FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Department of Psychology

GEHU 204 | Course Introduction and Application Information

Course Name
Fundamentals of Philosophy
Code
Semester
Theory
(hour/week)
Application/Lab
(hour/week)
Local Credits
ECTS
GEHU 204
Fall/Spring
3
0
3
6

Prerequisites
None
Course Language
English
Course Type
Service Course
Course Level
First Cycle
Mode of Delivery -
Teaching Methods and Techniques of the Course -
Course Coordinator -
Course Lecturer(s)
Assistant(s) -
Course Objectives To provide an introduction to the fundamental concepts and argumentative strategies of philosophy through an investigation of the question “What is a rational animal?” in relation to logic, epistemology, ethics, and political philosophy.
Learning Outcomes The students who succeeded in this course;
  • will be able to understand and use basic concepts of logic, epistemology, ethics, and political philosophy.
  • will be able to acquire and sharpen critical reasoning and writing skills.
  • will be able to develop skills necessary for the close reading and analysis of texts in the humanities and the social sciences.
  • will be able to evaluate arguments in terms of their validity and the truth of their premises.
  • will be able to distinguish between consequentialist (utilitarian), deontological, and virtue ethical types of evaluation for human actions.
  • will be able to distinguish between descriptive and prescriptive propositions, and apply that distinction to the problem of justification of political authority.
  • will be able to familiarize themselves with classical and contemporary philosophical and literary texts.
Course Description

 



Course Category

Core Courses
Major Area Courses
Supportive Courses
Media and Management Skills Courses
Transferable Skill Courses

 

WEEKLY SUBJECTS AND RELATED PREPARATION STUDIES

Week Subjects Related Preparation
1 Presentation and overview of the course; discussion of how to begin philosophy by acknowledging that we have already begun. Overview and discussion of a number of dilemmas and paradoxes.
2 Plato Apology
3 What is an argument? The concepts of validity, truth and soundness. Types of justification; types of refutation: by parallel reasoning, counter-examples, reductio ad absurdum. R. Fogelin, Understanding Arguments, pp 45-53 and pp. 405-433.
4 Fallacies of vacuity: circular reasoning, question-begging; fallacies of relevance: ad hominem, straw man, false cause, appeals to authority Fogelin, pp. 477-405
5 The Chinese Room Argument: Can Computers think? Discussion of artificial intelligence. Turing, A., 1948, ‘Intelligent Machinery: A Report’, London: National Physical Laboratory; Searle, J., 1980, ‘Minds, Brains and Programs’, Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 3: 417–57
6 MIDTERM
7 Introduction to epistemology Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy, Meditation 1 and 2
8 Skepticism, sources of knowledge, methodic doubt, certainty as epistemic criterion, the cogito as first principle and model of Descartes, Meditations 2 (contn’d) and 3
9 Philosophy and science: the thinking subject as embodied being subject to the laws of nature. FIRST PAPER DUE Janet Richards, Human Nature After Darwin, pp. 4-25 FIRST PAPER DUE
10 Evolutionary biology as philosophical challenge and answer to the question “What is a rational animal?” Richards, pp. 25-51
11 Determinism, freedom of the will, morality as a scientific problem and science as a moral problem Richards, pp. 126-154
12 Consequentialism (Utilitarianism) and Deontology: arguments and criticisms Kant, pp. 274-281; Bennett, pp. 294-306; Bentham, pp. 306-312; Williams pp. 339-345; M. L. K. Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail.
13 Moral Psychology and Perspectivism. Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals, essays I and II.
14 The responsibilities and the problems of rational thought; the rational animal and the polis. Aristotle, Politics, Bk. 1 1986-2000; Locke, 249-253; Bentham and Mill, 270-274 Levi, If This is a Man.
15 Week 14 cont’d. SECOND PAPER DUE. Levi, Contn’d.
16 Final

 

Course Notes/Textbooks
Suggested Readings/Materials

 

EVALUATION SYSTEM

Semester Activities Number Weigthing
Participation
Laboratory / Application
Field Work
Quizzes / Studio Critiques
1
35
Portfolio
Homework / Assignments
1
30
Presentation / Jury
Project
Seminar / Workshop
Oral Exams
Midterm
1
35
Final Exam
Total

Weighting of Semester Activities on the Final Grade
3
100
Weighting of End-of-Semester Activities on the Final Grade
Total

ECTS / WORKLOAD TABLE

Semester Activities Number Duration (Hours) Workload
Theoretical Course Hours
(Including exam week: 16 x total hours)
16
3
48
Laboratory / Application Hours
(Including exam week: '.16.' x total hours)
16
0
Study Hours Out of Class
16
3
48
Field Work
0
Quizzes / Studio Critiques
1
0
Portfolio
0
Homework / Assignments
1
0
Presentation / Jury
0
Project
0
Seminar / Workshop
0
Oral Exam
0
Midterms
1
20
20
Final Exam
22
0
    Total
116

 

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES AND PROGRAM QUALIFICATIONS RELATIONSHIP

#
Program Competencies/Outcomes
* Contribution Level
1
2
3
4
5
1

To have knowledge of basic concepts, theories, approaches (behavioral, biological, cognitive, evolutionary, social, developmental, statistical, humanistic, psychodynamic, and socio-cultural), and current applications specific to the field of psychology by using current course materials and instruments.

2

To have basic knowledge and skills about the applications in the different subfields of psychology.

3

To have basic knowledge about the testing and measurement instruments used in different subfields of psychology and basic level skill that does not require expertise in carrying out applications in different subfields of psychology.

4

To make use of other disciplines that may contribute to psychology and have basic knowledge about the contribution of psychology to these disciplines.

5

To have cumulative knowledge about the position of psychology as a scientific discipline in Turkey, the conducted research, applications and problems encountered from past to present in the field of psychology.

6

To have the competence to conduct a research individually and/or as a team using the knowledge acquired in the field of psychology, interpret the findings obtained by using scientific problem solving and critical thinking approaches.

7

To have the ability to construct a research hypothesis, create a research design, collect data, analyze it, report it in a scientific writing format, and interpret it by using basic knowledge related to testing and measurement, research methods, and statistics acquired in the field of psychology.

8

To have the competence to share the theoretical and applied knowledge acquired in the field of psychology with the experts and lay people by using the required information and communication technologies in scientific studies and events that benefit the society.

9

To have knowledge of the relevant professional and ethical values ​​in the domains of psychology and respect individual differences and human rights in research and practices related to psychology.

10

To constantly renew herself/himself professionally by following both national and international publications in the field of psychology, the developments in testing and measurement instruments and software programs used in the discipline.

11

To establish written and verbal communication with experts and lay people by using both Turkish and English.

12

To be able to speak a second foreign at a medium level of fluency efficiently.

13

To be able to relate the knowledge accumulated throughout the human history to their field of expertise.

*1 Lowest, 2 Low, 3 Average, 4 High, 5 Highest

 


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