SYLLABUS
Prof.
Richard Taylor, MPhil, PSA
Summer
Semester, 2003, Session C
Tuesday/Thursday
2-4 p.m. BEH 103
Course
Objectives: PHH 2000 is an introduction to Western
philosophy, designed to lead you in an exploration of the major philosophical
issues discussed by major philosophers both classical and contemporary. The course presupposes no particular
background in philosophy but does require an active, inquiring and open mind. At the end of this semester, you should be
able to present and discuss major positions taken in the areas of: epistemology, philosophy of religion (esp.
proofs for the existence of God and the Problem of Evil), theories of mind and
body, freedom and determinism, normative ethics, theories of justice, and (time
permitting) some classical philosophical paradoxes. This course stresses critical thinking over career development,
though an argument can be made that the most successful individuals are precisely
those who have learned to grapple with some of the most difficult intellectual
problems facing human beings.
Required
Text:
John Perry and Michael Bratman (eds.). Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings. paperback, 3rd edition. Oxford University Press, 1999.
Course
Requirements:
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Readings
in text as assigned in class schedule.
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Three
short (3-5 pages) papers on topics distributed by me or chosen by you with my
prior approval.
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Three
in-class examinations, including final, as scheduled. The first two exams consist of a choice of 2 essay questions from
a pool of 5 or 6 plus a section that requires short answers of a sentence or
two. The final consists of
approximately 30 short answer questions, many with multiple parts, that can be
answered in short paragraphs. The
second exam will be on material covered since the first exam, but the final is
comprehensive, covering everything discussed in class.
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Attendance
in class is required and monitored; it
is also important to note that the examinations are based largely on material
discussed in class. You are allowed 2
absences, excused or otherwise, before a grade penalty is assigned. With the 3rd and subsequent un-excused
absences, you will be penalized by a loss of 1 point per day up to a maximum of
10 points.
Notes on
Written Work:
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All
written work done outside class must comply with acceptable college-level
standards for grammar, spelling and content.
Papers that contain more than three (3) major grammatical or spelling
errors will be returned to you for correction and the work will not be counted
as submitted until all errors are corrected.
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You
must submit hard copies of your papers.
However, you may submit papers electronically, either on disk (PC, not
Apple) or as an attachment to an e-mail, to meet deadlines. If you do so, you must bring me a hard copy
at the next class. The deepest level
of Dante=s Inferno is reserved for
anyone who sends me a computer virus.
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Papers
must be submitted by the dates given on the course schedule. Late papers or papers that have been
returned to you but have not been re-submitted by the second subsequent class
meeting are subject to a grade penalty of 1/3 grade reduction for each calendar
day (not class meeting) late. Thus, a B+
would become a B on the first late day and a B- on the second, etc.
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Plagiarism
of any kind will not be tolerated.
Plagiarism is the submission of someone else=s work as your own. There may be a fine line between plagiarism
and scholarship, since few if any of the ideas we have are truly original. The key is to properly attribute ideas to
their source within a bibliography; where direct quotations are used, these
must be footnoted.
Instances of plagiarism will be dealt with severely,
resulting in a grade penalty of at least F-8 (see below) for the work
plagiarized. I reserve the right to use
Internet and other resources to ferret out plagiarism.
Composition
of Course Grade:
Each
paper: 10% each or
total of 30%.
Each
exam: 20 %
each or total of 60%.
Participation/Attendance 10%
100%
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Note:
Any student who is dissatisfied with a grade received for any work submitted in
this courseBexcept for the final exam-- may
resubmit the work after corrections, additions or other improvements are
made. The redone work will replace the
earlier grade only if it is a higher grade; that is, no student can do worse on
a paper or exam by redoing it. Note
that redone exams will be treated as take-home exams, requiring much higher
standards of exposition by the student and evaluation by the instructor. All redone work must be submitted no later
than Tuesday, July 9.
