Monday, June 6, 2016

Syllabus Summer Session 2 2016

Phil 101: Introduction to Philosophy

"If you're studying geology, which is all facts, as soon as you get out of school you forget it all, but philosophy you remember just enough to screw you up for the rest of your life."
--Steve Martin

Instructor: Amitabha (Ami) Palmer
Email: philosophami@gmail.com
Class Times: M-F 11:30-12:50 and 2:30-4:20  Room: TBA
Office Hours: By appointment in CDC building 4 Rm 404.
Textbook: Philosophy: Traditional and Experimental Readings; Allhoff, Mallon, & Nichols


Week 1:  (June 6-June 10) 
EPISTEMOLOGY
A:  Syllabus, Rules, Expectations, What is Philosophy?  
B:  Meditation 1*, Descartes (p. 84).
C:  Knowledge is Ultimately Sensed*, Locke (It's in your email--email me ASAP if you didn't get it).
D:  Kant: Critique of Pure Reason (it is in your email—email me ASAP if you didn’t get it).
E: What is Justifiable Belief*? Goldman (p. 98).

Week 2:  (June 13-17)
MORAL PHILOSOPHY (META-ETHICS, ETHICS, & APPLIED ETHICS)
A: Why Be Moral?* Plato (p. 443);
Culture is King, Herodotus (p. 442);
Euthyphro, Plato (In class) Plato http://www.indiana.edu/~p374/Euthyphro.pdf
B: Error Theory*, Mackie (p. 453);
C: The Moral Problem*, Smith (p. 459); Empirical Approaches to Meta-Ethics, Doris and Stich (p. 474);
D: The Challenge of Cultural Relativism*, Rachels (p. 465)
Who's to Say What's Right and Wrong? Sharvy

E: Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle (p. 506)

Week 3  (June 20-24) *Friday, June 24 is the last day to drop*

A: Midterm Exam
B: Groundwork for a Metaphysic of Morals, Kant (p. 516);
C: Utilitarianism, J.S. Mill (p. 523);
D: From Neural “Is” to Moral “Ought,” Green (p. 543)
E:  All Animals are Equal*,Singer Secondary readings: 


Week 4  (June 27-July 1) 
FREE WILL & DETERMINISM & MORAL RESPONSIBILITY
A:  The Impossibility of Moral Responsibility*, Strawson (p. 350).
B:  Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person*, Frankfurt (p. 359)
C: The Illusion of Conscious Will*,  Wegner (p378) &  Free Will and Luck*, Mele (p. 380) 
2. Value Judgments and the True Self, Newman, Bloom, and Knobe http://intl-psp.sagepub.com/content/40/2/203 (I think you can access the article through the library)
3. http://peasoup.typepad.com/peasoup/2013/11/value-.html  (overview of the above article)
D: Dostoevsky: Selection from Notes from the Underground pp. 27-45. 
1. Atlantic article on free will.
EXISTENTIALISM
E. Sartre: Existentialism is a Humanism Part 1*  Read up to and including the section on Anguish.
1. Camus: The Myth of Sisyphus  p. 1-6

Saturday July 2: Deadline to submit rough draft and/or outline of final paper if you want (prompt) feedback

Week 5  (July 5-8) NO CLASS MONDAY
EXISTENTIALISM CON'T
A:  Sartre: Existentialism is a Humanism Part 2  Read up to and including the section on Despair. 
B:  Sartre: Existentialism is a Humanism Part 3  From bottom of p. 36-53. 
C:  Camus: The Myth of Sisyphus pp. 17-24
D: Movie


July 10: Final Paper Due at Midnight 

July. 12: Grades Submitted.

*Indicates primary reading.


Course Objectives

After completing the course, students will be able to understand and critically discuss:

A: central issues in modern and contemporary epistemology;
B: the strengths and weaknesses of the main positions in the freewill-determinism debate;
C: several of the problems and main positions in meta-ethics;
D: the three main ethical theories;
E: at least one contemporary issues in applied ethics.
F: some the various problems and issues in philosophy of mind

Also after completing the course the student will be able to critically evaluate a philosophical article, recognize the domain of philosophy to which it belongs, and identify how it fits into the context of the philosophical themes discussed in the class. Students will also learn the fundamentals of writing a good philosophy paper.

