College of Social Sciences

«Approved»
Chair of International Relations and Regional Studies_________________________________
Dean, College of Social Sciences___________________________________
Vice President of Academic Affairs_________________________________
«_____»_
__________2014

Course Title: Introduction to Philosophy

Code: GEN2500

Pre-requisites: none
Credits: 3
Course Length: 15 weeks

Form of Education: Full time

Contact hours: 45

Independent Study: 90

Almaty 2014
 Introduction to Philosophy (GEN2500)
Section 1 - Spring 2014

Course Syllabus

Course length Semester: Spring 2015

Hours 50 min. academic hours per lesson,
Prerequisites none
Credits 3 Kimep credits/ 5 ECTS credits
Instructor Name: Didar Kassymova, candidate of historical
sciences
Title: assistant professor
Office Valikh.#133
Email didar@kimep.kz
Telephone 2704 348, ext 3178
Office hours T., Th. 14;30-16:30 a.m.
Other weekdays: By appointment
Classroom Hall #125 Valikhanov building
Class times 13:00– 14:15, Tuesday, Thursday

Relationship of course and program

This course is designed to attain the goals of KIMEP’s General Education program as defined in the
2011-12 catalog. In particular:
- Goal 2: Demonstrate effective problem solving and critical thinking skills
- Goal 3: Demonstrate awareness of humanities, art and cultural diversity topics
- Goal 4: Demonstrate awareness of ethical and philosophical topics

Course description/Overview
This course is designed to introduce you to the study of Philosophy and in the process enable you to
have a better understanding of the basic concepts that make up this important discipline along with
introducing you to some of the major philosophers who continue to shape the way we think today.

Prerequisites: none

Learning objectives
As stated in the “Course description” above, the main objective of the course is to help you
developing an attitude to critical thought and analytical explanation. In order to reach this goal,
some intermediate objectives should be necessarily achieved. In details, during this course you will
develop the following skills:
- To present a valid and sound argument
- To read and understand philosophical texts
- To acquire a philosophical vocabulary
- To present and discuss philosophical issues
- To relate different philosophical traditions
- To conduct a critical analysis of major existential, metaphysical and political topics
Intended learning outcomes
On completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Critically evaluate the main contributions of selected thinkers and philosophers
2. Trace the historical roots, the original meaning, and the subsequent evolution of the main
contemporary philosophical concepts
3. Appraise philosophical schools/ theories
4. apply and correctly use philosophical terminology while presenting arguments on
philosophical issues
5. apply successfully the analytical/scientific approaches of the course for further topics for
research and study

Assessment Scheme:
Evaluation Percent

Midterm Exams (examinations) 20+20

Final assessment (in class final exam) (90

40
minutes)

Presentations 5+5=10

Participation during the tutorials (seminars) 10

Important Note: Students who fail to get at least 30 marks (50%) prior to the final exam will not be
allowed to sit for that exam.

Academic calendar for Spring semester

17-23 February Quiz

First assessment
Spring break 2-9 March
Second assessment 21-27 April Quiz
Final exams From May 10 Quiz

6. Grading Scale:
A+ 90-100%
A 85-89%
A- 80-84%
B+ 77-79%
B 73-76%
B- 70-72%
C+ 67-69%
C 63-66%
C- 60-62%
D+ 57-59%
D 53-56%
D- 50-52%
F below 50%
Teaching and learning philosophy and methodology
This course is designed to be highly interactive, classes encourage students’ participation and
involvement. The course starts with the review of the stages of the development philosophy, and
then enlarges its spectrum towards the wide philosophical issues. The main topics of the course
cover the main concepts, theories and schools of philosophy from antiquity to modernity. The core
of the course is based on the various interactive activities that include numerous discussions
(tutorials/seminars), presentations on the relevant topics which require not only knowledge of the
material and analytical skills, but an ability to raise and discuss the related to the topic issues with
the classmates. The course provides students with readings from the philosophic originals of the
main thinkers, and its reflection during the seminar classes. The extracts from the originals for
readings are on the L-drive.

Course Policies
Ethics and Academic honesty
Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the University's policy on Academic
Honesty. Please review the entire Academic Integrity Policy, which is reproduced in KIMEP Catalog
(p.28) and on the KIMEP website.

Class ethics: Switch off your mobile telephones during lessons, be in classroom on time, and have
an appropriate behaviour during class time. Non-compliance with these requirements will lead to
penalizations in terms of losses of points and in extreme cases to course failure in accordance to
KIMEP disciplinary rules as described in KIMEP catalogue. Make-up work following an absence
Students are responsible for obtaining class notes and assignment details.
Information: You are required to check regularly (daily) both the L-DRIVE and your KIMEP email
(U-mail) for any extra information or changes in the schedule.

