1 Philosophy& 101: Introduction to Philosophy Pierce College, Puyallup Winter Quarter 2017; meets daily Professor: Katrina Winzeler Office hours: 161A ADM, 10-10:55 am daily (or by appointment) Email: kwinzeler@pierce.ctc.edu Office phone number: 253-840-8464 An unexamined life is not worth living -Socrates Welcome to the study of Philosophy! Whether you know some philosophy or are encountering it for the first time, there is something here for everyone!! In this class, we are going to ask questions like: Is there one moral code that everyone should follow? What is justice? Can we ever prove that God exists? How much of who I am is determined by my genes? How much knowledge can humans gain about the world around them? Is science a road to truth? When you study Philosophy, you aren t told what to think so much as you are taught how to think. So, while we will be looking at famous philosophers theories, you can use these theories to inform your own views about the world around you. The skills of critical thinking, analytic writing, deep reflection, and open-mindedness that you get from taking this course will enhance your life no matter what paths you go down once you leave the classroom.
2 Required texts: Nigel Warburton Philosophy the Basics (referred to as Warburton in reading assignments) Various short handouts of primary sources (that means pieces written by philosophers, not readings from textbooks) Articles from ejournals that can be found via the Pierce Library
3 Course Description: An introduction to the important problems and figures of philosophy. Students will examine concepts related to knowledge, reality and value. Questions posed may include: Do we have free will? What can we know? Is the mind distinct from the body? *There are no prerequisites for this course * Course Content: A. Definition of Philosophy B. Identification and examination of the core subdisciplines in philosophy C. An examination of fundamental philosophical problems D. Fundamentals of philosophical reasoning E. Analysis and evaluation of significant arguments Student Outcomes: 1. Understand and explain what philosophers are trying to find out and how a philosophical project differs from the projects of other disciplines. 2. Identify and apply a variety of epistemological, metaphysical and ethical theory 3. Evaluate and differentiate between an epistemological, a metaphysical and an ethical question 4. Understand and apply the criteria of correct philosophical reasoning 5. Understand the difference between a rhetorically good argument and a rationally good argument. 6. Identify, reconstruct and evaluation arguments posed by philosophers 7. Present a solution to a philosophical problem 8. Identify a variety of ancient, modern and/or contemporary philosophers Degree outcomes: Humanities: Graduates acquire skills to critically interpret, analyze and evaluate forms of human expression, and create and perform as an expression of the human experience. Critical, Creative and Reflective Thinking: Graduates will evaluate, analyze, and synthesize information and ideas in order to construct informed, meaningful, and justifiable conclusions. This course fulfills 5 credits for Humanities in the Associates of Arts Degree.
4 Course Grading Chart: A (Superior ) B (Above Average) C (Satisfactory) D (Lowest Pass) 4.0 94%+ 3.4 88%-88.9 2.4 78%-78.9% 1.4 68%-68.9% 3.9 93%-93.9 3.3 87%-87.9 2.3 77%-77.9% 1.3 67%-67.9% 3.8 92%-92.9 3.2 86%-86.9 2.2 76%-76.9% 1.2 66%-66.9% 3.7 91%-91.9 3.1 85%-85.9 2.1 75%-75.9% 1.1 65%-65.9% 3.6 90%-90.9 3.0 84%-84.9 2.0 74%-74.9% 1.0 64%-64.9% 3.5 89%-89.9 2.9 83%-83.9 1.9 73%-73.9% 2.8 82%-82.9 1.8 72%-72.9% 2.7 81%-81.9 1.7 71%-71.9% 2.6 80%-80.9 1.6 70%-70.9% 2.5 79%-79.9 1.5 69%-69.9% 0.0 63.9% or less Assessments: You will be assessed via: 10 journal responses 20% (each one is out of 20 points; 200 points total) 5 short-answer homework assignments 50% (each one is out of 100 points, 500 points total) Class participation 10% (out of 100 points) Final exam 20% (200 points) Your final grade will be out of 1000 points, and will be determined by the percentages above. Journal responses: The purpose of these journals is to make you accountable for doing the reading. Though this may seem like more work, it will keep you from falling behind. Your journal should be around a page, either handwritten or typed. You aren t graded on how good the writing is, but rather, on your ideas and your engagement with the reading. I will give you some questions to prompt you but you can ignore those questions and also discuss things like: what you found most interesting about the reading, why you don t think that the topic is relevant, things you didn t understand, remaining questions, real-life applications, etc. You want to: demonstrate that you have done the reading and have thought deeply about it. Homework assignments: The purpose of these assignments is for you to (1) demonstrate that you have learned the relevant concepts, and (2) apply these concepts to novel situations. In order to excel on these assignments, you will need to do more than simply memorize the powerpoint slides from class lecture. The
