Week 9 Homework Help

There are three chances to get homework credit this week.  (Hurray?) There are some "assists" below to help with this.  If you really need credit, it's advisable to attempt the first homework.  Then you can do more as a replacement (if needed) or for bonus points.

Challenge:  can 100% of you get homework credit this week?  I bet you can!

M 10/17 Compatibilism. Wolf, 621-630. (HW15: 630 TYU 2) 

Yes, this is a hard one. You can get her main point and do the homework if you just read from p. 623 (starting with the fourth paragraph--"When we try....") to p. 625 (ending with the third paragraph--last words are "for a bad action").   

In class we're going to talk about one of the good acts in The Manchurian Candidate--specifically, Marco shooting Shaw and his mother.  Wolf says he can be responsible for it even he was psychologically determined to perform it. She thinks differently about bad acts, like Dr. Noyle ordering Marco to kill a fellow soldier, as we'll discuss.

W 10/19 Compatibilism. Frankfurt, 612-619. At least read the first two paragraphs and section IV. (HW16: 619 TYU 1. Also tell the Black and Jones4 story.) 

Another difficult article, but you don't have to read the whole thing.  Also, the homework is straightforward.  Just state the principle of alternate possibilities (one sentence!) and tell the Black and Jones4 story.  You don't need to understand the point of it to tell the story.

In class we're going to look for a Black and Jones4 type story in The Manchurian Candidate.  Maybe there's already one in there?  (Think about it....)  If not, we'll make one up, using the chips that were implanted in Shaw and Marco's heads.

F 10/21 Living with determinism. Strawson, 588-597. (HW17 597 TYU 2)

This is quite a bit more readable.  The homework is just about the first two pages, though reading more will help you understand what Strawson is saying.