Philosophy 1000 (“Human Nature”), R22

Prof. Nathan Ballantyne

Office location: Interweb
Office hours: TBD
Email: nballantyne@fordham.edu

Course Description
This freshman course is part of Fordham’s core curriculum and offers an introduction to
philosophical thinking. No special background is required or presupposed. Most class meet-
ings will feature a balance of lecture and discussion. I expect everyone to come prepared
to participate. The class meets on Zoom between 5:30 and 6:45 on regular Mondays and
Thursday. (See the schedule below for exceptions.)
The course title is “Human Nature”. That’s a vast topic and no single course (or perhaps
more accurately: no lifetime of full-time reflection) can do it justice. Philosophers have long
wrestled with perplexities about human nature. Are we free, or is choice an illusion? Do we
have knowledge and, if so, how much? Are human persons entirely physical things or not?
In this course, we’ll focus on a set of philosophical questions raised by reflection on the
social dimensions of human life.
Our course questions will come into focus as we proceed, but here is a teaser. We are
social creatures. Interaction with other people has critically shaped our nature and our
prospects. There are intellectual benefits and costs of being involved with groups and insti-
tutions. On the benefits side, we stand to gain considerably from what others teach us and
tell us; by working with others, we can develop specialization and collaborative relation-
ships; we can enter the “marketplace of ideas” to test out thoughts and pick up new ones
in dialogue. On the costs side, we can be influenced by unwanted social pressures; we can
end up conforming in thought; we can also be deceived by liars and deceivers. Intellectual
life is better because of others, but it’s not always easy. A good question to ask: how can we
make the most of it? Some of the central themes in this class include knowledge, doubt,
testimony, expertise, conformity, biases, and intellectual humility. In my view, these topics
are intrinsically interesting, but they’re also practically important as we construct our own
way of looking at the world.
Here is what you stand to gain from the course: (1) an understanding of philosophi-
cal thinking and (2) an appreciation of a range of topics that concerning what’s called so-
cial epistemology. (Epistemology, as you’ll find out, is the study of the nature and scope
of knowledge and rational belief. Social epistemology is the study of epistemological issues
that somehow relate to social life and institutions. Asking what knowledge is, for example,

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raises an epistemological question. Asking how testimony from other people could give us
knowledge raises a social epistemological question.)
An added bonus: though this is not a writing or English composition course, we’ll occa-
sionally talk and think about writing as we read texts carefully and as you produce written
work for the course. In my view, studying philosophy will refine your abilities as a writer
and I want to highlight that through the course. I also want us to think together about the
points and purposes of a liberal arts education. To this end, we’ll read a few essays on the
liberal arts.

Classroom Ground Rules

The questions we’ll discuss throughout the course are important, difficult and often subject
to controversy. Each of us brings particular perspectives and experiences to the table, which
may lead us to think differently about the issues. There is nothing wrong with that. It doesn’t
mean there is no truth of the matter—but it does mean everyone must come to class and
engage on Yellowdig (the discussion platform we’ll use) with a respectful attitude. Everyone
has the right to participate in a conversation that emphasizes mutual respect. The classroom
and Yellowdig are forums for critical discussion in the pursuit of truth. I hope the class
meetings will give you a chance to think without distractions—e.g., cell phones, Facebook,
and the like. So, please turn off or silence your electronic devices when you enter our Zoom
meetings. I assume that we all know Fordham’s policy regarding academic integrity. If you
don’t, find out!
Here’s what one of my departmental colleagues wrote in his syllabus about the matter
of academic integrity. Rather than simply use his words, I’m going to place them in quote
marks, thereby suggesting to you what ought to be done if you use someone else’s ideas or
words in your assignment. “The most common form of cheating in academic situations is
plagiarism. This occurs when you present someone else’s work or ideas as your own, whether
it is intentional or not. There are extremely good reasons for thinking that plagiarism is
unethical. Further, it is a sign of poor scholarship and in professional environments can
result in litigation. It is your responsibility to know and understand Fordham’s position on
plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct as it is stated in the Student Handbook.
If you are caught plagiarizing in a paper, you will, at minimum, receive 0 for the assignment,
and at maximum, fail the course. The College Dean will also be notified. If you are in doubt
about whether something constitutes plagiarism or not, ask me.” (And, no, don’t ask my
colleague: ask me!)

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Required Readings
You will need a few books for our class:

Descartes, Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy (Hackett,

trans. Cress)
Plato, Meno (Hackett, trans. Grube)
Tom Nichols, The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowl-
edge and Why it Matters (Oxford University Press)

Each one is available from online booksellers. But please don’t get alternative editons or
translations. I will post electronic readings on Blackboard and distribute via email.