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Grading
Scale: I do not grade on a curve or
use some pre-ordained distribution; nor do I give Aextra credit.@
In recognition of the fact that there are at least as many degrees of
failure as there are of successful performance, I utilize a grading scale that
reflects the nether world of F-ness. In
some classes, an A and an F average to a C; in my world, an A and an F-12 results
in an F. That grading scale:
A+ =
97-100 D+ = 61-64 F-6 = 25-28
A
= 93-96 D = 57-60 F-7 = 21-24
A- =
89-92 D- = 53-56 F-8 = 17-20
B+ = 85-88 F = 49-52 F-9 = 13-16
B = 81-84 F-1 = 45-48 F-10 = 9-12
B- = 77-80 F-2 = 41-44 F-11 = 5-8
C+ = 73-76 F-3 = 37-40 F-12 = 0-4
C = 69-72 F-4 = 33-36
C- = 65-68 F-5 = 29-32
Graduate
Teaching Assistants:
There is a
Philosophy Graduate Teaching Assistant for this course. She will be responsible for grading your
papers; I will grade all exams. She will also hold some scheduled exam
review sessions. Your TA for this
course:
Dr.
Indrani Bhattacharjee FAO
202 974-5898 ibhattac@helios.acomp.usf.edu
Office
Hours, Phone, Fax and E-mail:
My office
is FAO 235. I will be happy to discuss
any aspect of this course with you. I
strongly prefer that we arrange appointments in advance; however, I will keep open office hours of
1-2, immediately before class on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I=ll be happy to make arrangements for
other times if needed. Office phone:
(813) 974-5796. Home phone and fax (do not
call after 9 p.m.): (813)
949-2859. The phone answering machine
is always on. My e-mail address
is: rtaylor@chuma1.cas.usf.edu. While there also is a course dedicated
e-mail contained within the Blackboard site for this course, it is better to
use my Achuma@ address.
PHI 2000
on the Internet:
You are
encouraged to use the Blackboard Internet site dedicated to this. There you will find, in addition to this
syllabus:
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your
grades posted (only you have access) as soon as work is graded.
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access
to chat rooms and bulletin boards for use in this course.
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your
private e-mail for use in this courseByou can communicate with any of your classmates on-line
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a
glossary, study guides and sample tests
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links
to other course-related sites
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and
much more as this site is constructed.
Each USF
student now has direct access to course materials for any course that uses
WebCT or Blackboard. PHI 2000 uses the
Blackboard program in support of this class. NOT WebCT. You access this course=s site through the portal
established for you by USF.
Past
experience shows that the 2 most popular uses of the web site are for grades
and for class notes. Your grades will
be posted as soon as I have determined them.
You will also find a ACumulative Points@ column that takes into account all
grades received to date. This allows
you to determine at any point how well you are doing and to predict what you
might receive as the ultimate course grade.
Class notes are simply those overheads used in the class lecture and
discussion. Please do not ignore the
glossary, which contains listings for all of the crucial concepts discussed in
the course.
Tape
Recordings. You may make audio tape recordings of the
class for your own or classmate=s use only. You may not sell,
barter, trade or otherwise profit from any recording, notes or other materials,
including those on the Blackboard site that you or I create for this
class.
Cell
Phones. Cell phones, beepers or any other instrument
of electronic torture and distraction must be turned off during class. Anyone whose phone rings during class will
be asked to leave immediately.
Tentative
Course Schedule:
The
following schedule is subject to change.
Any changes will also be listed on the Internet site calendar. The readings assigned correspond to the
Perry and Bratman text.
May 13 Course Introduction; Philosophy and the Meaning of Life
15 Philosophy
of Religion (proofs for existence of God).
Read pp. 1-56
20 Philosophy
of Religion (problem of evil). Read pp.
43-110
22 Epistemology
(classics). Read pp. 111-144, 190-216.
First Paper Due
27 Epistemology
(perception and induction). Read pp.
217-251. Catchup and Review
29
Epistemology
(causation and scientific explanation).
Read pp. 252-304.
June 3 Catchup
and Review
5 First
Exam
10 The
Mind/Body Problem. Read pp. 305-353
12 Mind,
Brains and Consciousness. Read pp.
354-416.
Second Paper Due
17 Freedom,
Determinism and Responsibility. Read
pp. 417-474.
19 Catchup
and Review
24 Second
Exam
26 Normative
Ethics. Read pp. 475-528.
July 1 Justice
and Equality. Read pp. 598-678.
Third Paper Due
3 Challenges to
Morality. Read pp. 679-784
8 Puzzles and
Paradoxes. Read pp. 785-798.
10
Catchup
15 Catchup
and Review
17 Final
Exam