PHIL 100 - Basic Problems in Philosophy - Fall 2015

Samuel Timme - Emory University

stimme@emory.edu - (404) 727-0795

Office: Bowden

Hours: MW 11:15 – 12:15, or by appointment

Course Description

In Plato’s Symposium, a group of friends offer speeches in praise of the god of love, explaining love’s causes, its benefits and dangers for individuals and society, and its definition and essence, and addressing the attendant idea of beauty. After beginning with the Symposium, we will proceed to five units dealing with philosophical problems that hearken back to it:

God and the Soul,
Love, Sex, and Ethics,
Skepticism and Realism,
Beauty and Art, and
Friendship

Course Objectives

To reflect upon and refine our philosophical thinking collaboratively. Although this will be the first philosophy course for many students, the questions raised in it are by no means unfamiliar. To the extent that they touch on all other academic disciplines and concern basic aspects of ourselves and of the world, every student will already have intuitions, commitments, and convictions about the problems above. Easy solutions are not typical of philosophy; but we may hope to locate and alleviate confusions and contradictions among our intuitions and avoid being taken in by bad arguments.
To develop critical reasoning. Achieving consistency of thought and learning to recognize misleading forms of persuasion will be among our chief aims.
To acquire basic facility in philosophical writing. The presentation of arguments in their best light, the consideration of counterexamples, and the coherent defense of a clear, nontrivial thesis will be goals in all our writing exercises. Being a good philosophical writer is intimately tied to being a good philosophical reader; understanding and employing the principle of charity, therefore, is also essential to this objective.
To become more comfortable, thoughtful, and rigorous discussion participants. Being engaged in discussion through active listening and critical reflection on what is said by our interlocutors improves our capacity to contribute in all cooperative pursuits. Active listening is the precondition for contributing to discussion and is as much a part of participation as speaking.

Assignments / Grades

Participation & Preparation 10%

Discussion activities 20%

Unit response papers 40%

Review quizzes 15%

Final Exam 15%

Participation & Preparation

Reading, pondering, and discussing assigned texts with others are the essence of philosophical study. Students should aim to arrive to class meetings a couple minutes early having read the assignment and taken notes, including at least two questions or observations to read aloud if called. In order to encourage students to be cognizant of their preparation for class meetings and their comportment in class meetings, I will require self-assessments after each class. A test form that collects this self-assessment will be available in our Blackboard course site from the end of one class meeting until the beginning of the next.

There are two special situations that may arise requiring intervention on my part. First, for an unexcused absence, I will assign a score of zero to a student’s self-assessment. Second, I will review the scores that students give to themselves. If a student’s estimation of her or his preparation and participation deviates greatly from mine, we will meet to discuss the matter. In extreme case, I reserve the right to override self-assessment scores.

Weekly Discussion Board Activities

In addition to the assigned readings for our class meetings on Mondays and Wednesdays, short assignments will be given most weeks (not on weeks with only one class meeting).

The format both of the material to be considered and the response will vary, but include the following: (i) very short prompts and commenting on one another’s compositions; (ii) watching a short video clip and responding and responding; (iii) reading about important informal fallacies and posting examples thereof; (iv) short readings and responses aimed at extending discussion from class meetings.

The modality of the response will also be variable, including the following possibilities: (i) text compositions; (ii) multimedia posts; (iii) video replies.

Unit Response Papers

On the second to last class meeting date for each of our five units, I will provide two to four prompts. A 500 to 650 word response to one of the prompts will be due at 11:59pm on the fourth day after the unit ends. Students must only write response papers for four of the five units. Rubrics will be made available with prompts.

Unit Quizzes

Short quizzes to encourage review and check reading comprehension will be given on Blackboard after our reading of the Symposium and each of the five units.

Final Exam

Letter Grade Scale / Interpretation

A 94-100 Your work has been consistently excellent, often going beyond my expectations

A- 91-93 Your work has been mostly excellent, missing the mark seldom and not by much

B+ 88-90 Your work has been excellent often, but misses either often or by a lot on occasion

B 84-87 Your work has been good overall, demonstrating engagement, not full mastery

B- 81-83 Your work has been good overall, but quite misses the mark on occasion

C+ 78-80 Your work has been average, and on occasion quite good, yet not masterful

C 74-77 Your work has been average, demonstrating a grasp, but not mastery, of concepts

C- 71-73 Your work has been average, sometimes failing to demonstrate grasp of concepts

D+ 68-70 Your work has been average half of the time, but far from the mark the other half

D 61-67 Your work has been consistently below average, yet demonstrates some engagement

F below 61 Your work has been off the mark, demonstrating no engagement

Policies

Academic Integrity

All students should act with personal integrity, respect other students’ dignity, rights and property, and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their efforts. Plagiarism either from others, from the internet, or from previous papers for other classes WILL NOT be tolerated and may result in expulsion and potentially further administrative action. See the Honor Code:

http://catalog.college.emory.edu/academic/policy/honor_code.html

Access, Disability Services, and Resources

It is the policy of Emory University to make reasonable accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. Students with any condition such that the requirements of this class present a problem should make this known to the instructor as soon as possible and contact Access, Disability Services, and Resources (110 Admin. Bldg., (404) 727- 9877, http://www.ods.emory.edu/) for documentation.

Affirmative Action & Sexual Harassment

All persons shall have equal access to programs, facilities, admission, and employment without regard to personal characteristics not related to ability, performance, or qualifications as determined by university policies. Discrimination against any person because of age, ancestry, color, disability or handicap, national origin, race, religious creed, gender, sexual orientation, or veteran status is UNACCEPTABLE.

Assignments and Deadlines

Because experience teaches that not all work is completed by its due date, I want to clarify in advance how I will treat work received after stated deadlines in the case of each type of assignment.

Self-assessment for a given class meeting will become unavailable at the start of the next meeting. Late submissions will not be possible and will result in a zero for the assessment.
Papers – 1/3 of a letter grade will be deducted from the merited grade for each day that passes and the paper is not received.
Late online discussion posts will be allowed, with a 10-20% deduction, up to one week after due.
Late submission of review quizzes will not be allowed

Attendance

Roll will be taken at every class meeting following add/drop. Students whose absence is not excused will receive a zero for the relevant self-assessments. Moreover, students cannot assume that material covered in a class meeting from which their absence is unexcused will be reviewed outside of class.

A student who seeks to have a foreseeable absence excused must contact the instructor in advance as soon as is feasible in the circumstances (in the case of school activities, this will mean at least a week).

Appropriate documentation must be supplied in all excusable circumstances.

Devices in Class

You may utilize laptops and tablets in their capacity as learning aids during class. You may not use them for communicating, browsing, gaming, doing schoolwork for other courses, or otherwise departing from the task at hand during the brief periods of the week we will spend together. Your phone(s) should be powered down, or in airplane mode, and stowed during class. If you find yourself needing to access the day’s reading on your phone, or are expecting a time-sensitive call, announce it before class begins.

Syllabus Subject to Change

I hope to follow the schedule outlined below, but I may need to make adjustments. Be sure to check with me after an absence to see if assignments have changed. Remaining in the course after reading this syllabus will signal that you accept the possibility of changes and responsibility for being aware of them.

Access Readings Electronically

Whether by recommending an existing online full version of a text, linking to an article available in a database, or placing a scanned selection on Course Reserves, I will make all assigned readings available electronically. You may print these materials, take notes on the your print-outs, and bring them to class. You may also keep them and read them in electronic formats – still taking notes, underlining, etc. – and bring the device that you use to class.

Updated 5/29/2015