Philosophy 1000 > Syllabus and Course outline

This is a sample syllabus designed to give an indication of the nature and structure of the course.  Some readings may vary from semester to semester.

Prerequisites 
 Satisfactory placement scores/READ 0099.  Students are responsible for ensuring they meet these prerequisites.

Course Objectives

This course is intended to support the following college goal:

Students will demonstrate that they have developed dimensions of critical and analytical thinking.

by supporting the following outcomes:

      1) Students will be able to recognize differing perspectives and points of view.

      2) Students will be able to construct arguments.

      3) Students will be able to evaluate arguments.

      4) Students will be able to anticipate consequences.

This will be accomplished by reading and discussing the writings of philosophers on topics such as the existence of God; the problem of evil; the epistemological status of faith; humans and the world; and the morality of abortion.

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Grading System 

Test #1:                                 20 %

Test #2:                                 20 %

Test #3:                                 20 %

Final:                                      20 %

Journal Avg:                          20%

I do not e-mail grades.  I make every effort to return graded assignments in a timely manner.  This means tests are normally returned in a week, journals in 3-4 weeks.  Grades may be placed on GeorgiaView Vista prior to the test/paper being returned in class.

Here is my grading scale:  A: 90-100; B: 80-89; C: 70-79; D: 60-69; F: 0-59.  There is no curve.

Attendance Policy
Students are expected to attend each and every scheduled class session. Since lectures begin promptly at the scheduled time, students are encouraged to avoid arriving late to class. Roll will be taken at each class session. There is no distinction between "excused" and "unexcused" absences.

Exam Make-Up Policy 

I do not give make-up tests on an individual basis. If you miss a test, and your miss has been excused by me, you can make up the test at one of the division-wide test make-up sessions.   One of these is held around midterm, another the last week of class.  No other make-up tests will be given.  In order to get an excused miss you must contact me within 24 hours of missing the test with a full explanation of why the test was missed.  You should also be prepared to provide supporting documentation. Simply contacting me and providing documentation does not guarantee your miss will be excused.  It does guarantee consideration.

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Textbooks and Materials

Philosophy: The Quest for Truth, 6th ed., available in the bookstore and at online booksellers.  Nearly all of the readings are included in the 5th edition, which is not in the bookstore, but can be found online at sellers such as Amazon.com at substantially reduced prices.

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Assignments:

Journal Assignments               PHL 1000                      Spring  2007

These are due on the following dates:

Question 1: MW:  2/5                 TTH: 2/6

Question 2: MW:  3/5                 TTH: 3/6

Question 3: MW:  4/4                 TTH: 4/5

The philosopher Montaigne drew a sharp distinction between education and wisdom.  He understood education to be scholarship—the subjects one would take in the course of attending a college.  Wisdom, however, dealt with the subjects one would need to be familiar with in order to lead a fulfilling life—love, death, sex, family, etc.  Montaigne believed that someone could be educated without being wise as well as wise without being educated.  It is important to note that Montaigne is not engaging in anti-intellectualism here.  Rather, he was rebelling against the Western tradition, which held, in his view, that sufficient education was the key to a fulfilled life.  His point, then, is not that education is lacking in value.  Rather, he is warning us that we shouldn’t overvalue it and thereby diminish the importance of individual human experience in the project that is living one’s life.  So here’s my point: In class, we will be dealing with subjects like logic and grammar and the ontological argument—things that Montaigne would classify as “education”.  However, in these journal assignments, we will be working on the development of wisdom utilizing a feature of our everyday experience—movies.  You should use these movies and your own experience to help frame the answers to the following questions.  I am not looking for a movie review or a recap of the film.

1.  Watch the film A History of Violence.  David Cronenberg, the director of the movie, has said that the title refers to three levels of violence—the most obvious, referring to the violent history of Tom; next, to the historical use of violence to settle disputes and last, to the innate violence of Darwinian evolution, where better adapted organisms replace less well adapted organisms, only to be replaced later themselves.  In other words, on Cronenberg’s view violence is within us as humans down to our very core—it may well represent the basis of our human nature. And yet as humans we seem to value peace (think of the main tenets of the major world religions, for example) and we value peacemakers---King, Gandhi, etc.  Think very broadly here both about the film and about your experience of human nature and answer the following question in a three-to-four page typed, double-spaced, and stapled journal entry:  Are we fooling ourselves if and when we think we can live peacefully? What does “peace” mean anyway?

2. Watch the film Little Miss Sunshine.  Consider the following quote from Schopenhauer: “So to gain anything we have longed for is only to discover how vain and empty it is; and even though we are always living in expectation of better things, at the same time we often repent and long to have the past back again.  We look upon the present as something to be put up with while it lasts, and serving only as the way towards our goal. Hence most people, if they glance back when they come to the end of life, will find that all along they have been living ad interim (in th meantime; regarding the present as unimportant), they will be surprised to find that the very thing they disregarded and let slip by unenjoyed was just the life in the expectation of which they passed all their time.”

