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An Introduction to Philosophy Philosophy 6 Spring 2008 Tuesday and Thursday, 4:00 – 7:00 pm
Instructor: Dr. Cheryl Genet Class: Room 6303 Office: Room 6303 Phone: 805-438-4088 Hours: T-Th 7:00-7:30 pm and by appointment E-mail: cherylgenet@msn.com Website : www.OrionInstitute.org
Learning Outcomes Our objective in this course is threefold. First, we will seek to acquire an understanding of and an appreciation for philosophy as a discipline, with particular emphasis given to the philosophical subfields of metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Second, we will attempt to gain a sense of how Western philosophy has developed and changed through the ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary periods. Third, we will try to develop our critical thinking skills by evaluating philosophical arguments.
Required Texts (You cannot complete the course without these texts. If this presents a problem for you, you must let me know right away):
Bowie, G. Lee, Meredith W. Michaels, and Robert C. Solomon. 2004. Twenty Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy, 5th ed. Australia: Thomson (6th edition will work if no new or used 5th are available) Gaarder, Jostein. 1994. Sophie’s World: A Novel about the History of Philosophy. Trans. by Paulette Møller. New York: Berkeley Books.
Course Structure: In Class Quizzes (28) 280 (10 pts. each)
What’s My Philosophy?
(14) 140 (10 pts. each) Class Participation 100 Paper 175 Tests (3) 60 (20 pts. each) Final Exam 165 Total 1000
Website: The Orion Institute website has a section for my philosophy students that provides the syllabus, class schedule, reading assignments, study guides, information on paper assignments, your grade reports, and other information and communications. You should check it weekly and if you miss a class.
Readings There will be two types of reading assignments in this course. The readings will include general background reading in Sophie’s World and primary source selections and philosophical questions for discussion in Twenty Questions. There will be some short additional hand-outs of selected readings. Students are expected to come to class having read the required reading assignment for that day. A 10-15 minute primary source reading period will be a part of many classes.
Quizzes To assure compliance with reading requirements, reading quizzes will be given at the beginning of every class and after each class reading. These quizzes will be brief (no more than five questions) and objective (true/false, multiple choice). Quizzes will begin promptly at the beginning of class and immediately after class reading. There will be no make-ups for missed quizzes.
Short Written Assignments There will be a short (half page) written assignment at the end of each class called “What’s My Philosophy?” You will be provided with a form for each assignment. This assignment will give you the opportunity to express your thoughts on the days lecture, readings, and discussions, but you must include at least one point from the days class work that motivated, confirmed, or changed your own thinking. There will be no make-ups for missed “What’s My Philosophy.” Attendance Class attendance and participation is critical for a good or even passing grade in this class. It must be born in mind that if you miss just one 3 hour class you have missed the equivalent of a week of school (three one-hour classes or two 11/2 hour classes per week). This class is scheduled for 4:00-7:00 pm, Tuesday and Thursday. Please set aside this full time in your schedule each week and arrive on time. If you have missed, or must miss a class, check the website for assignments.
Participation Participation in class discussions is required. There are 100 points to be assigned at the instructor’s discretion for participation throughout the 9 weeks of the class. The quiz before class, at the end of class reading time, and writing the What’s My Philosophy? assignment at the end of class cannot be made up. If you complete all three you will receive an additional 5 points per class for attendance.
Papers Each student will write one paper during the semester, no less than three and no more than five pages in length. Your paper must have at least two references, and discusses at least one major philosopher. You will receive detailed guidelines for writing your paper.
Examinations
Grading: All grading will be based on the standard Cuesta College scale:
A (90-100%) Excellent B (80-89%) Good C (70-79%) Satisfactory D (60-69%) Passing, less than satisfactory F (0-59%) Failing
Additional Information
(1) Papers will be graded for both form (organization, clarity, punctuation, grammar, and spelling) and content (precision, cogency, and thoughtfulness), as well as consistency with assignment.
(2) Good research
borrows and uses the ideas of others in innovative ways to support one’s
own
Plagiarism of any kind, on any written assignment, will result in a failing grade on that assignment and possibly failure in the class as well. Plagiarism is the act of presenting another person’s words or ideas as if they were your own. Thus, one commits plagiarism when one does any of the following: (a) borrows ideas from a text (a book, an article, a web site, another student’s paper, etc.) without crediting the author of that text (by means of properly formatted parenthetical citations, footnotes, or endnotes), or (b) uses direct quotations without punctuating them as such and crediting the author (as specified above), or (c) ‘paraphrases’ an author’s words in a way that relies too heavily on the author’s own wording. (3) Text messaging in class (via cell phone, PDA, etc.) is strictly forbidden.
(4) Use of an iPod or similar device in class is strictly forbidden. (5) If you are a student with a verified disability, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible to discuss the accommodation of your needs. (6) I reserve the right to modify this syllabus as the need arises
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