Fall 2000

MW 11:00 - 12:15

CPR 256

Peter Celello

FAO 212 (974-5946)

Email: pcelello@aol.com

Office Hours: W 3-4, R 12-1 and by appt.

Course Objectives: To provide you with a basic yet thorough initial encounter with the academic field of philosophy. The course focus will be on specific issues from three areas of philosophical inquiry: Epistemology (the study of knowledge), Metaphysics (the nature of reality), and Morality (Ethics).

Required Text:

Gordon Rule: This course is designed to meet the communication area requirement of the Gordon Rule. You will be expected to produce written work that totals at least 6000 words. In short, you will be required to do a lot of writing. If you do not produce 6000 words, I am required to give you a failing grade (even if you otherwise produce "A" work). Of course, this will not be a problem if you complete all of the assignments.

Requirements/Distribution of Course Grade:

Quizzes (4): 25 pts. each 100 pts. total

Midterm Paper: -------------- 50 pts.

Final Paper: -------------- 100 pts.

Total Points: 275 pts.

Notes on Written Work: The midterm paper will be a minimum of five (and a maximum of seven) pages. The final paper will be a minimum of eight (and a maximum of ten) pages. They will be typed, doubled-spaced, and will have standard margins. Papers with excessive grammatical/spelling errors will be penalized. Plagiarism will not be tolerated and, if it occurs, will result in a grade of zero for the paper. A late paper will result in a full letter grade reduction (e.g. from an "A-" to a "B-") for each calendar day it is late. I will read drafts of your papers and you are encouraged to submit at least one draft per paper.

Attendance: Attendance is required. Absences in excess of five will result in the lowering of your grade. Make-up quizzes will be given only in the case of a documented illness or death in the family.

Grading Policy/Scale: Each piece of graded work will receive both a letter and numeric grade. The grading scale is as follows:

A+ = 97 - 100

A = 93 - 96

1. = 90 - 92

B+ = 87 - 89

B = 83 - 86

B- = 80 - 82

C+ = 77 - 79

C = 73 - 76

C- = 70 - 72

D+ = 67 - 69

D = 63 - 66

D- = 60 - 62

F = 59 and below

Course Schedule: Please note that this is a tentative schedule. Naturally, you will be informed of any changes.