Answer the following questions: Why is it that we tend to value what we do not have, and may not ever have, over that which we do have?  Why is it that we tend to be disappointed when we obtain the things we want?

3. Watch the film Half-Nelson. (Will be released on DVD 2/13)  Consider the following quote from Camus:

... "I conclude that all is well," says Oedipus, and that remark is sacred. It echoes in the wild and limited universe of man. It teaches that all is not, has not been, exhausted. It drives out of this world a god who had come into it with dissatisfaction and a preference for futile sufferings. It makes of fate a human matter, which must be settled among men.

All Sisyphus' silent joy is contained therein. His fate belongs to him. His rock is his thing. Likewise, the absurd man, when he contemplates his torment, silences all the idols. In the universe suddenly restored to silence, the myriad wondering little voices of the earth rise up. Unconscious, secret calls, invitations from all the faces, they are the necessary reverse and price of victory. there is no sun without shadow, and it is essential to know the night. The absurd man says yes and his effort will henceforth be unceasing. If there is a personal fate, there is no higher destiny, or at least there is but one which he concludes is inevitable and despicable. For the rest, he knows himself to be the master of his days. At that subtle moment when man glances backward over his life, Sisyphus returning toward his rock, in that silent pivoting he contemplates that series of unrelated actions which becomes his fate, created by him, combined under his memory's eye and soon sealed by his death. Thus, convinced of the wholly human origin of all that is human, a blind man eager to see who knows that the night has no end, he is still on the go. The rock is still rolling.

I leave Sisyphus at the foot of the mountain! One always finds one's burden again. But Sisyphus teaches the higher fidelity that negates the gods and raises rocks. He too concludes that all is well. This universe henceforth without a master seems to him neither sterile nor futile. Each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of that night-filled mountain, in itself forms a world. The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.

Answer the following questions in a double-spaced, 3-4 page paper.

1. What is it about Dan's life, if anything, that resembles Sisyphus' plight? (note: If your answer is "Nothing", then you should be able to give some account of what Sisyphus' plight means and why it doesn't apply to Dan)

2. In your opinion, is the struggle itself enough for Dan? Why or why not?

3. Is the struggle itself enough for you? Why or why not?

Ratings FYI:

Little Miss Sunshine is rated R for language, some sex and drug content. 

A History of Violence is rated R for strong brutal violence, graphic sexuality, nudity, language and some drug use.

Half-Nelson is rated R for drug content throughout, language and some sexuality.

If you have a moral or religious objection to watching R-rated films in general or any of these in particular, please see me during my office hours or contact me via e-mail so that we might discuss this matter in more detail and provide an alternate film if needed.  Objecting will not exempt you from fulfilling a journal requirement.  All of these films are thought-provoking, so I would hope you can look past any qualms you might have and focus on the larger issues detailed in the questions.  Do not wait until the last minute—like the night before the assignment is due--to tell me that you couldn’t find the film or that you want to register a moral/religious objection.  You have plenty of time to reflect on the assignments and watch the films before they are due. Do not wait until the last minute to watch the film or to journal--the best journals are those that are written and rewritten a couple of times.  I'll be happy to comment on rough drafts.

The alternate film for question 1 is: Paradise Now (PG-13 for mature themes and brief strong language; film is subtitled in English)

The alternate film for question 2 is: A Prairie Home Companion (PG-13 for risque humor)

The alternate film for question 3 is: The Illusionist (PG-13 for some sexuality and violence; substitute "Eisenheim" for Dan and answer questions as above)

You should be able to find these films at most any well-stocked video store.  If you have difficulty, you can try online DVD rental sources such as Netflix.com or Blockbuster.com.  You can also check local libraries. If you like to purchase films on DVD, these are releases that should be available at places like Target, Wal-Mart or Best Buy.  You can also find new and used DVDs at a substantial savings on Amazon.com. And just so there is no conflict of interest, I am not compensated by any of the organizations named in the preceding sentences.

The journals will be graded according to the rubric available on WebCT.  Development and Argumentation will be more important to your journal grade than Organization and Writing.  Notice also that on the rubric, grades of A, C, and F are defined.  That doesn’t mean those are the only grades possible—a B paper will have some A characteristics and some C characteristics.  Likewise, a D paper will have some C characteristics and some F characteristics.  Effort goes a long way with me on these journals.  There isn’t a “right’ answer to these questions—I’m more interested in what you say and how you say it.

Use a reasonable font—Times New Roman 12 or Arial 10--and standard margins (1’ top and bottom, 1.25” left and right).  Cutting corners usually means cutting content, which often leads to my cutting your grade.  No cover sheet is required—simply make sure your name and class info are on the first page.  Journals turned in without any identifying information will not be graded nor retained.

