PHI2010 Introduction to Philosophy

For PHI 2010 Sections U07:

Basic Info
Title	Introduction to Philosophy
Prefix and Number	PHI2010
Section	U07
Semester/Year	Spring 2024
Location & Day/Time	Graham Center 278 B Mo/We 10:00 AM - 11:15 AM
Instructor	Kenton Harris
Instructor Office	DM 343 B (Modesto A. Maidique Campus)
Instructor Telephone Number	(305) 348-3516
Instructor E-mail	harrisk@fiu.edu
Instructor Website	http://faculty.fiu.edu/~harrisk/
Text(s)	None (Readings and Notes Provided Via Canvas)
Grades Assignments	Type	Due Days
Quizzes	Multiple Choice/ Short Answer	Fridays
Tests	Two Exam: Combo of Essay and Multiple Choice/ Short Answer	Wednesdays
Short Writing Assignments	Varied	Mondays
Papers	1 Larger Paper Assignment: 3 Elements	Mondays
Final Exam	Combo of Essay and Multiple Choice/ Short Answer	During Final Exam Week

Important Dates:

Graded Assignments	Date	Percentage of Final Average
Quiz 1	1/17	2%
Quiz 2	1/24	2%
Quiz 3	1/31	2%
Quiz 4	2/14	2%
Quiz 5	2/21	2%
Quiz 6	3/6	2%
Quiz 7	3/13	2%
Quiz 8	3/27	2%
Quiz 9	4/3	2%
Quiz 10	4/10	2%
Lowest Three Quizzes Dropped – No Make Up Quizzes Given
Short Writing Assignment 1:	1/29	2%
Short Writing Assignment 2:	2/5	2%
Short Writing Assignment 3:	2/12	2%
Short Writing Assignment 4:	2/19	2%
Short Writing Assignment 5:	2/26	2%
Short Writing Assignment 6:	3/4	2%
Short Writing Assignment 7:	3/11	2%
Short Writing Assignment 8:	3/18	2%
Short Writing Assignment 9:	3/25	2%
Short Writing Assignment 10:	4/17	2%
Paper 1a	4/1	15%
Paper 1 Peer Review	4/8
Paper 1b	4/15
Exam 1	2/7	15%
Exam 2	3/20	15%
Final Exam	As scheduled by the University	20%
Last Day to Drop without Incurring Financial Liability	1/16/24
Last Day To Apply for Spring Graduation	1/28/24
Last Day to Drop with a DR	3/18/24

This course is an introduction to Western Philosophy. This is its primary identity.

However it also:

· Satisfies the Tier One Humanities requirement of the University Core Curriculum (UCC).

· Serves as a Gordon Rule Writing Course.

· Additionally it serves as a lower division course applicable to the Major or Minor in Philosophy.

This course satisfies the Humanities Group 1 requirement of the UCC. The course outcomes according to the FIU Course Catalog are as follows:

Students will confirm the ability to think critically through demonstrating interpretive ability and cultural literacy. Students will acquire competence in reflecting critically upon the human condition.

To this end:

PHI2010: Students will develop the capacity to think analytically and respond critically to primary and secondary texts. Students will acquire competence in understanding, reflecting critically, writing and presenting effectively on the human condition through various philosophical theories and issues.

Course Specific Activities Germane to this Student Learning Outcome:

Students will be introduced to the origins and subsequent development of philosophy, its influence on, and interactions with, science, religion, history, politics, arts and literature of western culture. This introduction will be accomplished by course lectures, videos, readings of primary texts, and secondary commentary texts. Additionally students will engage in class discussions and group projects involving this subject matter.

Assessment Mechanisms Germane to this Student Learning Outcome

Students will complete a series of objective multiple-choice/ short-answer quizzes drawn from coarse materials, extended exams which include essay questions in addition to short-answer multiple choice questions. Students we'll write an extended topic paper which will explore links between a philosophical dispute and a contemporary cultural issue such as the status of higher education, the ethical issues raised by big data collection and artificial intelligence software, moral disputes involving end of life or beginning of life questions, the justice system, etc.