5 format of each homework assignment is likely to be different (ie: one might be a short essay, another might be 10 short-answer questions, etc.) Canvas: I will post announcements, assignments, and grades on Canvas. Please make sure that your Canvas account is working. Also, if I ever need to email you personally, I will email you through Canvas. It is your responsibility to make sure that your email is set up in such a way to receive these messages. Class participation: Class participation constitutes 10% of your grade. There are many different ways to be an excellent participant in the class, beginning with regularly attending, showing up prepared, handing in assignments on time, and asking questions when something is unclear to you. Thoughtful remarks and comments in class discussion are always very much appreciated, but so is attentive listening and respectful behavior, including encouraging quieter class members to speak up and refraining from monopolizing the discussion. We will be doing a variety of in-class activities in which you will be expected to take part. Extra Credit There may be chances for extra credit on assignments throughout the semester. In the interest of fairness, please don t petition me for extra credit assignments created specifically for you. Attendance policy/make-up work policy: Your attendance in this class will go towards the participation component of your grade. I will not take attendance every day, but I am observant as far as noting who consistently comes to class. For every day that an assignment is late, I will deduct 1/3 of a grade (ie: from A to A-, B+ to B, etc.). I will not accept assignments that are more than a week late. If you foresee that you will need an extension on an assignment, please let me know as soon as you think that you will need an extension. Communication is key here I am likely to be understanding and lenient so long as you keep in touch with me. Exceptions to this late policy will be made for emergencies (like family emergencies, documented sickness, military service, etc.). No credit and incomplete grade policy: An NC Grade is given for students who have never attended the course or have a life emergency that does not allow them to continue. Students who have simply failed the class or have failed to drop the course before the deadline are not NC eligible. To receive an NC, we will need written evidence of a life emergency that prevents course completion. NC are not awarded without request from students. An Incomplete Grade is given to students who have a passing grade to date, but have a life emergency that prevents them from completing the coursework within the quarter. Student
6 eligibility is determined on a case-by-case basis, but all students who petition for this grade designation must have completed the majority of coursework at the time of request. Students with incompletes must finish the work independently before the next quarter is complete. Students who take incompletes but fail to finish the work will receive the grade earned to date (this is usually a non-passing grade). If you don t agree with your grade: We all make mistakes, including professors. If you have a grade dispute, please write down your reasoning for why you feel that you did not receive the grade that you deserved. Make a case for yourself that demonstrates that you took my feedback into account. I will read what you wrote and we will discuss it at office hours. There is no guarantee that your grade will change, however. Classroom behavior: Surfing the internet and being on your cellphone in class disrupts the tenor of the class and is disrespectful and distracting. Please don t do these things. If there is some pressing reason that you need to be on one of your devices during class, please let me know. There is a lot of discussion around free speech these days. Philosophy is built on the open discussion of ideas and it is the nature of the field that it will cause debates and impassioned conversations to arise. This is a good thing disagreement makes us think really hard about why we hold the views that we do and helps us to become more consistent in our overall set of beliefs as we open our minds to new ways of thinking. I can t guarantee that you won t ever feel uncomfortable in this class as you are exposed to new ways of thinking. But I absolutely expect that you will always feel respected and like your individual viewpoint matters, and I will expect that everyone in the class will be respectful of everyone else this means that you will really listen to people with a charitable, open mind and that you will object to ideas with justified reasons rather than just attacking people. Philosophical questions are still being studied because no one has the answers. We are in this endeavor together. Some of the topics that we discuss might be sensitive issues (politics, race, gender, sexuality, etc). Part of being a student (and a human being) is to learn how to discuss sensitive topics with respect. I have every intention of modeling this behavior myself, but if I ever say something that you find objectionable or offensive, please talk to me about it after class. Also, I will frequently adopt the standpoint of various theorists that we are reading, or I will say certain things in order to play devil s advocate. I will never be revealing my personal views and you should never feel that you should not speak your mind just because you might perceive me to be on a certain side. A good philosophy professor presents you with all the options and lets you figure out your own beliefs for yourself.