Exams Ethics: Plagiarism and cheating in any form are not accepted and will be strictly punished
according to KIMEP disciplinary rules as described in KIMEP catalogue. All written materials are
done in APA style standards place on the L-Drive

Course Assignments

The following assignments are proposed to meet the objectives of the course:

Course learning activities:

Class Contact: Students should attend the classes regularly. Attendance is very important not only
to follow the common flow of the course, but to be able to participate in all class activities that
contribute to your final grade. Absences need to be communicated in advance in order to get
excused.
Reading and Participation: each week’s readings will be available in the appropriate L-Drive
folders. Students are responsible for the readings. All of the reading materials are necessary for
both writing and verbal assignments (discussions, exams and presentations) the students are
expected to perform. The assigned material is necessary for a critical understanding of the complex
concepts of philosophy.
Mid Term Exams: these examinations require reviewing lectures and readings in order to become
familiar with, interpret and compare the issues covered in the course.
Presentation: each student will be assigned a topic and prepares a presentation. This activity
requires reading and organizing both theoretical and practical material in a coherent way. The
presentation gives students the opportunity to search, evaluate and deliver a presentation on the
topic. All the requirements for the project will be put on the L-drive, as well as the topics.
Final Assessment: Final assessment will be done during the examination session period of the
semester in the form of a final exam, comprehensive, equal to 40% of the total grade. It will consist
of a mixture of short answer test questions and open-ended questions.
The topics for presentation are given in a special file- presentations topics list. If student
has preferences on the topic- he/she should consult the instructor.

Topic № 1. Introduction. Philosophy as a phenomenon of culture

1. The subject of philosophy.
2. Functions of philosophy.
3.Philosophy in cultural- historical context.
Topic № 2-3. Historical retrospective of philosophy. Philosophy in the Antique culture.
1. Socio-cultural context of the emergence and development of the Greek philosophy
2. Milesian school.
3. Parmenides. Paradoxes of Zenno. Atomism of Democritus.
4. Philosophy of Plato and Aristotle.
5. Hellenistic - Roman philosophy.
Topic 4. Phenomenon of philosophy in the medieval centuries.
1. Phenomenon of philosophy and religion in the Western European .
2. Pphilosophy and theology as the main types of the intellectual activities.
3. The role of St. Augustine in the formation of the main directions of the cultural choice of the
medieval man.
4. Scholastics. Nominalism against realism.
Topic 5. Arabic-Muslim philosophy I the context of Islamic medieval period.
1. Islamic culture and emergence of the main directions of philosophy.
2. Al’- Qindi as a founder of Arabic philosophy.
3. Philosophy of Al’-Farabi. Ibn Sinna and Ibn -Roushd. Ibn- Khalduna.
4. The place and role of Sufism in Islamic culture.
Topic 6. Philosophy in the culture of Renaissance and Reformation.
1. Specific features of the Renaissance period.
2. N. Machiavelli.
3. Renaissance and secularization. Scientific discoveries of Renaissance.
4. Philosophy of Reformation..
Topic 7-8. Western European Philosophy in the culture of Modern times.
1. Specific features of the Modern period.
1. Empiricism and Rationalism in the philosophy of Modern period.
2. Specific features of the philosophy of Enlightenment (18 c.)
3. German classic philosophy. «Copernicus revolution».
4. Materialism of Feuerbach. Philosophy of love.
5. the system and methods of G. F. Hegel.
Topic 9. Western European Philosophy in the culture of the 19c.
 1. K. Marx.
2. The problem of will in А. Schopenhauer’s works.
3. Philosophy of F. Nietzsche.
Topic 10-11. Phenomenon of philosophy in Kazakhs culture.
1. Specific features of the nomadic mentality and its reflection in philosophy.
2. Kazakh philosophy in the middle ages.
3. The works and activities of the poets-“zhurau” in the 15-18 cc.
4. Enlightenment philosophy in the 19 c.
5. Kazakh philosophy in the 20th c.
Topic 12-13. Philosophical Issues of XX century thinkers: Philosophy of being.
1. Being as a category in philosophy.
2. Meaning and types of being.
3. Being as being of a man.
Topic 14. Philosophy of culture and religion.
The subject of philosophy of culture.
1. The typology of culture.
1. Specific features of the religious attitudes to the world.
2. Atheism and anti-religiousness.
3. The problem of historical process.
4. The idea of the objective historical regularity.
Topic 15. Epistemology.
1. Theory of truth.
2. Methods of perception.
3. Global problems and the reasons of its appearance.

Literature (available at KIMEP library):

1. “From Socrates to modern ideologies” (KIMEP library)
2. C. Wood. “Introduction to Philosophy” (50 copies at KIMEP library)

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy http://plato.stanford.edu/

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy http://www.iep.utm.edu/
Literature suggested:
Source Material & Notes:
Solomon, Higgins, A Short History of Philosophy, Oxford University Press, 1996
Billington, Living Philosophy, An Introduction to Moral Thought. Routledge, 2003
UNESCO, Abai, Book of Words, UNESCO (Almaty, Kazakhstan 1995)
Internet Resources:
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GREECE/PRESOC.HTM
http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/g/greekphi.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_philosophy