Grading:


Reflections: 35%
Midterm: 25%
Final Paper: 30%
Participation and Attendance: 10%

Reflections (35%):
Each student is required to submit 3 reflections/week on a reading of their choice (selected from any of the week's readings). Here are the requirements and guidelines for a good reflection:

A. Maximum 1 page double spaced.

B. The first paragraph should be a general summary of the central argument of the article and/or a summary of a sub argument you wish to address in the rest of your reflection.

C. The rest of your reflection should consist of 1 or 2 well-developed possible objections or problems with an argument or consequence(s) of the argument or 2-3 interpretive issues or questions that would help clarify the author's position.

  • If you choose to do objections you need to summarize the argument to which you are objecting (if you haven't already in the first paragraph) and cite the page where the argument can be found.
  • If you choose to do interpretive issues you need to cite the page number of the passage you're addressing. Your discussion of interpretive issues should follow a format something along the lines of this:
X argues that "love is happiness" (p. xx).  It isn't clear what he means by “is”. On one possible interpretation 'is' might be an equivalency. For example, love and happiness are one and the same thing. Another possible interpretation is that love 'is' one component of happiness but there other components of happiness too.

A good follow up to interpretive issues is to discuss the consequences to the argument/conclusion if we adopt one or the other interpretation.


What if I agree with the author's position? Sometimes you'll find yourself agreeing with the author making it difficult to write objections. If this occurs, here's what you can do:

  • Surely not everyone on the planet is going to agree with the author. This means that there will be objections to the view and arguments supporting the view. Try to anticipate what one or two of the objections would be then suggest how the author could counter the objections.
  • Another approach is to consider other ways to argue for the conclusion that the author doesn't consider. There's more than one way to support a conclusion--maybe you can come up with stronger arguments than the original author. In doing so, (a) explain why your argument is stronger and/or (b) consider how someone my object to your argument and how you'd respond to their objection. 

D. In the last week of class you are only required to submit 2 reflections.

E. You may not make up missed reflections.

F. Your reflection should be submitted to my email philosophami@gmail.com before the class for which the reading is assigned. For example, if the reading is assigned for Tuesday, you must submit the reflection by Tuesday before class. YOUR SUBJECT HEADING MUST INDICATE THE WEEK AND THE REFLECTION # FOR THAT WEEK. For example, if it's week 2 and it's your 3rd reflection of the week, the subject heading should be WEEK 2 REFLECTION 3. Clearly indicating the content of the email will prevent it from getting lost and preventing drama at the end of the semester.


G. See the class blog for sample reflections.

Final Paper (25%): Length 3-5 pages. The style and content of a philosophy paper is somewhat different from those in other subjects, however, the core elements of any good writing overlap. For your first paper, the process will be broken down into steps since it will be your first time writing a philosophy paper.

Step 1: Submit a completed first attempt of your paper at midnight of the night before the draft deadline. This should not be a rough draft but a finished proof-read essay. The following day or two, I will meet with each of you for 20min to discuss how to improve your paper. I will pass out a sign up sheet 1 week prior to the day. You cannot be late to your appointment. Please show up 10-15min early.

If you are late, I cannot guarantee that I can reschedule.

Step 2: Submit a revised version of your paper. Your grade will reflect not only the final product but the degree to which my comments and advice on the 1st version are addressed.

Writing resources for a good philosophy paper:
http://www.jimpryor.net/teaching/guidelines/writing.html

Midterm (25%): The midterm will cover all the readings up to and including the week before the exam.

Attendance and Participation (10%): 
There is a very strong correlation between attendance and academic performance.  It is in your best interest not to miss class. I take attendance at the beginning of each class.  For each unexcused absence, you lose 1 point from your attendance grade. An excused absence is one where you have either (a) emailed me before class to give me a legitimate reason for which will not be attending or (b) spoken to me after your absence to give me a legitimate reason for your absence and provided evidence for the reason. 

Missed Exams:   If you miss an exam without notifying me the day before of your anticipated absence, you will receive 0 and may not make up the exam.  If you miss the exam for a legitimate unanticipated emergency, you may make up the exam upon presentation of evidence of a legitimate reason for your absence (e.g., doctor's note, evidence of family death, etc...)