7 Communication with the professor: I typically will check email a couple of times a day. I will try to answer every email that I receive within 24 hours. Some emails require a lengthy response, and sometimes I will suggest that we meet in office hours instead. I highly encourage all of you to come to my office hours!! Office hours are a time during which we can review material, go over questions you have, talk about upcoming assignments, or talk more generally about your academic goals and your educational experience. I want to get to know you! If you can t make my office hours, let me know and we can find a time outside of them to talk - please ask atleast 24 hours in advance of the time that you would like to come. Office hours are not scary, intimidating, or awkward. On the contrary, they are laidback, comfortable, and a chance to explore philosophy even more. If something about the class is bothering you or not working for you, please don t hesitate to let me know. I want to make this an enriching learning environment for everyone, and feedback is much appreciated. Maintaining academic honesty: Plagiarizing your work, even just a few sentences or ideas, is in direct opposition to this goal. We expect that the work you submit to us is your own and that you have properly cited all sources, using MLA format from which you have paraphrased and quoted. Unfortunately, academic dishonesty is a growing problem in colleges and universities, and every quarter we fail someone plagiarizing. Please note that academic dishonesty is a punishable offense, which WILL result in failure of the assignment on the first offense and the failure of this course on the second offense. In either case, I will notify student services of your plagiarism, which could result in suspension or expulsion. I use Internet websites to check student papers for plagiarism, both regularly and randomly. In doing so, I have caught even students I did not suspect of plagiarism. And, almost without exception, everyone claims s/he didn t mean to plagiarize. Academic dishonesty is defined as: Plagiarism-the act of stealing or passing off as one s own the ideas and/or the words of anothereven a sentence or a phrase, a statistic, or inventive word choice. All sources must be acknowledged. Submitting the same paper twice or fulfilling the requirements of two subjects with one paper (unless approved beforehand by your professor(s)). Failure to include quotation marks, parenthetical citations and/or works cited entries for your quotations and paraphrases. This is the most common reason someone fails the class for plagiarism. The manufacture or deliberate alteration of data submitted in connection with lab reports, term papers, or essays (creating/altering statistics, names, sources, facts, statistics; claiming an erroneous source, etc.). Collaboration with others (parents, siblings, friends) without prior permission from the professor.
8 Here is some advice for maintaining academic honesty: Don t: Don t misrepresent other people s work as your own. Don t make up fake sources, quotes or data. Don t think that changing every couple of words means that the ideas/words are your own and need not be cited. Don t think that because other sources and websites do not cite, you do not need to either. Don t visit websites like TermPapersRUS.com or BuyEssaysHere.com to download essays. Don t procrastinate on assignments or homework so that you are tempted to take such shortcuts. Look at other student work during exams or quizzes Do: Do create a system for organizing notes that works for you (i.e., notecards, works cited first, etc.) Do take care while downloading sources and notetaking. Keep others words & ideas separate from yours. Do learn the difference between paraphrasing, quoting & summarizing, and the citations required for each. Do recognize the distinction between receiving feedback and allowing others to re/write. Do recognize that even glancing at the work of another student during an exam or quiz is an attempt to cheat. If you have concerns about your knowledge of plagiarism, do review these issues in your handbook or simply ask me You are Advised to Review these two sources: Pierce s Student Code of Conduct: http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/about/policy/academic Avoiding Plagiarism: http://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/qpa_plagiarism.html Please email me whenever you have a question about the course, the assignment, your work, or citing sources. I will be happy to help. ADS statement: Your experience in this class is important to me, and it is the policy and practice of Pierce College to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. If you experience barriers based on disability, please seek a meeting with the Access and Disability Services (ADS) manager to discuss and address them. If you have already established accommodations with the ADS manager, please bring your approved accommodations (green sheet) to me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course. ADS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities. Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you and the ADS manager, and I am available to help facilitate them in this class. If you have not yet established services through ADS, but have a temporary or permanent disability that requires accommodations (this can include but not be limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are encouraged to contact ADS at 253964-6526 (Fort Steilacoom) or 253-840-8335 (Puyallup).
