Syllabus: Philosophy 111, Fall 2008, @ PNC

Ethics

Jeffrey Grupp, Adjunct Lecturer

Purdue University Northcentral

Jgrupp@pnc.edu   www.abstractatom.com

Class Plan:

There are three major things we will be concerned with in this class this semester:

(1) Critical thinking

(2) The study of reality as-a-whole

(3) The Study of Ethics

Office hours: Office hours are held in Schwarz 211 from 645-745 M and W evening. .  

 Tentative Class Schedule (this could change, and could be pushed back)

Section 0: Topic: Class introduction.

Reading: none

Schedule: Aug. 25 - 27

Section 1: Topic: Relativism

Reading: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on "moral relativism": http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-relativism/

Schedule: Aug 27 – Sept 15

Section 2: Topic: Moral Realism

Reading: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on "moral realism/http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-realism/

Schedule: Sept 17 – 29

Section 3: Topic: Egoism

Reading: Handout on killing, and Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on "egoism:  http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/egoism/

Schedule: Oct. 1 - 20

Section 4: Topics: Anti-ethics and moral nihilism  

Reading: handout

Schedule: Oct. 22 - 27

Section 5: Topics: Feminist ethics

Reading: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on "feminist ethics: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-ethics/ 

Schedule: Oct 29 – Nov 5

Section 6: Topics: Consequentialism and non-consequentialism

Reading: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on "consequentialism: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consequentialism/

Schedule: Nov. 10

In-class film assignment

Section 7: Topic: Buddhist ethics

Reading: “Meditation as an Ethical Activity, by Prof. George Dreyfus, Journal of Buddhist Ethics, Vol. 2, 1995, http://www.buddhistethics.org/2/dreyfus.html

Schedule: Nov. 12 - 17

Section 8: Topics: Deontology

Reading:  Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on "deontological ethics": http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-deontological/

Schedule: Nov 19

Film assignment: Nov. 24

 Section 9: Topic: Environmental Ethics

Readings:  TBA

Schedule: Nov. 26

Section 10: Topics: Kant, Hobbes and Hume

Readings:  Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on "Kant's Moral Philosophys": http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-moral/

Schedule: Dec 1 – Dec. 10

Grading:

1. 250 points – Final exam
2. 200 points - Film writing assignment (due with the final at the end of the semester)
3. 550 points – Quizzes (there are 29 quizzes, you are graded out of 28, at 20 points each)

Total: 1000 points

There are no make-up test, and no make-up quizzes. If you miss a quiz or the final, you must present valid, legitimate documentation proving you were absent for reasons beyond your control.

Tests and Quizzes:

At the start of every class, we will have a quiz over the lecture and reading from the class before. These quizzes will help you keep up in the class, and will prevent you from forgetting important material needed to grasp the philosophic ideas of the class.

The manner in which I will grade the quizzes is as follows. All quizzes are grade as C/NC. At the end of the semester I will drop your lowest quiz. Each quiz is worth 20 points.

Please note that if you talk during any of our quizzes through the semester, if you have your notes out, or if you do really anything but stare straight at your own paper, I will freely give you zero credit on a quiz, whenever I feel it is necessary. Also, quizzes are the way I take attendance for the class, so, if come to class and only take the quiz, I will throw that quiz out, if I feel necessary.

The final will be all essay. The final exam is cumulative (over all material in the class).

Note: I use the quizzes to take your attendance throughout the semester. For that reason, it may be a very good idea for you to keep your quizzes all semester, in case you need them to justify your attendance in the unlikely event that my records indicate you missed a class when you believe that you did not.

Writing Intensive Course:

This course is writing intensive. This means that there is some emphasis put on teaching you to write well, if you don't already write well. I will tell you exactly what I am looking for in your writing, so you will not have to wonder at all about what I am looking for in good writing. There are several keys to writing well, but in general they all involve you being able to merely get your point across to others. In this class, there are no papers you have to write. Instead, you will have essay tests, where the tests are to be written well. So in addition to knowing the material of the class, you will have to write it out coherently, nicely. I will not be so concerned with spelling errors; I will be mostly concerned with how you organize a piece of your writing, and secondly how you use words.

It is important for you to understand that you need not worry much about this writing part of the course. Students often get scared by this, especially if they don’t already have confidence in their writing. When students find out that this class is concerned with your writing, they may feel that they won’t “match up.” But it is important to understand that this writing improvement exercise will be a semi-painless process of my instructing you in improving on your writing skills. In my teaching I have found that whenever I say, “you will be working on your writing this semester,” students shutter in fear, often. But you should offset that by my telling you that I will help you in writing, and I will tell you exactly what I am looking for.

 Grade Definitions

[ A ] Outstanding. Work displays thorough mastery of material and genuine engagement with the subject-matter. This grade is reserved for those students who attain the highest levels of excellence in thought and study. 

[ B ] Good. Work displays accurate understanding of the material.

[ C ] Fair. Work displays basic grasp of material, though there may be the occasional misunderstanding or inaccuracy.