Course Requirements
It is my job to assess your efforts to master the material and practice the skills we’ll ex-
plore in this course. My intention here is to be as fair and reasonable as possible. The as-
signments you’ll be graded upon are designed to ensure that if you attend class, study our
reading assignments, participate in discussion on Zoom and Yellowdig, then you will stand
an excellent chance of getting an ‘A’ or ‘B’ in the course. Here is an overview of the course
assignments:

1. Pop Quizzes and Journal Entries. First, the pop quizzes: during two meetings this
semester, you’ll be given a brief quiz on topics we’ve looked at recently. (I’m intending
to use Zoom or Blackboard to deliver these quizzes to you.) I will not announce the
day of the quiz in advance. The quiz questions will always be related to something
we’ve recently considered in class or in our readings. If you show up for our meetings
ready to participate and always do the readings, this should be a cakewalk. I mean
that. I’d never give an impromptu quiz on anything other than recent, central matters.
This is sort of like what psychologists call an “attention check”. Pay attention! Second,
the journal entries: I’ll ask on two occasions during the semester for you to complete,
within a period of a week, a very short journal entry on Blackboard. There won’t be
incorrect answers, but you need to complete this in order to get the grade. Weight:
(2 quizzes + 2 journals) x 2.5% each = 10% of final grade. (It is possible you won’t be
able to attend class on one of the days we have a quiz. Then, if you have a documented
reason for your absence or permission from a university administrator, you’ll have an
opportunity to do a make-up quiz.)

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 2. Course participation on Yellowdig. I’ll send out a detailed email about this platform
during the first full week of classes. (As of the morning of our first meeting, I’m still
working with the IT department to get Yellowdig intergrated with Blackboard.) Ba-
sically, you’ll create posts and comment on posts; other students will react to and
comment on your posts; you’ll automatically receive participation points. Yes, there
are emojis! I’ll update the syllabus with further particulars about how all of this will
work. Weight: 17.5% of final grade.

3. Office hours meeting. I’d like to talk to you once, just the two of us, during the semester.
Weight: 2.5%.

4. Midterm essay. You’ll be given several topics and you will write an essay on one. I’ll
distribute prompts during our meeting on Wed 14 Oct (weird, I know—classes follow
a Monday schedule on this day). The point is to produce a carefully argued position
piece on some issue: I’ll expect a clearly stated viewpoint and arguments to support
your view. Your midterm should be approximately three pages and not more than
four pages, typewritten in 12 pt font. No fluff please! Ensure that you proofread your
work before turning it in. We will spend parts of a few meetings discussing writing.
You will submit your essay on Blackboard. Due date for your midterm: no later than
Fri 23 Oct. Weight: 25% of final grade. (Please note: if your essay is late, its grade will
drop by one letter grade for each late day. E.g., an “A” becomes a “B”.)

5. Film review. By the start of November, I will distribute a list of films you can watch on
themes connected to our course. You’ll write a brief, two-page “film review”, drawing
on at least two readings from the course. Your review will be due before Thanksgiving.
Weight: 20% of final grade.

6. Final Exam. It’s a lot like the take-home midterm essay—you’ll get several prompts
and write on just one. Date: TBA. Weight: 25% of final grade.

Here’s one more note. I’d normally like to incentivize participation in our Zoom meet-
ings, but I honestly don’t know how to do that yet. Still, I hope you’ll come to class having
read and thought about the assigned texts, and the Yellowdig platform will give you a chance
to share your questions and ideas. In the Zoom meetings, be prepared to ask questions and
join a discussion. The class is an opportunity for you to deepen your understanding of the
readings, and a great way to do that is by asking questions. Here is my recommendation:
always read our texts before class. Make notes and underline key sentences as you go. An-
other suggestion: after you’ve given an article a ‘once over’, write a few sentences in your own
words outlining the article’s main points. Then return to the article and clarify the author’s

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argumentative strategy and assess the arguments. Do you agree or disagree with the conclu-
sions drawn? Why or why not? If you can begin to ask and answer those sorts of questions,
you’ll be well-prepared for class. We will talk more about how to read philosophical writing
throughout the course. Be sure to have the day’s reading available during our meetings, as
we will often want to look at and discuss a passage in detail.)