9 Class schedule: **** NOTE: This is a tentative schedule and I am likely to flexibly alter it given the needs of the class and how we are progressing through the course (you ll notice that some readings are TBD = to be determined). Sometimes it takes awhile to find the best pace for the class as a whole. Week 1: 1/4-1/6 (no class Mon, Tues) What is Philosophy? What is an argument? Topics to be covered: how does Philosophy differ from other subjects? Why study Philosophy? Branches of Philosophy; Arguments and logical form Readings: (online) Bertrand Russell The value of philosophy, Chapter XV from The Problems of Philosophy http://skepdic.com/russell.html Introduction to Warburton Assignments: Journal #1 due Thurs 1/5 (you will write about the syllabus) ETHICS/morality and doing the right thing Week 2: (1/9-1/13) Does culture determine what is the right thing to do? Topics to be covered: What is ethics? Why be moral? Relativism vs. Objectivism Reading: James Rachels The challenge of cultural relativism (online) http://faculty.uca.edu/rnovy/rachels--cultural%20relativism.htm Assignments: Journal #2 due Mon 1/9 Homework assignment #1 (on relativism) due Fri 1/13 Week 3: (1/17-1/20; no class Mon. 1/16) How do I know what the right thing to do is? Topics to be covered: Ethical theories: Hedonism, Utilitarianism, Kantianism Reading: Warburton 38-58 Assignment: Journal #3 due Tues 1/17 Week 4 (1/23-1/27) More on ethical theories Topics to be covered: Feminist critiques of ethics; Environmental Ethics, Non-western ethics Reading: Warburton 67-77, and TBD
10 Assignment: Journal #4 due Mon 1/23 Homework assignment #2 (on ethical theories) due Fri 1/27 Week 5: (1/30-2/3) What does ethics have to do with politics and society? Topics: Equality, Distributive justice, Democracy, Punishment, Freedom, Power & privilege Reading: Warburton 78-101 Assignments: Journal #5 due Mon. 1/30 Week 6 (2/6-2/8; no classes 2/9-2/10) Politics/Society Continue with last week s topics Assignment #3 (on politics and society) due Wed 2/8 METAPHYSICS/The nature of reality Week 7: (2/13-2/17) Does God exist? Topics to be covered: Arguments for God s existence: Design, Fine tuning, First cause, Ontological. Reading: Warburton 10-36 Assignments: Journal #6 due Mon 2/13 Week 8: (2/21-2/24, no class Mon. 2/20) More on God and philosophy of religion Topics: The problem of evil; Eastern religions, epistemology of religion Readings: excerpt from The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky excerpts from James The varieties of religious experience And TBD Assignments: Journal #7 due Mon. 2/21 Assignment #4 (on God and religion) due Fri 2/24
11 Week 9: (2/27-3/3) What is the self? Topics: the self, Hume s bundle theory, memory theory, nature vs. nurture, free will Reading: TBD Assignment: Journal #8 due Mon. 2/27 EPISTEMOLOGY/Knowledge Week 10: (3/6-3/10) Belief, Justification, Science Topics: scientific method, bias, how to apply philosophy/critical thinking to what you see or read on the news Reading: Warburton 121-136 Assignments: Journal #9 due Mon. 3/6 Week 11: (3/13-3/17) Medicine and Healing Topics: Philosophy of Psychiatry, Mental disorders/diagnoses, Medical interventions, Cultural Relativism (again) Reading: TBD Assignment: Journal #10 due Tues 3/14 Homework Assignment #5 due Fri 3/17 Week 12 Mon 3/20: Review for final exam