PHIL 101 Introduction to Philosophy
Tues/Sec 008/RoomMP208/ 6:00-9:00pm
Mssg. Phone: 426-4359 Office: C120
Office Hours: 30 minutes before/ after class or
by appointment only
E-Mail: jcarlo@boisestate.edu
Course Description: This course will be approached in a topical fashion. This course is designed to achieve the goal of enabling students to read and understand philosophical texts and concepts. Among the areas to be studied are: ethics, philosophy of religion, epistemology and ontology (or metaphysics). The lectures will correspond to the readings in the required books.
Learning Objectives:
1) Students should be able to understand and appreciate the Western tradition of philosophical thought.
2) To understand basic concepts and arguments in selected areas of philosophy; for example: ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of religion, etc.
3) Strengthen skills in analysis, reasoning, and problem-solving through the reading and discussion of diverse philosophical texts.
4) Effectively communicate that understanding and exercise those skills in the composition of accurate, insightful, detailed and well-organized essays in response to questions appearing on examinations.
Readings: Students are responsible for all reading assignments. The required texts for this class are:
Schoedinger, Our Philosophical Heritage
Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy, Hackett (3rd Edition)
Subsequent readings to be administered via blackboard or by instructor
Attendance: This class meets only once per week. Per university requirements, you are allowed to miss two class periods only. I will not enforce attendance in this course. However, Phil101 is not only reading intensive, but mentally intensive as well. If you do not come to class and attend the lectures, you will not comprehend the material. If you do not comprehend the material, you will not do well in this course as your grade depends upon you understanding, at least partially, the philosophical concepts as discussed in class.
Grading Criteria: There will be three one-hour exams. Each exam will consist of one essay worth 50 points and multiple-choice queries worth a combined total of 50 points. All exams are worth 100 points each. Each exam including the final is an hour exam, i.e., 50 minutes in length.
90-100 = A
80-89 = B
70-79= C
60-69 = D
0 – 59 = F
If you take an exam and score less than 50 points, your score on the exam will nevertheless be recorded as 50 points. This gives you, the student, a justifiable advantage, for the professor realizes that any student may have a bad day. If you have a known conflict with a scheduled exam date, you must arrange in advance a time to make up the missed exam. If you miss an exam due to an emergency or unanticipated occurrence, consult the professor as soon after the fact as possible to arrange a date to make up the missed examination. Only verifiable emergencies or unanticipated occurrences will be permitted. I will not take your word for it. I must be shown proof.
NOTE: All essays MUST be written in blue books provided by the student. These exam books are available at the bookstore. Only use of small blue book is acceptable. (8 ½Ó x 6 ¾Ó). The instructor reserves the right to reject essays not written in a blue book. Furthermore, ALL EXAMS MUST BE WRITTEN IN INK.
STUDY QUESTIONS: Each chapter in Our Philosophical Heritage text is accompanied by a series of study questions. These study questions make up a significant portion of your grade and aid in learning the material. Students are required to answer ALL of these questions on the detachable pages in the text and to submit them to the instructor on the day that assignment is due. Unanswered questions result in no credit for the entire assignment. Photocopies of the detachable pages are not acceptable as well and will also result in no credit for the entire assignment. For lengthy answers to the study questions, you may utilize the back side of the study questions page. Study questions are due at the beginning of class on the podium. Homework submitted after the due date will not be accepted. The due date is, again, the beginning of class. It is preferable to have the study questions on the podium prior to the start of class to ensure receiving credit for the assignment. If it is five minutes after class starts, your homework is considered late and you will receive a zero on that assignment. There are no make-ups for study questions/homework due.
When two or more sets of study questions are due the student is required to submit them stapled in the sequence that they appear in the book.
Simply quoting passages out of the book for answers to study questions is unacceptable. State the answer in your own words. (examples of how to and how not to answer study questions will be provided) The total value of the homework/study questions is 100 points.
With respect to the other required text/readingss for the course on the works of Descartes and others, quizzes or in-class writings will be instigated. These quizzes will be unannounced and will be based on assigned readings. Sometimes more than one quiz may be administered per class session. The total value of quizzes/writings is 100 points.
Your final grade constitutes the average of the three exams plus homework assignments and quizzes. The point totals below are what you will need for the desired final grade.
460 - 500 = A
420 – 459 = B
380 – 419 = C
340 – 379 = D
0 - 339 = F
Studying. This course is quite difficult and quite fascinating. The philosophical material we will cover is more than likely like nothing you have ever come upon before. Thus, the material covered will both delight and despair those why partake of it. Thus, to succeed in this course you must devote a lot of time to the essential role of a student: studying. First, since study questions will pertain to reading assignments, it is imperative that you carefully study assigned readings before attempting to answer study questions. Second, performance on exams will constitute the major basis for your grade in the course and since essay exams will be based on readings AND class lectures, you should make a special effort to master the contents of those lectures in detail. This will require taking a good set of class notes. Next, you will have to work at mastering those notes. The most effective way to do so is to do a lot of memory work. Then, once you have class materials firmly impressed on your mind, you should devote a good amount of time to thinking about them until you understand them and see how they fit together. Memory and thought are the best tools for writing long, detailed, well-organized and accurate answers to essay questions. If there are things that you do not understand, raise your hand and ask for clarification.
Office Hours: I am available to you thirty (30) minutes before class and thirty (30) minutes after class in this classroom or by appointment only. If you feel that you are having difficulty with the material presented in this class, do not hesitate to speak with me regarding this. Because this is a 3-hour night class, we will break every 50 minutes for 10-15 minutes or we will come to a close between 8:30 and 8:45. These are perfect times to approach me with any concerns you may have.
Student Policies & Conduct: All students are expected to behave in accordance with The Student Code of Conduct as stated in The Student Handbook. Any disruptive behavior will not be tolerated. Disruptive behavior includes, but is not limited to, the following: talking while I or another student is speaking; listening to music on headphones, talking on your cell phone during class, whispering and passing notes, etc. If any of these behaviors are exhibited, I will first ask you to stop. It you do not stop, I will ask you to leave my classroom. If the behaviors continue, I will withdraw you from my class. In addition, strict adherence to civility and academic honesty are expected in this class.
Cell phones & other electronic devices Do not bring them to class. If you do, turn them off. This is especially important during speech weeks. If you have an emergency that requires one of these devise, inform the instructor before the class begins. If this policy is ignored, the instructor has the right to ask the student to leave the classroom or to confiscate the cell-phone, I-pod, etc. until the end of class.
Semester (course) outline/reading assignments & exam dates. Given to students every two to four weeks and at the discretion of the instructor. Readings and other assignments are announced in class. It is your responsibility to be in class to receive these announcements.