34-110-30: Introduction to Western
Philosophy
Instructor:
Dr. M. Guarini
Day One: What is Justice?
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Welcome!
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Course Outline, Websites, …
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Brainstorm. What We’ll Do
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Introduction to Greek Philosophy
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Cephalus’ & Polemarchus’ remarks
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Thrasymachus on Justice
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Glaucon’s three ways to value things
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Glaucon’s devil’s advocate position
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The Myth of Gyges’ Ring
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Read Plato’s Republic: pp.1-29 (chps I-III), & 41-66 (chps VI-VIII), &
chps
X, XII, XIII, XIV
Course Outline
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Office hours
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Required texts
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Course requirements
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Policy on plagiarism and cheating
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Grade conversion and grade calculation
Websites
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Course Website:
http://web2.uwindsor.ca/courses/philosophy/mguarini/introphilosophy/index.htm
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Instructor Website:
http://www.uwindsor.ca/guarini
Brainstorm ‘Philosophy’
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First thing that comes to mind
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No right or wrong answer
What We’ll Do
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Some subject matters belonging to Western Philosophy
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Some subject matters not belonging to Western Philosophy
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The subject matters of this course
Introduction to Greek Philosophy
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Pre-Socratics
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Socrates (469-399 BCE)
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Plato (428/7 - 348/7 BCE)
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Aristotle (384-322 BCE)
Cephalus’ & Polemarchus’ Remarks
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Being at peace with yourself
• Justice as “Telling the truth and paying back what was received”
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Justice as rendering someone their due; justice as helping friends and harming
enemies
Thrasymachus on Justice
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Justice as “Promoting the interests of the stronger”
• Socrates on interests and the art of ruling
Glaucon’s Three Ways to
Value Things
• Some things are valued for their own sake
• Some things are valued for their own sake and their results
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Some things are valued just for their results
Glaucon’s Devil’s Advocate Position
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According to Glaucon, what do people say about justice?
• What explanation do people give of why justice is preferred to injustice?
The Myth of Gyges’ Ring
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Why does Glaucon get into the story about Gyges’ ring?
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A related thought experiment