PHIL 102: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY II
Summer 2015, Term 1 (Sect. 922)
Meets: T,TH 10:00-12:50, BUCH D218
Instructor: Teaching Assistants
Dr. Christina Hendricks Jonathan Lopez:
Christina’s Office Hours
In BUCH E375
-- Mondays 9:30-10:30am
-- Thursdays 1-2pm
-- by appointment—just ask in class or email me for an appointment time
Office Phone: 822-2520
Description
Introduction to Philosophy II is broadly about “value theory,” which includes topics such as ethics, political philosophy, aesthetics, and what is the “good life” for humans. This particular course combines an introduction to philosophy with value theory in the following way: we will be looking at what philosophy is/what philosophers do, and specifically how philosophy might help to make people’s lives better. What can doing philosophy do for us in our individual and community lives? We will approach such questions only through the lens of “Western” philosophy (because that is what Christina has expertise in), and only by reading a few philosophers in the history of that tradition.
Structure of the course: We meet twice a week for 2 hours and 50 minutes, but we’ll have a 10-15 minute break within that time as well. During that time there will be some lecturing, but also some small group and individual activities. You will be in a small group with 3-4 other students throughout the term; you will be doing some discussions in your small group, peer review of each others’ writing, and you have the option of working with one or more of your group members on one of the course assignments (or you can do it on your own if you wish).
Learning Objectives (and their relationship to course activities)
Students who successfully complete the course will be able to:
1. Give an answer to the question (one of many possible answers!): how would you describe what (Western) philosophy is, what philosophers do, and how such activities might help to make people’s lives better, based on your experiences in this course? (“philosophy in the world” assignment)
2. Explain at least one way in which they engage in philosophical activity in their lives outside this class (“philosophy in the world” assignment).
3. Explain the basic structure of an argument--premises and conclusion—and outline an argument in a philosophical text (argument outlines, final exam)
5. Assess the strength of arguments in assigned texts, in oral or written work by other students, and in their own writing (argument outlines, essays, peer review of other students’ essays, group discussions)
6. Participate in a respectful discussion with others on a philosophical question: clarify positions and arguments from themselves or others, criticize flawed arguments, present their own arguments, and do all this in manner that respects the other people in the discussion (small group discussions)
7. Write an argumentative essay that outlines and evaluates the views of other philosophers (essay assignments).
8. Explain how at least two Western philosophers might answer the question: what is philosophy/what do philosophers do, and how might it help make people’s lives better? (essay assignments)
Required Readings
* Plato, The Trial and Death of Socrates, Hackett Publishing Company, 3rd edition (2000). Available at the UBC Bookstore.
* Readings available online: most of the readings for the course will be posted online, at the main course website: http://blogs.ubc.ca/phil102/ See the “weekly schedule” menu at the top of this site to find the readings for each week.
-- some of these readings will be posted on a password-protected page because of copyright restrictions: I can only allow those registered for the course to see them on the site. The password will be given in class.
Course Website
The main site for this course is here: http://blogs.ubc.ca/phil102/ On it you can find this syllabus, a weekly schedule that gives you up to date information on what to read/watch/do each week (because specific page numbers to read may change depending on how quickly we get to things in class), announcements, and some links to useful resources.
We also have a site on the UBC course website system called “Connect.” That site will be used only for things that can’t be put up in public, such as your marks and a place to turn in writing assignments digitally and receive them back with comments and marks. To access our course Connect site, go to this site and log in with your Campus Wide Login and password: http://elearning.ubc.ca/connect/ There is also a link to our Connect site on the main course website: http://blogs.ubc.ca/phil102
Evaluation/Assignments
Attendance & participation/ in-class reading checks: 15%
· 10% of this mark: we will be using a system called “Learning Catalytics” to do the following
o Check attendance in class
o Do some Q&A on the readings in class, to check to see what you have understood and what is still unclear, and whether you have done the readings before class.
o You can also answer these questions on paper (and thus get marks for attendance and answering the questions) if you choose not to use the Learning Catalytics system.
· 5% of this mark will be based on peer review in your small group: whether or not you peer reviewed others’ work and submitted your own for review, as well as the quality of your comments
In-class argument outline: 10%
· you will be given a passage from one of our readings and will need to outline the argument in it, during class
Writing assignments: 50%
(specific page lengths/word counts will be given on the assignment sheets, in class and on the class website)
1. First essay (approx. 3 pages): 15%
2. Second essay, which includes revision of #1 (approx. 5 pages): 25%
3. “philosophy in the world” assignment: 10%
Final exam: 25%
Explanations of assignments
These are general explanations only; specific instructions for presentations, essays, and in-class assignments and exams will be provided later on handouts, available on the course website: http://blogs.ubc.ca/phil102
* Attendance and Participation, including reading checks & peer review (15%): From the UBC calendar: “Regular attendance is expected of students in all their classes (including lectures, laboratories, tutorials, seminars, etc.). Students who neglect their academic work and assignments may be excluded from final examinations. Students who are unavoidably absent because of illness or disability should report to their instructors on return to classes. Any request for academic concession must be clearly expressed (see Academic Concession).” (http://www.students.ubc.ca/calendar/index.cfm?tree=3,36,0,0)
· Attendance and reading checks count for 10% of the attendance and participation mark. These will be done through the Learning Catalytics system or through answers to questions you hand in on paper during class. For Learning Catalytics you must use a smart phone, tablet or laptop; but if you don’t have any of these you can bring to class, you can write your answers to the questions asked through Learning Catalytics on a piece of paper and turn them in that way instead. You may miss one set of questions from learning catalytics without excuse and without penalty (there may be more than one set per class meeting, such as one set before the break and one set after the break). After that, your absences will lead to penalties on your “attendance and reading checks” mark.
