Reading and Viewing Assignments

Readings are listed by author, selection title, and pages numbers (in parentheses). Readings from What Does It All Mean? by Nagel are listed by author and chapter number. Online readings are listed by author and title and labled "online". They are either available through WebCampus-Canvas, in the Readings and Viewings module (accessible via the side-menu Modules link) or they are linked here directly. [When thinking about what works to focus on in your ROMs, check the Syllabus on which works are Science Fiction and which are Philosophy.]

• For Aug. 26: Read Nagel, Chapter 1 (also available online), Perry and Bratman, "On the Study of Philosophy" (online), and Russell, "The Value of Philosophy" (Chapter XV). Then read Kukla, "Philosophy, Comedy, and the Need for Good Material" (online) and watch the video with Kwame Anthony Appiah, "What Does a Philosopher Do?". (You might also watch "The Personal Philosophy of Kwame Anthony Appiah", and "Kwame Anthony Appiah on Cosmopolitanism".)
• For Aug. 31: Read Plato, Apology (pp. 1-22). These Reading Questions can help you focus on some of the main points. Then read Perry, Bratman, and Fischer, "Logical Toolkit" (online); Dove, "Critical Thinking: A Very Short Introduction" (online), and Weston, A Rulebook for Arguments, Chs. I-III, V-VI, and Appendix I. Check out my Logic Poem to help you keep track of some of the basic logical notions.
• For Sep. 2: Read Plato, The Republic, Book VII ("Allegory of the Cave", pp. 360-365, also online on WebCampus) and Dick, "The Electric Ant" (online). Get ready to (hand-)write your first in-class ROM at the beginning of class on Wednesday (so, don't miss class), describing parallels and similarities between Plato's allegory and Dick's short story. Finally, also read Russell, "Appearance and Reality" (Chapter I) before class.
• For Sep. 7: Labor Day!--No class.
• For Sep. 9: Read Pollock, "A Brain in a Vat" (online) and Nagel, Ch. 2. Then watch The Matrix and read Nozick, "The Experience Machine" (online).
• For Sep. 14: Watch Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS), "The Cage" [S1:Ep0/1] (linked on WebCampus and also available for viewing on Paramount+). Then read Descartes, "Meditation One" and "Meditation Two" from Meditations on First Philosophy.
• For Sep. 16: Catch up on / review the material assigned on 9/9 and 9/14. Be ready to write ROM #2 (discussing why knowledge may be impossible) at the beginning of class.
• For Sep. 21: (was assigned for 9/16) Read Descartes, "Meditation Three" from Meditations on First Philosophy. Then read Russell, "The Existence of Matter" (Chapter II).
• For Sep. 23: Re-read Descartes, Meditation III" from Meditations on First Philosophy and Russell, "The Existence of Matter" (online).
• For Sep. 28: Read Nagel, Ch. 4 and Churchland, "The Ontological Problem (The Mind-Body Problem)" (pp. 7-21 on Dualism) from Matter and Consciousness (online). Then re-read read Descartes, "Meditation II" and read "Meditation VI" from Meditations on First Philosophy (in particular, pp. 53-58 in the book or pp. 29-31 in the online PDF).
• For Sep. 30: Read Nagel, Chapter 9 and Perry, A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality, "The First Night". Then watch Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS), "Turnabout Intruder" [S3:Ep24] (online). Be ready to do ROM #3 at the beginning of class.
• For Oct. 5: Read "Correspondence between Descartes and Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia" (online). Then read "The Second Night" and "The Third Night" from Perry's, A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality. Watch Star Trek: TNG, "Second Chances" [S6:Ep24] (online) and read "The Meeting" by Pohl and Kornbluth (online). If you are doing the Extra Credit ROM that involves Star Trek: TOS, "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" [S1:Ep7/8] and Perry's Dialogue, turn that in at the beginning of class on Monday.
• For Oct. 7: Read Egan, "Learning to Be Me" (online) and Anderson, "Functionalism: An Introduction" (online). Next read Churchland, "The Ontological Problem (The Mind-Body Problem)" (pp. 36-42 on Functionalism). Finally, watch Star Trek: TNG, "The Measure of a Man" [S2:Ep9]. Be ready to do ROM #4 at the beginning of class.
• For Oct. 12: Watch Ex Machina. Read the Wikipedia entry on the Turing test (through the section titled "Weaknesses"). Next, read Anderson, "Searle and the Chinese Room Argument: Parts I and II" (online). Finally, read Nagel, Ch. 3.
• For Oct. 14: Read Nagel, Ch. 6. Then read Chiang, "What's Expected of Us" (online) and Davis, "Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends" (online). Also, remember that the Midterm Exam is delayed until next week! ROM #5 in class?
• For Oct. 19: Read Taylor, "Freedom and Determinism" (online). Answer Reading Questions 1-4 at the beginning of the Taylor article. Read Chiang, "Story of Your Life" (online) and Federman, "What Kind of Free Will Did the Buddha Teach?" (online). Be ready to do ROM #5 at the beginning of class, regarding only material assigned here on either Wed 10/14 or Mon 10/19.
• For Oct. 21: Study for the Midterm Exam, which will be in-person in our classroom during our regularly scheduled meeting time (10am-11:15am). Everything that has been assigned here through 10/19 is relevant. Bring an Exambook to write your essay answers in. You may use any handwritten notes you have while taking the exam, but you will not be allowed to use any printouts of anything typed, and you will not be allowed to access a computer/any electronic device, or the course WebCampus-Canvas page or anything else online.
• For Oct. 26: Re-read the section of Taylor's article about what he calls "Soft Determinism" and re-read the Federman article, both assigned for 10/19. Then read "Selections from Book II (pp. 212-216) and Book IV (pp. 292[bottom]-298)" from The Republic, and watch H.G. Wells's The Invisible Man (from 1933).
• For Oct. 28: Read Nagel, Ch. 7 and "Good Minus God" by Louise Antony (online). Then read Sheckley, "The Monsters" (online) and Rachels, "The Challenge of Cultural Relativism" (online). Be ready to do ROM #6 at the beginning of class, regarding the new material assigned here on either 10/26 or 10/28.

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Last updated October 27, 2026

This site is maintained by James A. Woodbridge.

This document was created on August 10, 2026.