Nature W.E.B. Du Bois, 1903, "Of Our Spiritual Strivings" (chapter 1 of The Souls of Black Folk) Lynne Rudder Baker, 1997, "Why Identity Is Not Constitution"	DQ-5
6	31 Oct	Who am I, and how do I exist? Part 2: Persistence through time Lecture 6	Primary Reading: Katherine Hawley, "Sticking stages together" Further Reading: Arnauld and Nicole, 1662, "Excerpt from The Port Royal Logic" David Lewis, 1986, "Excerpt from The Plurality of Worlds" Katherine Hawley, remaining chapters of How Things Persist, with special attention to Chapter 1 Gordon Kane, "Are virtual particles really constantly popping in and out of existence? Or are they merely a mathematical bookkeeping device for quantum mechanics?"	DQ-6 First Formative Essay: Thu, 2 Nov by 3pm.
7	7 Nov	Do I have free will? Part 1: The challenge from determinism Lecture 7 and Handout	Primary Reading: Beebee, Helen. 2013. Free Will: An Introduction, Chapter 1 Further Reading: Beebee, Helen. 2013. Free Will: An Introduction, later chapters Frankfurt, Harry G. 1969. Alternate possibilities and moral responsibility van Inwagen, Peter. 1974. The incompatibility of free will and determinism	DQ-7
8	14 Nov	Do I have free will? Part 2: The challenge from neuroscience Lecture 8 and Handout	Primary Reading: Libet, Benjamin. 2005. Do we have free will? Further Reading: Mele, Alfred R. 2011. Free will and science Smith, Kerri. 2011. Neuroscience vs philosophy: taking aim at free will Roskies, Adina. 2006. Neuroscientific challenges to free will and responsibility	DQ-8 Choose a Summative Essay Topic
9	21 Nov	Do gods exist? Part 1: Darwin and God Lecture 9 and Handout	Primary Reading: Paley, William. 1802. Natural Theology. Chapters 1-6 (these are short chapters) and Darwin, Charles R. 1859. On the Origin of Species, Chapter 6, Section on "Organs of Extreme Perfection" Further Reading: Video: The Evolution of Bacteria on a 'Mega-Plate' Petri Dish Browne, Janet. 2006. Darwin’s Origin of Species: A Biography Darwin Correspondence Project: What did Darwin believe? Sober, Elliott. 2014. Evolutionary theory, causal completeness, and theism: the case of ‘guided’ mutation. Wilkins, John S. and Paul E. Griffiths. 2013. Evolutionary debunking arguments in three domains: fact, value, and religion.	DQ-9
10	28 Nov	Do gods exist? Part 2: The Universe and God Lecture 10	Primary Reading: Craig, "The Existence of God and the Beginning of the Universe" Further Reading: Ibn Sina, "Contingent beings end in a Necessary Being" Quentin Smith, "Atheism, theism and big bang cosmology" Lynne Rudder Baker, "The ontological argument simplified" Sir Martin Rees, "Six Numbers" and "Coincidence, Providence, or Multiverse?"	DQ-10
11	05 Dec	Reading Week (No Lecture)