Courses and Student Information
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This page includes a couple of short papers that may be of general student interest, and information on courses I teach this year for Fall, Winter and Spring. Course documents are added as they become available. A number of the files are in the PDF format. You should be able to view and print them with the free Acrobat Reader. For descriptions and materials from prior offerings, see past courses.
Three short papers of general student interest:
On the nature of truth, and so what we're after in philosophy and other academic pursuits. Particularly in philosophy, one sometimes hears that a claim may be "true for me, but not you." I examine this saying, and find it wanting.
Informal discussion of criteria for argument evaluation. Insofar as philosophers examine arguments for and against different conclusions, it's important to begin with an understanding of the conditions under which an argument is effective or not.
This document from the Georgetown University Honor Council gives a nice discussion of what plagiarism is, how to avoid it, and why it should be avoided. It is essential to understand it. See also the CSUSB policy.
Phil 200 - Critical Thinking Through Symbolic Logic
Phil 200 is a first course in critical thinking. In this case, critical thinking is introduced through formal logic. We will spend some time introducing the basic notions of logical validity and soundness. Then we will (a) introduce a formal language L. (b) Learn to evaluate validity and truth for arguments and expressions the formal language. (c) Translate ordinary between ordinary arguments and ones in the formal language. And (d) evaluate validity by means of proofs and derivations in the formal language. This material is foundational to disciplines as diverse as philosophy, mathematics and computer science. It is essential for those who will investigate theoretical underpinnings in such areas; it will be illuminating for those who would undertake further course work or reading in these and related disciplines.
The text is a manuscript by Prof. Roy, which includes appropriate sections from chapters 1 - 7 with answers to selected exercises; it is excerpted from a longer manuscript, Symbolic Logic: An Accessible Introduction to Serious Mathematical Logic; we will cover only material for sentential logic from the first parts of chapters 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6. The relevant sections are available as a reader from the CSUSB Bookstore, or may be printed from the web; we will discuss textbook options on the first day of class.
Phil 308 - Alternative Logics
Alternative logics have multiple motivations. Just as predicate logic extends sentential logic to include all and some, so one may desire further extensions to, say, necessity and possibility. Further, there may seem to be fundamental difficulties for the classical approach. So, perhaps you were initially shocked (!) to discover that in classical logic anything follows from a contradiction. In this course, we consider logics alternative to the classical approach, with attention to issues of both sorts. Systems to be considered combine, in different ways, semantics based on possible worlds, and semantics allowing truth values beyond T and F (e.g., neither and even both); these include modal logics, conditional logics, and relevant logics. In one way or another, each has important philosophical applications, and each is itself a subject of philosophical debate.
The main text is Graham Priest, An Introduction to Non-Classical Logic: From If to Is (2nd ed.), we will also make use of readings available on the web, especially parts of T. Roy, "Natural Derivations for Priest" (AJL 2006). The primary treatment of the logics is sentential, so the only prerequisite is Phil 200. This course contributes to the new Minor in Philosophical Logic.
Phil 192 - Introduction to Philosophy of Religion
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Phil 200 - Critical Thinking Through Symbolic Logic
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Phil 485 - Advanced Issues in Metaphysics
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Phil 192 - Introduction to Philosophy of Religion
As for Fall and Winter, this course is an introduction to philosophy by means of an introduction to philosophy of religion. After some introductory material, the major portion of our quarter will be spent on a small set of issues from philosophy of religion. In particular, we will take up (i) the problem of evil -- the question whether the existence of evil is reason to think there is no all-powerful, all-knowing, wholly good god; (ii) the cosmological argument -- the question whether the existence of the universe is itself sufficient to show that of a creator; (iii) divine command ethics -- and especially the question whether morality is somehow dependent on god; and (iv) Pascal's Wager -- an argument to the effect that, though it cannot be known to be true, religious belief makes sense as a sort of "fire insurance."
The only prerequisite is English 101. No religious, philosophical or critical reasoning background is assumed. The material is, however, intrinsically difficult (and interesting!). We will set up background, and proceed at a pace so that everyone can understand. The text is a reader specifically for this course, to be available in the CSUSB Bookstore.
Phil 200 - Critical Thinking Through Symbolic Logic
Phil 200 is a first course in critical thinking. In this case, critical thinking is introduced through formal logic. We will spend some time introducing the basic notions of logical validity and soundness. Then we will (a) introduce a formal language L. (b) Learn to evaluate validity and truth for arguments and expressions the formal language. (c) Translate ordinary between ordinary arguments and ones in the formal language. And (d) evaluate validity by means of proofs and derivations in the formal language. This material is foundational to disciplines as diverse as philosophy, mathematics and computer science. It is essential for those who will investigate theoretical underpinnings in such areas; it will be illuminating for those who would undertake further course work or reading in these and related disciplines.
The text is a manuscript by Prof. Roy, which includes appropriate sections from chapters 1 - 7 with answers to selected exercises; it is excerpted from a longer manuscript, Symbolic Logic: An Accessible Introduction to Serious Mathematical Logic; we will cover only material for sentential logic from the first parts of chapters 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6. The relevant sections are available as a reader from the CSUSB Bookstore, or may be printed from the web; we will discuss textbook options on the first day of class.
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