HEN434 Philosophy for Environmentalists

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2012
Extent and Intensity
1/1. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Bohuslav Binka, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Bohuslav Binka, Ph.D.
Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Dana Pantůčková
Supplier department: Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Thu 10:00–11:40 P22
Prerequisites
Ability to read in English.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
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.
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
  • 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
Lectures, lectures with powerpoint-presentations, group discussions, case studies and reading. Some lectures contain group projects and simulations.
Assessment methods
Lectures and seminars. Written essay, multiple choice test.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2004, Spring 2006, Spring 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2011.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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