Wisdom-Centered Life

To access the Workbook, click on this link: Workbook. Since the workbook opens as a Read-only document, save with the document name Last name, First initial, PHL103 Workbook. (e.g., SmithJ Workbook.doc). As additional segments are posted, you can cut them and paste onto your document. If you have any questions, or difficulties, send me an email or ask in class.

Click here for the 

Study Guide Preface through Ch2 

For my "Statement of philosophy regarding teaching" see the Intro to Philos page. For information on grading rubrics, see the "Rubrics Gen'l Papers" in that section. For a description of the requirements for an extra credit paper, click here: Extra Credit.

 CIS:

Feel free to communicate concerns or questions via email. I will respond as soon as possible.

Required Course Materials:

Timothy Shanahan, Robin Wang. 2003. Reason and Insight: Western and Eastern Perspectives on the Pursuit of Moral Wisdom, 2^nd Ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. ISBN-10: 0534505996  ISBN-13: 9780534505998

Other supplementary material will be provided.

You are also encouraged to have a good college dictionary. The readings in our texts provide a good opportunity to increase your vocabulary, & you will be responsible for these terms.

Course Description: An introduction to basic problems in ethics, emphasizing theories of the good life, the morally good person, and morally right action, and their application to the most significant ethical questions in contemporary society, such as abortion, euthanasia, human sexuality, social and economic justice, violence, and use of the environment.

Three class hours. (SUNY-H) 3 Credits.

Course Learning Outcomes: In this class, the student will

1.   acquire or improve competency in ethical thinking, that is

thinking that understands and accounts for the effects, both on oneself and others, of one’s acts or failure to act, and that moves toward clarity regarding values and priorities, and a life of integrity: living in accord with one’s values and priorities.

2.   acquire an understanding of Western and Eastern theories of ethics.

3.   practice application of these to some major ethical questions people in our society face.

4.   improve her or his ability to communicate views on ethical concerns clearly & rationally.

Attendance and Withdrawal Policies

You are allowed three absences from this class; if you miss more than that your participation may be withdrawn. Before withdrawing from any class, consult with a financial aid advisor.

Course Focus and Methods: As far as possible the focus of this course is on student learning; that is, the course is student-centered, with a relatively greater concern for the student’s advance in understanding from her or his current place, than in matching all students against a single standard.

            The course consists of lecture and readings, discussion, small-group work, videos, powerpoint presentations, and handout materials.

            Learning is facilitated through peer evaluation of work, small group and full class discussion, and through the instructor’s modeling of good philosophic practices such as insightful questioning and thoughtful, ethical, and (insofar as possible) wise behavior.

F Neither audio nor video recordings of the instructor or the class can be made without the explicit prior written permission of the instructor.

Class Etiquette

Professional, adult behavior is expected in this Introduction to Ethics class. Inappropriate or disruptive behavior of any kind will not be tolerated. If you are found to be talking during the lecture, studying or completing assignments for other courses, sleeping, bothering other students, or inhibiting the learning process in any way, you will be asked to leave. There will be no warnings. When you are asked to leave, you may not return to class before coming to my office for a conference. The college may also take additional action against you. At the very least, you will receive a “0” for the Class Participation portion of the final grade.

F Food is not allowed in class.

         Pagers and cell phones must be turned off during all class sessions.

Academic Honesty: Academic integrity is expected of all students. If you are caught cheating on assignments, examinations, or other graded material, you will receive a grade of zero for the material in question. All students involved in the incident will be subject to this process. Submission of work that is not your own, or is improperly referenced, is also considered cheating.

Ê For more information, refer to the Academic Honesty Policy in the college catalog.

Course Requirements & Evaluation:

Class participation                                                                                                   10%

Quizes (2)                                                                                                               20%

Final exam                                                                                                               20%

Miniquizes                                                                                                               10%

Workbook                                                                                                              15%

Formal writing (2 papers, each 1200-1500 words in length)                                      25%

F All assignments must be computer generated.

            PHL103 is a writing intensive course. See page 5, “WR Course Criteria”.

Examinations: In addition to two quizzes and the comprehensive final examination, there will be 10 miniquizes at various unannounced class periods, on the material assigned for the day’s class. They are very brief. Each miniquiz counts 1% of your final grade. There are three possible grades for the miniquiz: 1 (response indicates that the student is familiar with the material), ½ (response indicates that the student is somewhat familiar with the material—perhaps not from familiarity with the assigned reading); 0 (response indicates that the student is unfamiliar with the material).

Workbook: The workbook is available online at wisdomcenteredlife.org, in the Introduction to Ethics section. A copy can also be emailed to you. Completing the Workbook satisfactorily is the homework for this class (other than the formal writing). Workbook sections will be posted online or emailed to you before the corresponding section is covered in class

Ê  Workbooks will be checked February 26, March 29, April 16, and May 14. You may email them to me as an attachment.

Make-up Policy: Tests: If you miss the midterm or final, you will have the opportunity to make up the exam if your absence is excused. A legitimate, written excuse from a doctor, a lawyer, the court, a funeral home, etc., will be required. Notes from parents or spouses are normally not accepted. The excuse must be turned in and the exam scheduled the day your return to class after the absence. Make-up exams will be given at the convenience of the professor.