This is a Gordon Rule Writing course, which means that a C grade or better is needed to get Gordon Rule credit. Gordon Rule Writing courses require a minimum of three writing assignments, reasonably sequenced through the course, and typically totaling 3500 words or more. Only one of the writing assignments counting toward the Gordon requirement can be an exam.

Here is the link to the Writing Across the Curriculum website for more specifics.

https://wac.fiu.edu/gordon-rule-courses/

Course Description:

It is the objective of this course to acquaint the student with philosophy in both method and subject matter. This is a way of enriching students' daily living as well as giving them a deeper appreciation of the philosophical issues that inform literature, art, politics, religions, sciences, psychology, the criminal justice system, medicine, and even movies and advertising, etc. It is the aim of this course to familiarize students with the discipline of philosophy, its ubiquitous presence in all areas of reflective human experience and the value of the examined life. Finally it is the aim of this class to equip students with the tools necessary to make reasoned and intelligent judgments.

Students will need to hone their analytic and synthetic critical skills as well as their communication skills. This course will involve reading, thinking, talking and writing about philosophical issues.

Purpose:

Doubtless there are times when we find ourselves in the middle of "disputes" which are not legitimate arguments at all, but rather merely clashes of subjective attitudes for which a logical resolution is neither possible nor needed. In such instances, despite all parties agreeing on the facts, each continues to regard his or her opponent as "mistaken," never clearly seeing that this “dispute” amounts to nothing other than feelings or taste. Still other times we are moved to action or judgment (moral, political, economic, aesthetic, etc.) when in truth we've been given no reason to be so moved. These, among other topics will be explored.

In contemporary society, many are willing to dismiss all philosophical positions and judgments as equally reasonable (or non-reasonable) relegating them to mere “matters of opinion.” While this view is not without its philosophical, and perhaps even political, support, it is unenlightened to accept this view uncritically. This course will examine and assess the roots and the inevitable practical inconsistencies resulting from this meta-philosophical position as well as the alternative, more traditional position, that there are indeed philosophical positions, theories, reasons and justifications, some of which are better than others.

In the first portion of this course we shall endeavor to develop the skills necessary to reason well, to recognize when good reasons are needed, but lacking, and also to distinguish between those times when reasons are called for and those times when they are irrelevant. In the second portion of the course, we shall examine what reasons are relevant to legitimate philosophical disputes. As we explore the various branches of philosophy, we shall see how the issues each branch addresses have relevance to reflective human experience.

In a liberal, free society which enjoys a rich diversity of religious, ethnic and cultural heritages, citizens must develop those skills necessary for the resolution of controversies which do not rely on the unreasoned universal acceptance of a single philosophical point of view. However it is equally important to avoid dismissing all such controversies as mere “clashes of taste.” It is crucial that we educate a citizenry capable of understanding why a reasonable, informed and morally decent individual might, on some issues, hold a position opposite to one’s own. Facilitating that understanding and the necessary public dialogue that unavoidably confronts a self-reflective, self-governing society is a major purpose of this course.

Course Objectives:

The First Focus of the Course:

To understand the various uses to which language can be put. To identify the difference between claims and non-claims and the need for and structure of rational justification of claims.

The Second Focus of this Course:

To examine if and on what grounds philosophical judgments may be said to be genuine claims and on what grounds these may be justified. We will cover the major branches of philosophy and some of the traditional theories of each.

The Third Focus of this Course:

To apply the traditional concepts of philosophy and see the contemporary relevance to reflective human experience.

How does this course advance/fit the College mission?

Because this is a course in philosophy, it necessarily requires that students become acquainted with the history of ideas and their status in current culture. Beyond that, students will learn to sharpen analytic as well as synthetic thinking, writing abilities and communication skills. It is precisely this kind of breadth of knowledge and intellectual maturity that is expected of college graduates. The organization, articulation and evaluation of arguments in ethics, social policy, politics, law and even business management, etc. are indicative of higher education. Further, without such abilities and skills, the capacity for critical judgment would be far beneath what is necessary for the political health of a self-governed republic such as ours.