Journals must be turned in to me during class or left in my campus mailbox on the due dates noted above.  If you are ill on one of those dates, arrange for someone else to turn it in for you.  Early journals can be turned in during class or left in my campus mailbox. Journals will NOT be accepted late. They be accepted via e-mail one time per semester per student.  Journals must be submitted on paper—they will NOT be accepted on floppy disk, CD-R/RW, or any other format. Journals will not be accepted if they are not stapled. Printers have a way of not working when you wait until the last minute to use them---so plan ahead accordingly.

Policies on student conduct and academic integrity.
Student conduct must conform to the policy for student conduct and academic integrity which may be accessed on the web at: http://www.highlands.edu/subwebs/academicaffairs/academicintegritypolicy.htm

Disability Statement:
“Any student who feels they may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should make an appointment with the College Access Center (706: 802-5003) to coordinate reasonable accommodations. You are also welcome to contact me privately to discuss your specific needs.”

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Financial Aid
This message applies only to students receiving financial aid: Federal regulations state that if a student did not attend classes and received failing grades, then the grades were not earned and financial aid needs to be reduced accordingly. Please be advised that any student receiving a 0.00 GPA will be required to prove that the 0.00 GPA was earned by attending classes or completing requirements for each class. Students who have earned at least one passing grade for the semester will not be affected by this regulation. If a student has properly withdrawn from all classes, the student’s financial aid should be adjusted from the time they signed the withdrawal form.

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Course Outline

Jan. 8:    Class Introduction: Syllabus/GeorgiaVIEW Vista                                                         

Jan. 10:  Plato, "Socratic Wisdom"                                                                                  pp. 6-17

Jan. 15:  Dr. King Holiday                                                                  

Jan. 17:  Bertrand Russell, "The Value of Philosophy"                                                                pp. 24-28

Does God exist?

Jan. 22: Thomas Aquinas, "The Five Ways"                                                                  pp. 50-53

Jan. 24: Paul Edwards, "Critique of the Cosmological Argument"                            pp. 72-81

Jan. 29: Edwards                                                                                                                                pp. 72-81

Jan. 31: Anselm, "The Ontological Argument"                                                               pp. 94-97

Feb. 5:  Anselm, "The Ontological Argument"                                                                pp. 94-97

Feb. 7:  William Rowe, "An Analysis of the Ontological Argument"                           pp. 103-105

Feb. 12: TEST 1

Is there a problem of evil?  Are reason and faith compatible?

Feb. 14: Johnson, "Why Doesn't God Intervene to Prevent Evil?"                              pp. 115-119         

Feb. 19: Johnson                                                                                                                                pp. 115-119

Feb. 21: Hick, "There is a Reason Why God Allows Evil"                                            pp. 120-124

Feb. 26: Hick                                                                                                                        pp. 120-124

Feb. 28: Pascal, "Faith is a Logical Bet"                                                                         pp. 126-128

Mar. 5: James, "The Will to Believe"                                                                                pp. 134-142

Mar. 7: James                                                                                                                      pp. 134-142

Mar. 12: Locke, "Of Enthusiasm and the Quest for Truth"                                           pp. 16-24

Mar. 14: TEST 2                                                                   

Mar. 19:  SPRING BREAK                                   

Mar. 21:  SPRING BREAK  

What is the meaning of life?

Mar. 26:  Epicurus, "Moderate Hedonism"                                                                     pp. 531-536

Mar. 28:  Epictetus, "Stoicism"                                                                                          pp. 537-545

Apr. 2:  Epictetus                                                                                                                  pp. 537-545

Apr. 4:  Camus, "Life is Absurd"                                                                                       pp. 546-550

Apr. 9:  Walker, "Religion Gives Meaning to Life"                                                          pp. 551-554

Apr. 11: TEST 3                                  

Is abortion morally permissible?

Apr. 16: Abortion: History and Law                                                                                  No Reading

Apr. 18: Noonan, "Abortion is Not Morally Permissible"                                              pp. 569-573         

Apr. 23:  Noonan                                                                                                                 pp. 569-573

Apr. 25: Warren, "Abortion is Morally Permissible"                                                      pp. 574-580

Apr.30:  Warren                                                                                                                    pp. 574-580

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Extended Absence Policy 
    “Students, who have circumstances that prevent them from continuing to attend classes over an extended period of time, sometimes request that the faculty member permit them to submit work in absentia to receive credit to complete the course.
If the concurrent absences will constitute more than 15% of the class sessions for the term, then written permission from the Division Chair is required before any course assignments can be completed while missing class.  The student must be in good academic standing in the course to make the request.  All approved coursework must be completed by the end of the semester in which the course was begun.”