PHH 4930 U01 [19766]
A Major Philosopher: Wittgenstein
Professor Hauptli
Spring 2014
Mondays, Wednesdays, and
Fridays 11:00-11:50
in PCA 165
Copyright © 2014 Bruce W.
Hauptli
This semester PHH 4930 will concentrate on
the early, middle, and late works of Ludwig Wittgenstein.
Texts: (all are by Wittgenstein and are available in the
Modesto Maidique Campus Bookstore).
Tractatus
Logico-Philosophicus
1466216301
The Blue and Brown Books
(NY: Harper, 1965)
0061312118
Philosophical
Investigations (NY: Blackwell, 1991)
978-0631231271
Readings:
I can not provide a detailed reading
schedule which indicates what we will be reading day by
day—reading and discussing Wittgenstein mitigates against this.
We will begin by reading his
Tractatus which
constitutes his early philosophical orientation.
We will look quickly at his
Blue Book which
provides an introduction to his “later” philosophy, and then we
will then turn to his
Philosophical Investigations which provide an introduction
to his later philosophy.
The web-site has a copy of the syllabus,
extensive lecture supplements for each of the readings and
lectures, and other information relevant to the course.
It will be updated throughout the semester.
Students are encouraged to provide me with suggestions
and comments about the content, links and sources they have
found helpful which I can post for other students, and I am
grateful for help in correcting the inevitable typos and
grammatical errors!
Expectations for Students:
I expect that students will carefully and critically read and
master the assigned material--it will usually take more than a
single reading to master the material, and I strongly recommend
that students endeavor to complete a single reading prior to the
lecture on the reading assignment.
Subsequent to the lecture(s) on the material, it is
usually advisable for students to re-read the material.
Reading, especially in philosophy, should be an active
and interactive endeavor.
Students should not simply race through the material,
they should endeavor to critically understand and interact with
it.
I also expect (and require) that students attend the lectures
(see below). The
purpose of the lectures is two-fold: to facilitate the students'
mastery of the material, and to facilitate their critical
skills. Just as
reading is an active and interactive endeavor in philosophy, so
listening should be.
The lectures are meant to be an interactive experience,
and students are strongly encouraged to raise questions, offer
criticisms, and challenge the interpretations being offered.
In this course students are required to write two critical,
analytical philosophy papers.
A supplement entitled “Writing
Philosophy Papers” is available on this web-site—it
describes in detail what my expectations are as well as
clarifying what critical, analytical or expository philosophy
papers are like. In
order to facilitate my goals (see below) of enhancing each
student's ability to provide balanced exposition and examination
of philosophical problems, positions, and methodologies, I
provide detailed comments regarding the compositional,
expository, and the critical elements of students' papers.
I review the comments from earlier papers prior to
reading later ones so that I can assess continuing progress and
problems. Where
students take multiple courses from me, I review my comments on
papers from prior semesters prior to reading the first paper for
additional courses so that I can more carefully assess their
continuing progress and identify any continuing problems.
As students write their papers (and, of course, while they are
reading and thinking about the current readings, lectures, and
discussions), I encourage them to endeavor to integrate the
knowledge they have acquired in their other philosophy courses
(both those taken with me, and those taken with my colleagues),
and from the other courses they have taken with the material
they are currently studying in my courses.
Part of what is involved in developing a critical
perspective is the ability to integrate and inter-relate
materials from a variety of sources, disciplines, and areas.
In class (and outside of class) I am happy to attempt to
answer questions which are related to such integrative attempts,
and I am generally willing to seriously consider paper proposals
which attempt this activity in lieu of one of the assigned
topics in my courses.
In addition to writing the papers, students are required to take
two in-class objective essay exams.
They are designed to assess the students’ understanding
of the philosophical theories, positions, topics, and
methodologies studied.
Sample study questions are distributed in advance of the
exams so that students have an opportunity to organize their
thoughts and integrate the readings and lectures around sample
questions designed to indicate what they are expected to have
mastered. A
supplement entitled “Writing
Essay Exams for Professor Hauptli” is available on the
course web-site.