Learning Methods:

Class time will be spent discussing the topic material designated for that day by the lesson plan. The discussion will be directed towards clarifying the major issues of the subject matter and will presume that the student has already read the assigned material. It is imperative that students be prepared for each class discussion not only to get the most out of the class, but also to contribute his or her own insights and criticisms and thereby demonstrate depth of comprehension and critical capacities.

This course will be primarily lecture in format. Students will be tested on comprehension of lecture and text material with two in-class exams during the semester and one final exam during the final week of the semester. Students will also be required to write papers involving some research and original thought.

Writing Component:

Short Writing Assignments

There will be a series of short writing assignments. They are largely laddered and targeted at drilling a specific writing or critical thinking skill. These writing assignments will address a subset of the following: paraphrasing, diagramming sentences, answering essay questions, addressing ambiguity, identifying issues, premises and conclusions, fragmenting and reassembling arguments, distinguishing between necessary and sufficient conditions, extemporaneous writing, and job interview and professional writing.

Longer Paper Assignment and Peer Review

In this class we are using peer review as part of the writing assignments. Each student will peer review the work of two fellow students, providing those students with feedback on their first draft of an assignment. The structure of the Peer Review Program for this course is as follows:

Initial Draft

Each student will be assigned a topic paper for the first longer writing assignment (Paper 1a). The student will submit this paper by the date specified in the lesson plan via the course Canvas site.

Peer Review

Then, each student will receive two peers’ papers to review. Each student will read, comment on and assess according to a rubric his or her peers’ papers within one week of the original submission date. Once all the peer reviews are in, each student will then write a second draft of the paper on the same topic, incorporating the comments and feedback gained from his or her writing peers and submit that as Paper 1b.

Note about the peer reviews:

Because of the way Canvas is configured, you must submit these peer reviews in two different ways.

First you must submit the comments to your peers using the comments box provided by Canvas next to your peer’s paper.

However, you must also copy and paste the same comments into a document and upload that document to the assignment in your assignments list entitled “Peer Review.”

If you only submit your peer comments via the assignments box, your classmates will not have access to them. If you only submit your peer review comments into the comments box on your classmates’ papers, I will not receive a copy nor will I know when you have completed this assignment.

Therefore, it is important that you do both. You must submit the peer review comments into the comments box on your peers’ papers, but you must also submit those same comments in a separate document to me using the assignments box.

I understand that this is a little confusing, but it's the best I can do given the way Canvas has configured this assignment.

Final Draft

Finally, a week after your peer review is due, you are required to upload your final draft, Paper 1b. By the time you're uploading your final draft you will have (1) read two classmates papers, (2) received comments from two of your classmates, and (3) you will have had two more weeks to consider your paper. All this should combine so that you can submit a better, more thoughtful final draft paper.

Papers 1a, the peer review & 1Paper b will receive a single combined grade to be counted in the student’s final average. The grade will be based on

1. the initial quality of the paper submission

2. the quality of the peer reviews submitted by the student

3. and the degree to which the second paper is further developed incorporating feedback from and discussions peers.

Skills Component:

As with any philosophy class, there will be heavy emphasis on clear articulation skills, the ability to recognize, analyze and evaluate arguments, the ability to reason and justify one’s own assertions, and to see the implications and ramifications of theoretical positions. Developing these skills will be a major focus, indeed, will be necessary for passing this course.

Learning Competencies:

The following are the specific competencies students will have obtained upon successfully completing the course. Students will demonstrate:

1. Knowledge of basic terminology associated with philosophy by identifying and/or defining key philosophical terms;

2. Knowledge of historical and contemporary philosophers by classifying major figures in relationship to their major theories and contributions to the history of ideas;

3. Understand the difference between assertions which require justification and those pseudo-assertions which require no rational defense.

4. Knowledge of the criteria used to evaluate the soundness of philosophical arguments by identifying truth/ clarity/ reasonableness of the premise set and the support these lend to the conclusion.

5. Knowledge of basic philosophical issues by identifying schools of thought, past and present philosophical positions on perennial philosophical issues, historical shifts in focus in philosophy, and the work of historical and contemporary philosophers.