Disability Services
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilita-
tion Act of 1973, all students, with or without disabilities, are entitled to equal access to
the programs and activities at Fordham University. If you believe that you have a disabling
condition that may interfere with your ability to participate in the activities, coursework, or
assessment in this course, you may be entitled to accommodations. To learn more, please
contact the Office of Disability Services (disabilityservices@fordham.edu). In addition to
speaking to someone in the Office of Disability Services, I’d encourage you to talk to me
about your situation, if you feel comfortable doing so. I want everyone in this course to
succeed.

Grading
I do my best to assess each student’s work reasonably and fairly. If you think I have made a
grading mistake, please submit a written explanation of the mistake you think I made along
with what you believe is an appropriate grade. I will reconsider your grade and give you a
written explanation of my decision.

Schedule of Required Readings

All readings for a particular day should be completed by the time our class meets. This
schedule is tentative. I will inform you in class of any changes and also post an updated syl-
labus on Blackboard. (If you catch an error in the schedule—perhaps I’ve schedule readings
for a holiday!—please let me know.) I may post or circulate additional readings that, while
not required for the course, may interest you. If you find yourself curious to learn more
about one or another topic, you’re welcome to ask me for additional reading suggestions.
And you’re welcome to send me course-relevant materials (articles, videos, memes, etc.)
that you come across in your travels.

1. Thurs 27 Aug: Introduction

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 2. Mon 31 Aug: William Cronon, “Only Connect...”; William Deresiewicz, ”Solitude and
Leadership”

3. Mon 7 Sept: No class due to Labor Day holiday

4. Thurs 10 Sept: Feldman, “Introduction”

5. Mon 14 Sept: Feldman, “Truth and Rationality”

6. Thurs 17 Sept: Plato, “Allegory of the Cave” from Republic 514a to 521b; Dillard, “How
to Live”

7. Mon 21 Sept: Descartes, Discourse on Method, Pt 1–2

8. Thurs 24 Sept: Descartes, Discourse on Method, Pt 3–4

9. Mon 28 Sept: Descartes, Discourse on Method, Pt 5–6

10. Thurs 1 Oct: Ballantyne, “Regulative Epistemology in the Seventeenth Century”; Das-
ton, “Wonder and the Ends of Inquiry”

11. Mon 5 Oct: King and Ballantyne, “Augustine on Testimony”; Augustine, selections
TBA

12. Thurs 8 Oct: van Inwagen, “It is Wrong, Everywhere, Always, and for Anyone…”;
Ueland, “Tell Me More: On the Fine Art of Listening”

13. Mon 12 Oct: No class due to Columbus Day holiday

14. Thurs 15 Oct: Feldman, “Reasonable Religious Disagreements”. Midterm prompts

circulated the day before class; assignments due no later than Fri 23 Oct

15. Mon 19 Oct: Plato, Meno

16. Thurs 22 Oct: Plato, Meno

17. Mon 26 Oct: LaBarge, “Socrates and the Recognition of Experts”; Plato, selection

18. Thurs 29 Oct: Nichols, “Introduction”, “Experts and Citizens”, and “How Conversa-
tion Became Exhausting”

19. Mon 2 Nov: Nichols, “Higher Education: The Customer Is Always Right”, “Let Me
Google That for You: How Unlimited Information Is Making Us Dumber”, “The ‘New’
New Journalism, and Lots of It”

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20. Thurs 5 Nov: Nichols, “When the Experts Are Wrong” and “Experts and Democ-
racy”; Ballantyne and Dunning, “Which Experts Should You Listen to during the
Pandemic?”

21. Mon 9 Nov: Plato, on the “division of labour” from Republic 369a to 375a; Aristotle,
Nicomachean Ethics X, 9

22. Thurs 12 Nov: Biddle, “Lessons from the Vioxx Debacle: What the Privatization of
Science Can Teach Us About Social Epistemology”; Schwartz, “The importance of
indifference in scientific research”

23. Mon 16 Nov: Haack, “The Expert Witness: Lessons from the U.S. Experience”; Pronin,
“Perception and misperception of bias in human judgment”.

24. Thurs 19 Nov: Pascal, selection from Pensees; Augustine, selection from Confessions

25. Mon 23 Nov: Ballantyne, “Tragic Flaws”; Dunning, “We Are All Confident Idiots”

26. Thurs 26 Nov: No class due to Thanksgiving holiday

27. Mon 30 Nov: Lynch, “Arrogance, Truth, and Public discourse”

28. Thurs 3 Dec: Tiberius, “Wisdom and humility”; Schwartz, “The importance of stu-
pidity in scientific research”

29. Mon 7 Dec: Last Day of class. Wallace, Kenyon College Commencement Address