The web-site has a copy of the syllabus,
extensive lecture supplements for each of the readings and
lectures, and other information relevant to the course.
It will be updated throughout the semester.
Students are encouraged to provide me with suggestions
and comments about the content, links and sources they have
found helpful which I can post for other students, and I am
grateful for help in correcting the inevitable typos and
grammatical errors!
Course Objectives:
In this course students should become
familiar with the problems, positions, and methodologies of
Ludwig Wittgenstein.
Students should also become adroit in interpreting texts;
they should enhance their ability to provide balanced exposition
and examination of philosophical problems, positions, and
methodologies; and they should come to understand the
philosophical activity of criticism of doctrines and things
commonly taken for granted.
In addition to introducing students to Wittgenstein’s
thought, this course is intended to enhance the student’s
critical reading, writing, and speaking skills.
The course focus attention on inquiry and
analysis; seeks to enhance the students’ abilities to adopt
critical perspectives; and endeavors to connect the
philosophical problems, positions and methodologies studied with
the concerns and methodologies of other disciplines and our
culture generally.
The readings, lectures, papers, and exams are integrated in a
manner intended to promote these objectives.
Requirements and Policies:
The following requirements and policies
will apply for this course, and students should read them
carefully. I do not
accept claims to ignorance in their regard.
1. Regular class attendance is required:
after the first three class meetings attendance will be taken
via a roll sheet
which will be passed around the class ten minutes after class
has begun—the roll sheet will quickly circulate and students who
arrive later than ten minutes into the class period will need to
explain (immediately after class) their lateness to have their
attendance count that day.
Students must attend for the whole class period, and
those who leave before the class period is over may be counted
as absent. Students
who have no more than one unexcused absence will have their
course grade raised
by one third of a letter grade (B to B+, etc.).
Students who have three unexcused absences will have
their course grade
lowered by one third of a letter grade (C+ to C, etc.),
students who have five unexcused absences will have their course
grade lowered by two thirds of a letter grade (C+ to C-, etc.),
students who have seven unexcused absences will have their
course grade lowered by one letter grade (C to D, etc.),
additional absences will be treated according to this
progression.
Students arriving after the roll has circulated will (unless
their excuse is accepted after class) be treated as either
two-thirds or one-third absent for that day (depending upon the
extent of their tardiness).
No excuses will be accepted for the first
absence, only extraordinary excuses will be accepted for the
second and subsequent absences, and multiple excuses for any
individual are viewed with ever-increasing skepticism.
Only verifiable excuses will be allowed, and they must be
presented to me in person—messages on my voice mail do not count
as excuses. Excuses
should be presented as soon after the absence as possible
(students who wait till the end of the semester to offer excuses
for early absences need to meet a high burden of verification
for the absence to be excused).
Please note that I check with Doctors’ offices, hospitals
and funeral homes; and I will only rarely accept work-related
excuses (which should be offered before the absence).
2. Appropriate conduct is expected in
class: I expect students to
turn off portable phones
or laptop generated noises (including opening greetings and
message announcements).
Courteous consideration others is a fundamental element
in the classroom. I
expect students to refrain from engaging in private
conversations, noisy snacking, and only in the case of
emergencies should students momentarily leave the classroom
while class is in session.
In short, students are expected to comport themselves in
a manner which does not interfere with instruction and learning.
Disruptive behavior will not be tolerated.
3. Regular reading is assumed:
students who do not do their readings will have difficulty with
the requirements and students who do not attend class will have
difficulty with their readings.
I strongly recommend that students do the readings
several times—at least once before the class in which they will
be discussed and once after the class.
Extensive lecture supplements are available on-line
through my web-site, and I am available in my office to discuss
readings, paper topics, etc.
4. Papers, examinations, and deadlines:
because writing is important to philosophy, students in this
course will be required to write two critical, analytical or
expository philosophy papers each of which should be
approximately 2,000 words long (equivalent to eight
double-spaced typewritten pages of 250 words per page).