6. Comprehension of basic philosophical ideas by explaining the views of philosophers in the students' own written words.

7. Analysis of the relationship of different philosophical theories by comparing and contrasting them in written form.

8. Analysis of philosophical theories in written form by comparing the philosophical ideas presented.

9. Evaluation of philosophical theories discussed in-class by commenting on the soundness of various philosophical arguments.

10. Identifying legitimate philosophical questions and distinguishing them from scientific questions and sheer "nonsense" questions.

11. Distinguishing between religious responses and philosophical responses to (sometimes) the very same questions.

Basic Policies

Below are listed various procedural policies. By remaining a registered student in this course you indicate your acceptance of the policies listed in this syllabus.

Attendance and make-up policies:

1. This is a traditional face to face modality course. As such it is expected that students will maintain regular attendance not only to receive instruction but also to participate in in class discussions, writing assignments, and other pop (unannounced) assessment measures. Students will be allowed three excused absences. After that each missed class will reduce the student’s final average for the course by one point.

2. Since the three lowest quiz grades are dropped, there will be NO MAKE UP QUIZZES.

3. Make-up Exams will be giving on a case-by-case basis and only with clear warrant. They may or may not resemble the original exam given,

4. A documented emergency will be dealt with on an individual basis.

5. The student will often be required to download information and assignments from Canvas and/or my Website (http://faculty.fiu.edu/~harrisk). Each student must plan now how he or she will acquire regular web access.

Drops:

Students unable or unwilling to continue in the course should notify the instructor. It is their responsibility to officially drop the course. If they do not officially drop the course, they will receive an F or F0 for the course as appropriate. The last date to drop and receive a DR is listed above.

Special Learning Needs:

Students with documented special learning needs must have Disability Resource Center (http://drc.fiu.edu) inform the instructor so that accommodations can be made when necessary for testing, note taking or, paper writing.

Requirements and Grading:

Quizzes:

There will be a total of 10 quizzes. All are largely objective and multiple-choice questions. No make-up quizzes will be given. I will drop the grades of the three lowest quiz grades.

Exams:

There will be two in-class exams given during the semester. The material will be drawn from BOTH lecture materials and the assigned text readings. The exam will have both multiple choice/ short answer questions and essay questions.

Short Writing Assignments:

There will be a series of short writing assignments. They are largely laddered and targeted at drilling a specific writing or critical thinking skill.

Papers: (See Writing Component Above)

There will be one larger written assignment (see above) that will take the form of a brief critique of articles and/or editorials, ad's, policy statements, etc. The details of this assignment will be made clearer as the course proceeds. Late papers will be penalized.

Final Exam:

A final examination will be given during the final exam week as scheduled by the University. It will NOT be cumulative, but will only include material covered after the 2^nd in-class exam. It will be structured as the previous exams were.

Grades will be based on the

Quizzes (14%)

Short Writing Assignments (20%)

Paper (15% total- see “Writing Component” above for more details),

In class exams (30% total)

Final Exam (20%).

Grading Scale

	A = (100-94)	A- = (93-92)
B+ = (91-88)	B = (87-84)	B- = (83-81)
C+ = (80-77)	C = (76-70)
	D = (69-60)
	F = (59-0)

ATTENTION STUDENTS: NOTE both the grading scale and the exam and paper dates now. No exceptions will be made so you must decide NOW whether these terms are acceptable to you or not or whether they interfere will travel plans or personal commitments. It is your decision to remain in this course under the specified conditions and I encourage each of you to thoughtfully consider this before the drop/add deadline.

Grade Book

I do NOT use the gradebook function on Canvas. The spreadsheet below is constructed to calculate your grade based on the assignments and their proportional worth. So if you wish to estimate your final grade in this course, input the grades you have earned and estimate the grades for assignment that you have not yet completed.

Double click on the spreadsheet below. When you do, it should open and accept new values. You should only change the values in the cells filled with yellow.

· You will need to estimate the grades that you do not have yet.

· Remember to only input grades for seven quiz grades. If you count ALL your quizzes, you are likely to overestimate your final grade since I will be dropping three quiz grades.