Ê There are no make-ups for the miniquizes.

Homework: 5 points will be deducted for late assignments. No assignment will be accepted after 1 week from the due date and a grade of zero will be given. If you are absent the day an assignment is due, you will still receive late points.

Learning Centers: Monroe Community College has a number of Learning Centers at Brighton (for example, Accounting, Math, Psychology, Writing, the Electronic Learning Center, etc.). Learning centers are staffed with instructional personnel and may be equipped with computers and software to assist students.

         It is recommended that students use the Learning Centers to get additional help with concepts learned in the classroom and with their homework.

F If you have a learning challenge or special need, please see the instructor.

Emergency closings: If the College is closed due to inclement weather or some other emergency, all Rochester area radio and television stations will be notified no later than 5:30a.m. In addition, the homepage on the MCC website (www.monroecc.edu) will display a message indicating that the College is closed. To avoid overloading the telephone lines, please do not call the College.

         In the event of  an emergency, such as a campus evacuation or closure, severe weather alert, fire in a building, hazardous material incident, etc., where recommended proactive actions need to be communicated, the SUNY NY-Alert system will be utilized to provide immediate notification to all MCC students, employees and visitors who have opted to receive such alerts. Messages can be received via a  variety of communication technologies, such as e-mail (college and/or personal accounts), audio and/or text message to a campus, home or cell phone, fax, etc. For more information, please visit www.monroecc.edu/depts/pstd/NY Alert.htm.

Class cancellation information is available daily on the web or through the telephone. Simply go to the MCC website (www.monroecc.edu), and under the “Quick Links” window on the homepage, click on “Class Cancellations”. Additionally, class cancellation information is available by dialing 292-2066. Press “1” for the Brighton Campus and “2” for the Damon Campus. If possible, please use the web, as there could be delays in the voice recordings based on the number of cancellations.

To keep in mind:

An atmosphere of mutual respect (particularly regarding differences), free inquiry, and openness will be maintained in this class. Students should feel free to raise questions, express concerns regarding the class, and challenge the instructor.

         Mature classroom behavior is also expected, and student preparedness for the day’s class.

         Thinking, not to mention philosophical thinking, is not easy, and thinking well is likely to be at variance with habits that have been practiced day and night for many years. It must be consciously learned and practiced.

         The central focus of this class will be to improve the quality of ethical thinking for all of us.

Ethical thinking and expression should

·   understand the effects of one’s action or inaction on other beings.

·   strive to understand others as they perceive themselves, as know and understand their full potential healthy development, or full psychosocial development.

·   strive to attain clarity regarding priorities and values.

In addition, all philosophically-trained thought should be

·   *clear *accurate *precise *fair *open-minded *logical *committed to truth and prepared to abandoned cherished ideas if they are found to be incorrect *aware of human tendencies such as to be biased, egocentric, sociocentric, premature cognitive commitment.

·   It should actively seek out opposing views and represent them fairly.

·   It should strive for breadth and depth of understanding.

Course Schedule

Introduction to Ethics PHL103

Introduction to Ethics PHL103

 Mon, Wed, Fri

WR Course Criteria

The writing intensive course criteria requires both formal and informal writing.

Formal writing is writing for an identified reader or readers; therefore, formal writing needs to be organized and edited. Additionally, it has to meet the minimum proficiency standards as defined by the discipline.

Informal Writing

Informal writing is writing for oneself. Informal writing helps the student to think on paper; it helps the student to learn in active and reflective ways.

• This type of writing can take the form of a variety of short in-class or out-of-class activities such as recalling on paper the subject of a previous class, clarifying an important idea during a lecture, brainstorming, speculating, journal writing, and listing.
• Informal writing can be considered as notes and rough drafts that will later be re-worked into formal writing that is organized and edited for a reader.
• Informal writing also promotes learning by encouraging students to actively engage in the subject matter through writing without worrying about being penalized for errors in grammar, content, style, or organization. In this way, students may think and discover through the writing process. Although informal writing is not generally evaluated, it may (if collected) be graded for completeness.

Rationale

The writing assignments required by WR course instructors will stimulate the development of analytical and critical thinking skills and will improve both teaching and learning.

• Each perceived idea is, most often, only vaguely recorded in one's consciousness.
• When the mind begins to organize an idea for verbal expression, it is perceived more clearly and recorded into consciousness more permanently.
• Writing is the process that calls for such an involvement of the mind. Students who write have an opportunity to cultivate their thinking skills and to verbalize the content of their disciplines to themselves, their classmates and instructors, and, ultimately, others in their field of study and employment.

Evaluation

• The focus of evaluation of writing in a discipline should be on clarity, completeness, and organization. WR course instructors need not feel responsible for teaching the more technical aspects of writing. However,
• instructors may refuse to accept papers with numerous grammatical and mechanical errors and encourage students to edit and resubmit the work. Additionally, instructors may encourage students to seek help in the College’s Writing Center.