Welcome to the Upward Bound 2009 Philosophy Class Wiki Page

The course's primary goal will be to enhance the critical thinking skills of students by introducing them to the eternal questions of philosophy which are raised by the various branches of philosophy e.g.

·         ethics (attempts to determine what is the nature of the good and the basis for how we determine what is right and wrong action),

·         epistemology (attempts to determine the scope of knowledge and belief),

·         metaphysics (speculates on the nature of reality), and

·         aesthetics (discusses how we come to judge things as beautiful).

 A few examples of general philosophical questions that may be tackled by the group include:

·         What is the meaning and purpose of life?

·         Is there a God?  Can the existence of God be proven?

·         What is good and evil?

·         By what principles do we determine right from wrong?

·         Are you the “same” person that you were as a child of 5 years old?

·         Why is there something rather than nothing?

·         What is consciousness?

·         What is knowledge?

·         What is truth?

·         Are space and time real?

Teen specific questions may include:

·         Is the use of tobacco, drugs, and alcohol a violation of one’s own future self’s rights?

·         Can teen pregnancy be morally sanctioned if it denies basic services to the infant, and produces an undue burden on family members and society writ large?

·         Should we allow for the genetic alteration or mechanical enhancement of our species?

·         Should we allow the merger of brains and computers?

·         Should we grow human like organisms for the farming of organs?

·         Is cheating and plagiarism wrong, or just stupid when caught?

·         What’s wrong with shoplifting or stealing?

During the first week of class students became aquainted with Greek attempts to explain change, motion,  and the nature of reality.  Students also became familiar with the Greek notion of virtue and the good.  Students were also introduced to Plato's Allegory of the Cave and the Divided Line.

In the second week of study, students began a study of justificatory moral principles, i.e. principles that can be used to justify moral action.  Justificatory moral principles are genrally of two kinds, consequentialist and deontological.  An example of a consequentialist justificatory moral principle, is the Utilitarian Principle, which roughly states that "moral action ought to produce the greatest good for the greatest number of people."  An example of a deontological principle (one based on rights) is Kant's 2nd formulation of his categorical imperative which states that "You should always treat people as ends and not means."  Application of these two principles could prescribe two opposing courses of action.  A hybrid principle was offered that mitigated this difficulty.

In the third week the class assessed the traditional western proofs of the existence of God.  We covered Anselm's version of the Ontological argument, Aquinas's Cosmological arguments, the argument from religious experience, the argument from miracles, and several others.  All proofs were found deficient in some way.  The class then considered Kierkegaard's notion of faith.  Faith as defined in most dictionaries as a belief held with proof or evidence.  Kierkegaard held that belief in such Christian notions as the Incarnation, the Trinity, and the Immaculate Conception are offenses to human reason.  He characterizes these beliefs as absurd because they contain logical contradictions or violate the laws of nature.   Yet Kierkegaard embraces these beliefs as true via a passionate act of will.  According to Kierkegaard this is the nature of faith.

The fourth week, consisted of attempts to define the nature of personal identity.  Various theories were assessed e.g. animalism (we are our bodies), soul theory (we are our soul), psychological continuity theories (we are our memories, desires, and intentions), etc.  We navigated our way through various reduplication thought experiments that demonstrated the logical possibilities of one mind inhabiting multiple bodies.  We concluded by assessing the importance of personal identity as it relates to moral accountability.

The final weeks were filled with the creation and practice of our final presentation.

Below are the links to each student's wiki page.

Mychal's Wiki

William's Wiki

Kameko's Wiki 

Jessica Quiroz's Wiki