This indication of length is meant as a guide to the
student—papers much shorter than the indicated length are
unlikely to have adequately addressed one of the assigned
topics. Papers may,
of course, be longer than the indicated length.
The papers should be typed and are due in my office by
4:15 P.M. on: Monday, March 3, and Monday April 7.
A supplement entitled “Writing
Philosophy Papers” is available on the course web-site.
It describes in detail what my expectations are as well
as clarifying what critical, analytical or expository philosophy
papers are like.
This supplement also provides a list of “grader’s marks” which I
employ in grading papers and exams.
I provide detailed comments regarding the compositional,
expository, and the critical elements of such papers, and I
review the comments from earlier papers prior to reading later
ones so that I can assess continuing progress and problems.
Paper topics will be distributed so that students have at
least two weekends to work on their papers, and the topics will
be directly related to the readings, lectures, and discussions
in the course prior to the assignments.
There will also be two closed-book and
closed-notes in-class objective exams: a midterm on Friday,
February 14 and a final exam on Wednesday, April 23 from
10:15-11:15 [during the assigned period from 9:45-11:45] in the
regular classroom.
They will be designed to assess the students’
understanding of the philosophical theories, positions, topics,
and methodologies studied.
Sample study questions will be distributed in advance of
the exams so that students have an opportunity to organize their
thoughts and integrate the readings and lectures around sample
questions designed to indicate what they are expected to have
mastered. A
supplement entitled “Writing
Essay Exams for Professor Hauptli” is available on the
course web-site.
Together the papers are worth 60% of the
grade (30% each) and the exams are worth 40% (20% each).
Students must submit all papers and take all exams
to pass the course—that is, failure to complete any of the
course requirements will result in a grade of F for the course.
Therefore, students who do not turn in a paper or take an
exam on time must nonetheless submit that paper or take a
make-up exam if they wish to pass the course (grades higher than
an F are given only for performance and accomplishment; and late
papers and make-up exams may demonstrate these, while
unfulfilled requirements demonstrate neither).
An incomplete will not be assigned simply because work is
late—after the designated final exam day, if a student has not
been granted an extension and any required work has not been
turned in, the student will receive a grade of F for the course.
A 4.00 | B/B+ 3.16 | C+/B- 2.49 | C-/C 1.83 | D- 0.67 |
A- 3.67 | B 3.00 | C+ 2.33 | C- 1.67 | F 0.00 |
B+/A- 3.49 | B-/B 2.83 | C/C+ 2.16 | D+ 1.33 | |
B+ 3.33 | B- 2.67 | C 2.00 | D 1.00 |
The "split" grades (B+/A-, for example) are assigned when
the work is between the indicated grades.
Of course, these split grades can not be used for the ultimate course
grade, and thus the grades for the various individual papers and exams are
calculated using the percentages indicated above (and adding or subtracting the
appropriate fractional consideration in accordance with the attendance policy).
For the overall course grade the above point equivalents constitute the
minimum necessary to receive the indicated grade (thus students must earn at
least a 3.67 to receive an A-).
Where students are very close to a minimum point, I will take into consideration
improvement in grades throughout the course.
6. Extensions and late work: I indicate the due
dates for the papers and the exam dates above.
Moreover, I hand out paper topics so that students generally have at two
weekends to work on their papers, and I hand out sample exam questions in
advance of examinations. There
should, then, be little call for extensions.
Before the due date I will
consider reasonable requests for extensions.
Note, however, that excuses do not guarantee extensions, and excuses
offered after due dates are far, far
less successful than those offered before due dates.
If I grant an extension to a student, that extension will establish a new
due date, and that date must be met (or in extraordinary circumstances, an
additional extension may be arranged [but only when it is requested prior to the
(extended) due date]). Please note
that requests for extensions must be made directly to me—neither my secretary
nor your doctor may grant extensions for this course, and last minute calls to
my voice-mail provide no assurance of extensions.