[ D ] Marginal. Work displays a grasp of the material adequate for credit, but quality of work indicates lack of effort or aptitude. Tests really quite poor.

[ F ] Unacceptable. Excessive absences, assignments not completed, or assignments unworthy of credit. Tests clearly not at the college level. Cheating or plagiarism will earn an automatic F for the assignment and/or the course.

 Attendance:

Please do not arrive late for class. You are expected to attend all class sessions. Getting a good grade depends on having a good attendance record. An absence will be excused when it is due to an illness that is documented by a doctor’s excuse, or because of a death (documented) in the immediate family. If you try to show me a document that is in any way questionable, I will ignore it. (Questionable documents often include, for example, those which do not have your name on them, even though they are doctor's notes.)

If you receive an unexcused absence, the following deduction of points will occur:

1^st unexcused absence — 25 points

2^nd unexcused absence — 25 points

3^rd unexcused absence — 50 points

4^th unexcused absence — 100 points

5^th unexcused absence —200 points

6^th unexcused absence —300 points

(These point deductions are cumulative. For example, in the second unexcused absence you have a total of 50 points taken off your total.)

On your sixth  unexcused absence you will receive a grade of F for the class.

Attendance will be taken each lecture meeting. I will take it by seeing who has taken a quiz. If you arrive late and miss the quiz, you must arrive shortly after class begins in order to receive credit for attendance. If you leave after attendance has been taken but before class is complete, this of course is an unexcused absence.

I will give you one excused absence (but note that this would make you ineligible for the final exam reward--see below). After that all absences are unexcused unless you show that it should be an excused absence. An excused absence is, for example, documented proof that will inform me that, for example, your pet has died, that a relative has died, that you are very sick.  Excuses such as: “my friend was thrown in jail”, “I overslept,” “it was raining,” or “I ran out of gas” are not acceptable. Absences usually reflect that one has a lack of interest to attend lecture meetings; therefore, grades must reflect this. Also, all material that will appear on tests will be thoroughly covered in lectures; it is therefore critical that you not miss class. However, there are reasons that do arise that prevent one from attending lectures. If you have such a reason, you must talk to me about it. In all but the most particular circumstances, any form of undocumented absence is considered an unexcused absence.

Adequate documentation for an absence is a legitimate note from, for example, an employer or doctor, that shows it was impossible for you to attend class. That note has your information on it, and theirs. If you show me inadequate documentation for your absence, I will not argue with you about whether or not you have given me adequate documentation. Rather, I will merely leave it up to you to provide me with appropriate documentation.

Reward:

There will be a small reward for those of you with perfect attendance. Perfect attendance means you have not missed more than a half-hour of a class. Therefore, if you have an excused absence, this means you will not be eligible.

The reward is as follows: your lowest grade on the final (with respect to percentage) will be turned into a full-credit answer.

Class-time:

It is your responsibility to be in class to hear class announcements and information that is needed throughout the semester. Typically information such as this is given at the very start of class, and often it is about things such as test dates and times, the nature of tests, reading assignments, and so on.

Films:

Films are a very productive way to gain much philosophical knowledge fast and easily, as you will see throughout the semester. You might have to go out and rent the films we discuss, or you can get them at the public library.

We will be discussing various philosophical films in the class in significant detail, when we get time. The films we will possibly focus on (depending on time) in our class lectures are: The Truman Show, The Matrix, Total Recall, Being John Malcovich, Memento, Leaving Las Vegas, Crimes and Misdemeanors, The Fly, The Cube, Cube2: Hypercube, Lost Highway, eXistenZ, Thin Red Line, among others.

 Lecture, Discussion, and Questions:

                The subject matter in this course will generate much discussion. This is welcomed and expected, and you should feel free to take advantage of this as I see it as often the most beneficial and productive part of a student’s learning. If discussion gets too far off track or too drawn out, I will end such discussion that when appropriate.

                It is very important in a class of this nature that you interrupt lecture or discussion and ask questions every time there is a subject or issue in lecture or discussion that you do not understand. I frown upon those who sit in their seats not understanding the material and yet unwilling to ask for clarification. This usually only leads to frustration during lecture meetings and worse, it usually leads to poor test scores. So it is your responsibility as a student to ask questions as you feel you need to. Students should also note that it is usually the case that, the more basic a question is the better. Therefore, questions such as: What is science? What is God? What is technology? What is nature? Or What is Metaphysics? are extremely important appropriate and welcomed in this class. In summary, this class will teach you not to ask the “right questions,” (i.e., those that are seen as appropriate and ) but to develop an urge within you to ask the questions that you are truly interested in, regardless of who might say it is the right question or the wrong question.

 How the class works (the daily experience):

                I will assign reading before each class (this reading is also on the syllabus schedule above), then I will go over that reading during lecture. I will bring in photocopied notes to you of what you will be responsible for in the reading. For that reason, you will never need to take any notes in class, but you are encouraged to if you need to, if there is anything you need to write down in order to help to understand the material. It is up to you if you want to do the reading before or after lecture.