Phil 111
Introduction to Philosophy Fall 2009
Ezio Vailati, PH 2212.
Phone # x. 3376
Homepage: http://www.siue.edu/~evailat (click on "Courses" and
then on "Introduction to Philosophy")
email: evailat@siue.edu. If you email me, identify yourselves as
taking this class.
Office Hours: M 5-6; W 11-12 and by appointment if
necessary
I. Course Description: An introduction to some of the main themes in philosophy. We'll discuss freedom of the will, personal identity, theoretical and applied ethics, and liberty. Some of the primary sources will be available on-line at my homepage; you are responsible for downloading them. If you do not have a computer account, get one for free from SIUE.
II. Course objectives: (1) to assist students in acquiring an understanding and appreciation of some philosophical issues and perspectives; (2) to develop the ability of students to identify, evaluate and compare philosophical positions on the basis of arguments; (3) to develop the capacity of students to reason to their own views on philosophical issues.
III. Course-Format: Mostly lecture, with discussion as far as possible. As a courtesy towards the students in this class, I have put my lectures on-line; they are reachable by clicking on the appropriate items in the syllabus. Please look at them as you see fit. Note that the on-line lectures may contain more (or less) than is presented in class. For this reason, on-line lectures cannot substitute for the readings, class attendance, and class participation, which are essential in considering the problems raised in the course.
I would appreciate if while in class you avoid reading the newspaper or material unrelated to the course, playing games on some electronic device, falling asleep, gossiping, or behaving disrespectfully towards your fellow students.
IV. Texts:
1) Perry/Bratman (eds.), Introduction to
Philosophy Fourth edition (Rental Text) [I]
2 ) John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (Rental Text) [L]
3 ) Handouts, and assorted on-line material, including episodes from Philosophy Talk.
V. Course outline, readings and quizzes.
Weeks 1-2: Atheism and God; some arguments for and against Readings: Download Paley's argument and Clarke's argument; Anselm's Ontological Argument in (I)
Week 3: Holiday
Week 4: Free Will and
Determinism: I 451-463. Listen to
episode from Philosophy Talk. Fourth week: First quiz.
Week 5: Movie: Groundhog Day. Discussion
Week 6: The Self and
its Identity.
Week 7: Movie: Memento. Discussion.
Week 8: Midterm. Preliminary remarks on ethics.
Week 9: The origin
of morality.
Week 10: Universalization and the Golden Rule; Utilitarianism.
Week 11: Kant. Reading: I 536-552. Eleventh week: Fourth Quiz.
Week 12: Suicide.
Week 13: Death
Penalty.
Week 14: Animals. Fourteenth
Week: Paper due (download paper topics
)
Week 15: Final discussion. Last
day of class: Sixth Quiz
VI. Course requirements.
1) Six multiple-choice quizzes (for dates, see the course outline), some take
home and some in class, each worth 5 points (5% of the course grade). The
quizzes may be based on class lectures, class discussion, or episodes from Philosophy
Talk listed in the syllabus. There may be some unannounced pop quizzes for
extra points; only students in class at the time may take them; no exceptions.
2) A one-hour long midterm, worth 20% of the course grade. For date, consult the syllabus
3) One paper, typed, double spaced, and 4 full pages long, worth 30 points,
that is, 30% of the course grade. For due date, consult the course
outline. Do not e-mail your paper to me unless in extreme circumstances.
4) A one hour long comprehensive final exam, consisting of a multiple choice
quiz and a short essay, which will be worth 20% of the course grade. The essay
topic will be chosen by me out of the following Topics For
Final. You do not get to choose the essay topic.
VII. The correspondence between points and grades is as follows: above 90: A; 89-80: B; 79-70: C; 69-59: D; fewer than 59 points: F. To determine how you are doing at any time in the semester, multiply the number of points you have gained up to that time by 100 and then divide by the number of possible points up to that time (excluding any extra points resulting from pop quizzes, etc.). A look at the correspondence between points and grades given above will tell you the letter grade you have earned. For example, suppose that by week 9 you have 35 points. Since the maximum number of points obtainable by then (excluding possible extra points) is 42 (12 from quizzes and 30 from the first paper), one gets 35x100=3500, which divided by 42 gives 83.3, a letter grade of B.
VIII. Academic policies.
Students are responsible for knowing what has been said in class, especially
announcements concerning reading assignments and papers. Papers or
quizzes may be based on classroom discussions not derived from any written
material. If for any reason you miss some classes, make sure to find out
what has been done in class.
Be aware that SIUE's policies against plagiarism are very
severe and that I am bound to implement them.
IX. Paper
1) You are encouraged to give me rough drafts of your
paper. Keep in mind that I can return them with significant comments only
if: i) they are given to me at least one week before
the papers are due; ii) they are written reasonably clearly. Rough drafts
consisting only of disjointed paragraphs or, worse, mere paragraph headings
cannot be properly evaluated. You may turn in your rough drafts as many
times as you like, compatibly with the above requirements.
If you get stuck, talk about it to your colleagues or come and talk to me
during my office hours.
2) Grading criteria for papers are as follows. A paper providing all the
information adequately and accurately in clear prose substantially free of
spelling and grammatical mistakes will be in the C to low B range. A
paper which in addition to meeting this requirement shows reasonably clear and
cogent arguments will be in the B range. A paper which shows significant
clarity and cogency will be in the A range.
My reading a student's rough draft of a paper does not entail that the
paper, even if my comments are considered, will get a B or an A.
Often a bad paper must be revised more than once to become good.
A half letter grade will be subtracted from a given paper for every solar day it is late. If you cannot turn in the paper on
time, talk to me before the due date.
Here
is some useful advice on how to write a philosophy paper. If you're interested,
here is a very good sample
paper. If your writing is particularly bad, there is little help I can
offer; I strongly suggest you find professional help at the writing center,
X. Thought Questions (download). As this course is always changing, in addition to pertinent material they contain some extra stuff you need not concern yourselves with. Many students find this course difficult, mainly because they are unused to thinking philosophically. Diligence and class participation usually solve the problem.