PHI2010 Introduction to Philosophy

For PHI 2010 sections:

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 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.

PHI 2010: 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.

This is a Gordon Rule Writing courses, which means that a C grade or better is needed to get Gordon Rule credit. Gordon Rule Writing courses requiring a minimum of three writing assignments, reasonably sequenced through the course, and typically totaling 3500 words or more. Only one 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/

Here is a link to our lesson plan, course lectures and lecture notes.

Lesson Plan and Lecture Notes

Basic Info

Title	Introduction to Philosophy
Prefix and Number	PHI2010
Section	RVDB
Semester/Year	Summer 2023
Location & Day/Time	Fully Online
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 Provided Via Canvas)
Grades Assignments	Type	Due Days
Quizzes	Multiple Choice/ Short Answer	Wednesday & Fridays
Tests	One Exam: Combo of Essay and Multiple Choice/ Short Answer	Friday
Short Writing Assignments	Varied	Due Mondays and Thursdays
Papers	1 Larger Paper Assignment Elements (3)	Due on Fridays
Final Exam	Combo of Essay and Multiple Choice/ Short Answer	Last Friday of the Semester

Important Dates:

Graded Assignments	Date	Percentage of Final Average
Quiz 1	6/18	3%
Quiz 2	6/20	3%
Quiz 3	6/25	3%
Quiz 4	6/27	3%
Quiz 5	7/9	3%
Quiz 6	7/11	3%
Quiz 7	7/16	3%
Quiz 8	7/18	3%
Two Lowest Quizzes Dropped – NO Make Up Quizzes Given
Short Writing Assignment 1:	6/24	3%
Short Writing Assignment 2:	6/26	3%
Short Writing Assignment 3:	7/1	3%
Short Writing Assignment 4:	7/8	3%
Short Writing Assignment 5:	7/15	3%
Paper 1a	7/12	25%
Paper 1 Peer Review	7/19
Paper 1b	7/26
Exam 1	7/3	20%
Final Exam	7/25	25%
Last Day to Drop without Incurring Financial Liability	6/26
Last Day to Drop with a DR	7/17

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 him or her 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 the major purpose of this 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 the status 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:

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

Each student will be assigned a topic paper for the first writing assignment (Paper 1a). The student will submit this paper by the date specified in the lesson plan via the course Canvas site. Then, each student will receive a peer’s paper to review. Each student will read, comment on and assess according to a rubric his or her peer’s paper within one week of the original submission date. Once all the peer reviews are in each student will then write a second paper on the same topic incorporating the comments and feedback gained from his or her exchanges with the writing peer and submit that as Paper 1b.

Papers 1a & 1b will receive a single grade to be counted in the student’s final average.

1. the initial quality of the paper submission

2. the quality of the peer review 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 an asynchronous fully online course. While graded assignments have fixed due dates, there is no prescribed attendance patterns.

2. Since the two 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 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 eight quizzes. All are largely objective and multiple-choice questions. No make-up quizzes will be given. I will drop the grades of the two lowest quiz grades.

Exams:

There will be one midterm exam 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. (Student can find their final exam schedule on the PantherSoft Student Center Page and selecting it from the Drop-down menu there.) It will be NOT be cumulative, but will only include material covered after the midterm exam. It will be structured as the previous exam was.

Grades will be based on the

Quizzes (18%)

Short Writing Assignments (15%)

Paper (25% total- see “Writing Component” above for more details),

Midterm exam (20% total)

Final Exam (25%).

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.

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.

Double click on the spreadsheet below. When you do, it should the 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.

Kenton Harris