· Your marks for the reading checks will be based partly on whether or not you gave answers at all, and partly on the correctness of your answers (where a “correct” answer is asked for; sometimes all that will be asked for is an opinion, a comment or question).
· Peer review: 5% of the attendance and participation mark is based on peer review activities in your small group. You will be giving feedback to one or more of the students in your small group on both the in-class argument outline and the essays. You must do the following to get high marks for this:
o Submit your work on time for peer feedback by others
o Fill out the worksheets provided to give feedback to others, on time
o Be in class on the day we are to discuss peer feedback in person
o Give constructive and substantial comments (more than just “good essay,” for example) on the worksheets and in person.
· Being especially active in contributions to class discussions can raise your mark in this 15%, and being unattentive, doing other things during class than what is related to the class, can lower your mark in this 15%.
* In-class argument outline (10%)
You will be given a passage from one of the readings we’ve done in class, and will have to “outline” the argument. What this means will be discussed in class, and we will do a practice run in groups beforehand.
Writing assignments (50%):
· You will be required to write two essays for this course, but the second builds upon the first.
o The first essay will be a very short one, a summary of one philosopher’s views, just to get you practice in writing for philosophy. (15%)
o The second essay will build upon the first—you’ll revise the first and compare/contrast those arguments with those of another philosopher, plus add your own comments to one or more of the views discussed. (25%)
· “philosophy in the world” assignment: You will need to find something in the media, popular culture, the internet, or elsewhere outside the classroom that is an example of philosophical activity (something that is not already designated as such, such as “philosophers’ café’s” around town, or philosophy blogs, or philosophers doing newspaper columns). You will also have to give your view of what philosophy is based on this course, and how this example fits it. Finally, you’ll have to give at least one example of how you engage in philosophical activity in your life outside of class. (10%)
o This assignment can be done individually or in pairs/groups. It is up to you to decide whether you want to do this assignment on your own, or with one or more people.
o If you do the assignment with one or more people, you will have to fill out a worksheet that specifies the breakdown of roles (who will do what), a schedule of deadlines, etc. The mark for the project will be made up of the overall mark for the quality of the project plus a component based on peer assessment: you will give each other marks on your performance in completing the project.
* The final exam (25%) will be made up partly of essay questions that you will have in advance of the exam, so you can prepare your answers. There will also be a short answer section (you won’t see the short answer questions in advance). The final exam will be held during the exam period for Summer Term 1, which is June 22-26, 2015. We won’t know the exact date and time of the exam until partway through the term.
Information on data stored in Learning Catalytics
There are documents and links for help with Learning Catalytics under “links” on the main course website: http://blogs.ubc.ca/phil102.
If you use Learning Catalytics, some information about you will be stored outside of Canada, including in the United States. In order to use LC, you must register with Pearson Education. To register, you must provide a name, email address, and your institution. In addition, they will store your answers to the LC questions as well as the marks you receive on them. Please see their privacy policy on this information (Section 8): https://register.pearsoncmg.com/reg/include/license2.jsp
When you register to use LC, they state that your personal information, including your answers and marks, will be stored in the United States. You will have to say you agree to this before you will be able to use LC. If you do not wish to have such information stored by Pearson, you may choose not to use Learning Catalytics and answer the same questions on paper given to the Instructor during class instead.
Course Policies
Class Etiquette and rules:
· Please make every effort to arrive on time, and do not leave class early without letting me know first that you must do so (and sit towards the back of the room in that case). Late arrivals and people getting up to leave (even to go to the washroom) are disruptive for everyone (if you MUST take a washroom break, do so as quietly as possible and don’t make it a habit to do so during class very often).
· Though I would like you to use your smart phones, tablets, laptops for the Learning Catalytics questions or when I ask you to contribute to a shared document during class, you should not be using these for anything other than coursework.
o It’s quite easy to tell just by looking at faces and mannerisms who is using their device in a way that allows them to still engage with the course, and who has lost attention and is doing something else.
o Looking things up online related to the course is great—and please raise your hand and share what you’ve found with the rest of us!
o But using your device to do other things is often very distracting for students behind you, and I have had numerous such complaints from students in the past who are annoyed that someone in front of them watches videos, keeps flipping web pages unrelated to the course, and the like.
o I may ask you to put away your device if you are doing something unrelated to the course during class time.