ENSb1115 Introduction to Philosophy

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2019
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Bohuslav Binka, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Karel Stibral, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Bohuslav Binka, Ph.D.
Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Bc. Petra Burišková
Supplier department: Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Thu 14:00–15:40 P22
Prerequisites
! ENS115 Introduciton to Philosophy &&!NOW( ENS115 Introduciton to Philosophy )
Ability to read in English.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 8 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
Main aims of the course can be devided: A. Present the evolution of european philosophy with the connection to the main streams of european culture. B. Encourage students to think independently and present them advantages of critical thinking. C. Introduce basics of scientifical thinking.
Learning outcomes
Student will be able to:
- explain three basic ways of understanding the world (empirical, conceptual, normative). to clarify the differences between them and also to describe the basic tools that can be used within each of them;
- clarify the most important models of scientific theories (Rudolf Carnap's novo-positivist, Charles R. Popper's falzifikation, Larry Laudan multiple-level-science-theory, paradigmatic of T. Kuhn), describe their common features, differences and problematic points;
- describe the development of European culture and thinking based on the concepts of E. Auerbach, N. Elias, V. Paret and others, and to explain the fundamental frameworks of these concepts;
- to capture and analyze the principle assumptions of selected scientific theories (or philosophical concepts) and to write an essay characterizing their blind spots;
- to describe the development of environmental features in European and American philosophy of the 19th and 20th centuries (with regard to authors such as J. Ruskin, Albert Schweitzer, Aldo Leopold, Arne Naess, etc.);
- Explain the fundamental elements of verbal and predicate logic;
Syllabus
  • Structure of lectures and seminars - Philosophy for environmentalists. 1. Lecture and seminar - definition of philosophy, the beginnig of philosophy in ancient Greece. Ancient Greece and Nature. 2. Presocratics, Socrates and Plato. The problem of power and the good in the Plato s work. 3. Aristotle and his conception of time and evolution. 4. Late Greece and Rome and their philosophers. 5. First intermezzo - basics of scientific thinking and logic I. Empirical facts and deduction, the misleading of induction, abduction. 6. Middle ages philosophy and reneissance philosophy. Machiavelli and st. Tomas from Aquina. 7. Second intermezzo - basics of scientific thinking and logic II. - The limits of deduction, the structure of science, the structure of scientific work. 8. Philosophy of 17th and 18th century. Galilei, Newton, Descartes, Leibnitz. 9. Enlightment and its dark side. Voltaire and de Sade. 10. I. Kant and his philosophy. 11. Modern philosophy - existencialism. Sartre and Camus. 12. Modern philosophy - postmodern thinking. Foucault, Lyotard. 13. Modern philosophy - new positivism. Carnap and his discusion with Heidegger.
Literature
    recommended literature
  • TRETERA, Ivo. Nástin dějin evropského myšlení : od Thaléta k Rousseauovi. 5. vyd. Praha: Paseka, 2006, 374 s. ISBN 8071858196. info
  • STÖRIG, Hans Joachim. Malé dějiny filosofie. Edited by Petr Rezek, Translated by Miroslav Petříček - Karel Šprunk. 7., přeprac. a rozš. vyd.,. Kostelní Vydří: Karmelitánské nakladatelství, 2000, 630 s. ISBN 8071925004. info
  • JASPERS, Karl. Úvod do filosofie : dvanáct rozhlasových přednášek. Praha: Oikoymenh, 1996, 119 s. ISBN 8086005054. info
  • KRATOCHVÍL, Zdeněk. Mýtus, filosofie, věda. 2. nezměn. vyd. Praha: Hrnčířství a nakladatelství Michal Jůza & Eva Jůzová, 1995, 314 s. +. ISBN 80-7111-021-3. info
    not specified
  • RUSSELL, Bertrand. A history of western philosophy. New York: Touchstone Book, 1972, xxiii, 895. ISBN 0671201581. info
  • FLEW, Antony. An introduction to western philosophy : ideas and argument from Plato to Sartre. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1971, 511 s. info
Teaching methods
The course's teaching methods include classical lectures, lectures based on powerpoint presentations, simulation of given situations, discussion with students and group work of students. It also includes separate reading of the texts. It also includes separate reading of the texts.
Assessment methods
Lectures and seminars. Written essay, Oral exam.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Information on course enrolment limitations: Kurz se otevírá při 5 a více přihlášených studentech.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2020, Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023, Autumn 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2019, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/autumn2019/ENSb1115