How does Hobbes argue for self-interest and why do you think it’s a good argument

Reading: “Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are”?

Reminder:  Halloween special Tuesday! Come in costume for 3 point extra credit, bring a cheap store-bought snack for 2 points or homemade/fancy snack for 4. The winner of the costume contest will receive a prize and 5 extra credit points.

Lecture:  What are the issues surrounding child sexuality and how does APC endeavor to protect young people more than our current society does from sexual harm?  Are adults really autonomous?  Discuss anything you’d like from Thursday’s guest discussion and if you have any last questions about un schooling feel free to ask!

Reading: What are some of the author’s arguments for how animals may be more intelligent than we give them credit for?  What are our blind spots when it comes to conducting research about them?  Do you see any similarities between how we treat children and how we treat animals? How do you personally feel/think about non-human animals in terms of ethics?  Are they equal to us morally or not (or do you think certain animals deserve more protection than others)?  What do you think is acceptable to do to animals in terms of human usage (testing, food, sport, labor, pets, etc.) and what isn’t?  How much interaction do you have on a daily basis with animals?

**   I won’t judge you if you like to eat meat, go hunting, and see humans as superior to animals and I certainly won’t grade on what you think. I’m not perfect in my treatment of animals and do not consider myself morally superior to anyone else in this regard so please feel free to be honest.

The guidelines are simple:

1.  Be sure you know what you’re talking about, literally, before you pass judgment on an idea.

*Support all ideas/opinions with some arguments/evidence/logic/examples (you don’t need to be thorough or perfect, but there needs to be some reasoning behind your claims that you discuss).  Acknowledge at least one possible counterargument and explain why you still think your perspective is better.  You need not come up with all these arguments out of thin air–if you agree with an author use their own arguments and explain what makes them so convincing in your own mind (Ex: how does Hobbes argue for self-interest and why do you think it’s a good argument?).  I am happy to help you out with this if you are unsure of how to analyze a particular argument.

Please know that this does NOT mean you need to respect any idea I present in class–you don’t!  Some ideas really are stupid, or immoral, or lacking in credibility–even if they are popular or are a part of the generally accepted “canon” of Western philosophy or whatever else.  The point here is not to force you to accept all theories simply because they’re popular/exist but rather to have you ask yourself if you know what the theory is actually claiming before you pass judgment on it.  That’s it.  If you feel you really do have a grasp on the issue feel free to say whatever you want about it (you can be “mean” if you want, not a problem.  Call Hobbes or his theory lame, I don’t mind–but calling a theory lame is a strong statement, and as such requires strong arguments!)–just make sure you can communicate to me that you know what you’re talking about.

Of course, you are not obligated to know anything about the ideas we present in class before we discuss them, so if you don’t have an opinion or aren’t sure how to argue for or against an idea, that’s ok!  You aren’t required to share your personal beliefs, this is only if you do decide to discuss them.

2.  Demonstrate that you have read the reading/watched the film/did the activity required for that week and have been in class for lecture in your papers.  If I can’t tell for sure that you’ve done all the work I can’t give you an A.  When in doubt, ask me if you’re on the right track via rough drafts before the due date and I’ll let you know.  You don’t need to summarize the material (although you can if you want to)–just discuss the main ideas in such a way that I know you’re doing all the work.  If you’d rather not talk about certain main ideas that’s fine IF you show me your lecture notes and reading notes! I understand not all material will be of interest to you or you might want to focus your paper on one or two ideas–again, that’s fine, just make sure you’re annotating your readings and taking thorough lecture notes to show me so I can tell that you are paying attention and doing all the work.

That’s it!  No grammar rules or anything else except page minimum–which is 3 1/2 pages Times New Roman 12-point font, standard margins.  Again, if you have any questions or concerns just ask.  I’m happy to help.  🙂