University-Wide Policies:
Academic Misconduct  Academic integrity is a legitimate concern for every member of the campus community; all share in upholding the fundamental values of honesty, trust, respect, fairness, responsibility and professionalism. By choosing to join the UNLV community, students accept the expectations of the Academic Misconduct Policy and are encouraged when faced with choices to always take the ethical path. Students enrolling in UNLV assume the obligation to conduct themselves in a manner compatible with UNLV’s function as an educational institution.
An example of academic misconduct is plagiarism. Plagiarism is using the words or ideas of another, from the Internet or any source, without proper citation of the sources. See the Student Academic Misconduct Policy (approved December 9, 2005) located at: http://studentconduct.unlv.edu/misconduct/policy.html.

PDF of UNLV Academic Misconduct Policy

Copyright – The University requires all members of the University Community to familiarize themselves and to follow copyright and fair use requirements. You are individually and solely responsible for violations of copyright and fair use laws. The university will neither protect nor defend you nor assume any responsibility for employee or student violations of fair use laws. Violations of copyright laws could subject you
to federal and state civil penalties and criminal liability, as well as disciplinary action under University policies. Additional information can be found at: http://www.unlv.edu/provost/copyright.



Disability Resource Center (DRC) – The UNLV Disability Resource Center (SSC-A 143, http://drc.unlv.edu/, 702-895-0866) provides resources for students with disabilities. If you feel that you have a disability, please make an appointment with a Disabilities Specialist at the DRC to discuss what options may be available to you.
If you are registered with the UNLV Disability Resource Center, bring your Academic Accommodation Plan from the DRC to me during office hours so that we may work together to develop strategies for implementing the accommodations to meet both your needs and the requirements of the course. Any information you provide is private and will be treated as such. To maintain the confidentiality of your request, please do not approach me before or after class to discuss your accommodation needs.

Religious Holidays Policy  Any student missing class quizzes, examinations, or any other class or lab work because of observance of religious holidays shall be given an opportunity during that semester to make up missed work. The make-up will apply to the religious holiday absence only. It shall be the responsibility of the student to notify the instructor no later than the end of the first two weeks of classes, January 31, of his or her intention to participate in religious holidays which do not fall on state holidays or periods of class recess. This policy shall not apply in the event that administering the test or examination at an alternate time would impose an undue hardship on the instructor or the university that could not have reasonably been avoided. For additional information, please visit: http://catalog.unlv.edu/content.php?catoid=6&navoid=531.

Incomplete Grades - The grade of I – Incomplete – can be granted when a student has satisfactorily completed all course work up to the withdrawal date of that semester/session but for reason(s) beyond the student’s control, and acceptable to the instructor, cannot complete the last part of the course, and the instructor believes that the student can finish the course without repeating it. A student who receives an I is responsible for making up whatever work was lacking at the end of the semester. If course requirements are not completed within the time indicated, a grade of F will be recorded and the GPA will be adjusted accordingly. Students who are fulfilling an Incomplete do not register for the course but make individual arrangements with the instructor who assigned the I grade.

Tutoring  The Academic Success Center (ASC) provides tutoring and academic assistance for all UNLV students taking UNLV courses. Students are encouraged to stop by the ASC to learn more about subjects offered, tutoring times and other academic resources. The ASC is located across from the Student Services Complex (SSC). Students may learn more about tutoring services by calling (702) 895-3177 or visiting the tutoring web site at: http://academicsuccess.unlv.edu/tutoring/.

UNLV Writing Center – One-on-one or small group assistance with writing is available free of charge to UNLV students
at the Writing Center, located in CDC-3-301. Although walk-in consultations are sometimes available, students with
appointments will receive priority assistance. Appointments may be made in person or by calling 895-3908. The
student’s Rebel ID Card, a copy of the assignment (if possible), and two copies of any writing to be reviewed are
requested for the consultation. More information can be found at: http://writingcenter.unlv.edu/

Rebelmail  By policy, faculty and staff should e-mail students’ Rebelmail accounts only. Rebelmail is UNLV’s official e-mail system for students. It is one of the primary ways students receive official university communication such as information about deadlines, major campus events, and announcements. All UNLV students receive a Rebelmail account after they have been admitted to the university. Students’ e-mail prefixes are listed on class rosters. The suffix is always @unlv.nevada.edu.

Final Examinations – The University requires that final exams given at the end of a course occur at the time and on the day specified in the final exam schedule. See the schedule at: http://www.unlv.edu/registrar/calendars.

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