For the guide to "Writing a Philosophic Essay", click here.
Introduction to Philosophy
PHL 101-004 WR CRN20540
Spring 2010
Instructor: R.H. Trowbridge, PhD Office: 5-334
Dept Phone: 292-3382
Office hours: After class and by appointment
email: rtrowbridge@monroecc.edu
Feel free to communicate concerns or questions via email and I will respond as quickly as possible.
Required Course Materials:
Yu-lan Fung. 1997. A Short History of Chinese Philosophy. Free Press. ISBN-10: 0684836343, ISBN-13: 978-0684836348
Plato. The Last Days of Socrates (Penguin Classics) Harold Tarrant (Editor), Hugh Tredennick (Translator). Publisher: Penguin Classics (April 29, 2003) ISBN-10: 0140449280 , ISBN-13: 978-0140449280
Aristotle. The Metaphysics (Penguin Classics) Hugh Lawson-Tancred. ISBN-10: 0140446192 ISBN-13: 978-0140446197
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, and you will be responsible for these terms.
Course Description: PHL 101 is an introduction to the fundamental questions of philosophy, including such issues as determinism, freedom, and responsibility; the relationship of mind to body; the grounds and limits of human knowledge; and the existence and nature of God.
Course Learning Outcomes: In this class, the student will acquire or improve competencies in
philosophical thinking (clear, logical, fair thinking that examines the evidence), and
Communicating clearly and rationally.
The student will acquire
· an historical overview of Western and Chinese philosophy, and
· an understanding of some of the major questions philosophers have debated.
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You are allowed three absences from this class; if you miss more than that your participation may be withdrawn.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.
Class Etiquette
Professional, adult behavior is expected in this Introduction to Philosophy 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.
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.
F For more information, refer to the Academic Honesty Policy in the current college catalog.
Course Requirements & Evaluation:
Class participation 10%
Quizes (2) 20%
Final exam 20%
Miniquizes 10%
Homework assignments (workbook) 15%
Formal writing (2 papers, each 1200-1500 words in length) 25%
F All assignments must be computer generated unless otherwise stated.
PHL101 is a writing intensive course. See page 6 for details
Examinations: In addition to the midterm test and the comprehensive final examination (which consist of short answer and essay questions) 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: Completing the Workbook satisfactorily is the homework for this class (other than the formal writing). Workbook sections will be posted online handed out in class before the corresponding section is covered.
Ê Workbooks will be checked February 25, March 25, April 15, and May 13. 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. There are no make-ups for the miniquizes.
Homework: Five points will be deducted for late assignments. No assignment will be accepted after one 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.
F If you have a learning challenge or special need, please see the instructor.
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.
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.
F Neither audio nor video recordings of the instructor or the class can be made without the explicit prior written permission of the instructor.
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, rather than primarily in matching all students against a single standard.
The course consists of lecture, 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, caring, and (insofar as possible) wise behavior.
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 the manner of high-quality thought is likely to be at variance with habits that have been practiced day and night for many years. The central focus of this class will be to improve the quality of thinking for all of us. Philosophical thinking and expression 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. Philosophic thinking should actively seek out opposing views and represent them fairly. It should strive for breadth and depth of understanding.
WR Course Criteria
The writing intensive course criteria requires both formal and informal writing.
Formal Writing
It 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. (The total of formal written assignments per semester should include at least 2000-2500 words, the equivalent of 8-10 typewritten double-spaced pages). Research indicates that shorter formal assignments help students more than simply assigning one long paper. Many kinds of writing satisfy the formal writing requirement. These may include essay and short answer exam questions, research papers, essays, reviews, letters, memos, evaluation reports, critiques, case studies, lab reports, annotated bibliographies, and other discipline-specific writings.
Informal Writing
It 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.
Introduction to Philosophy
Course Schedule
Wk Date Topic Assignment
1 0126 Introductions Overview Read Plato: The Last Days of Socrates Introduction, pp. xxiii-xxxi.
0128 Th Philosophical thinking
Reading philosophy Read Euthyphro. The Notes, pp. 194-200, are also worth reading.
2 0202 Euthyphro & Writing philosophy Workbook on Plato, Socrates, and the Euthyphro
0204 Th Euthyphro Read The Apology
3 0209 Apology pt1
0211 Th Apology pt2 Read Crito
Work on draft of essay on The Examined Life (due 2/23)
February 14-21 Break
4 0223 Discussion of essay on Examined Life
Apology pt3 Make sure Workbook is up to date (due 2/25)
0225 Th Socrates’ Trial VIDEO Work on essay on The Examined Life (due 3/2)
5 0302 Ancient philosophy, modern questions
Discussion of essay on Priorities:
What is most important
0304 Th Review
6 0309 Exam
0311 Th Go over exam, Chinese History Read A Short History of Chinese Philosophy, the Preface from p. xiv to the end, and Chapter 1.
7 0316 Chinese Philosophy, general Read A Short History, Ch 4: Confucius
0318 Th Confucius & VIDEO Read supplemental material on Confucianism
8 0323 Confucius continued Make sure Workbook is up to date (due 3/25)
0325 Th Confucius continued Read A Short History, Chapter 5: Mo Tzu
9 0330 Mo Tzu Read A Short History, Chapter 7: Mencius
0401 Th Mencius Read A Short History, Chapter 9: Lao Tzu
10 0406 Taoism Read supplemental material on Tao Te Ching
0408 Th Tao Te Ching Read A Short History, Chapter 10: Chuang Tzu
11 0413 Chuang Tzu Make sure Workbook is up to date (due 4/15)
0415 Th Chinese philosophy review Study for exam on Chinese Philosophy
April 18-25 Break
12 0427 Chinese Philos exam
0429 Th Discussion: What is most important? Work on draft of essay on What Is Most Important (due 5/4)
13 0504 Aristotle Metaphysics Read the the Metaphysics, pp. 3-10
0506 Th Metaphysics pt2 Work on essay on What Is Most Important (due 5/11)
14 0511 Metaphysics pt3 Read the the Metaphysics, pp. 11-15
Make sure Workbook is up to date (due 5/13)
0513 Th Metaphysics pt4
15 0518 Review of philosophic thinking & Plato
0520 Th Review of Chinese philosophy
16 0525 Final Exam