On and after the due date, only an extraordinary request will be accepted
(acceptable examples: hospitalization on due date, extremely serious personal
problem, death in the immediate family; unacceptable examples: running out of
time, and flat tires).
Papers are due in my office by 4:15 P.M. on the due
date—papers turned in after 4:15 will be treated as if they were turned in the
next day. The additional time on
the due date beyond the time when the class meets is offered so that students
who need additional time that day may attend class on the due date, and avoid
suffering from the provisions of the attendance policy noted above.
Students who turn their papers in at the office rather than in class
should give them to the Department secretary so that the date and time may be
noted on the papers. Papers
submitted after 4:15 but before 4:15 P.M. the next day will receive a one-third
decrease in grade (example: B+ changes to a B), papers turned in two days late
will receive a two-thirds grade decrease, additional days will be treated
according to this progression, but papers turned in between 4:15 on Fridays and
9:00 on Mondays will be counted as turned in on Monday morning, and will be
assessed a “double penalty”
for each weekend day).
A paper turned in one week late, then, would receive a three grade
reduction (an A paper would receive a D).
Clearly, students have a strong incentive to contact me prior to the due
date if they are going to be unable to turn their papers in on time—failure to
do so may have serious consequences in terms of the course grade.
If your paper is late, then, it makes sense to speak with me right away
(after class, in my office, or on the phone)—when I am provided with a good
reason, I will stop the penalties from continuing to pile on to those already
assessed for the lateness. Note
that unless I have explicitly granted you an incomplete, all late papers must be
turned in by the last class of the semester (prior to Finals Week)—assignments
which are not turned in as of that time will be considered undone, and the
penalty for having not done any of the requirements for the course is a course
grade of “F.” Note, also, that I
will not accept any but the most extraordinary of excuses for missing late for
the exams.
7. Pass/Fail” grades:
In the absence of a University-wide policy, students in my
courses must earn a grade of C- or better to receive a “Pass” if they have
selected the Pass/Fail grading option.
8. Plagiarism and academic misconduct:
when you engage in plagiarism you present as your work the opinions or arguments
of someone else. Plagiarism is
dishonest since the plagiarist offers for credit what is not her or his own.
It is also counter-productive because it defeats a purpose of
education—the improvement of the student’s own powers of thinking, reasoning,
and expression. Plagiarism may even
occur when one expresses another’s sequence of ideas, arrangement of material,
or pattern of thought in one’s own words.
We have a case of plagiarism when a sequence of ideas is transferred from
a source to a paper without a process of digestion, integration, criticism, and
inquiry in the writer’s mind and without acknowledgment (I have borrowed this
statement, to a large extent, from the FIU English and Sociology/Anthropology
Departments’ descriptions of plagiarism).
Academic misconduct occurs when the norms of inquiry are violated.
Examples include students who present false Doctors’ notes, who pretend
that they have a family or medical emergency, or who seriously hinder other
students’ scholarly activities. I
assign a course grade of F when I confront cases of plagiarism or
academic misconduct, and I bring such students before the appropriate
disciplinary body (the processes are set forth in the
Student Handbook).
The minimal penalty for students found guilty of plagiarism through the
process is an F in the course, the provision that the University’s “Forgiveness
Policy” may not be used to expunge that grade, and such students are placed on
Academic Probation for the remainder of their undergraduate careers at FIU (so
that a second such act usually results in expulsion from the University).
Students should be aware that it is not hard for professors
to spot many cases of plagiarism.
In the Fall 2011 semester, for example, I caught and charged two students
plagiarizing, and all it took to catch this was a simple web search!
The University’s policies on Academic Misconduct and Code of Academic
Integrity may be found on the FIU web-site at:
http://undergrad.fiu.edu/academic_misconduct/index.html
Contemporary web-based search engines make it easier than
it was ever before to detect such activities, and I routinely filter passages I
am suspicious of through one or more such filters.
Office Hours:
Mondays and Wednesdays 2:30-4:00, and by appointment.
Office: DM 341D
Phone/Voice Mail: 305-348-3350
E-Mail: hauptli@fiu.edu
I check both voice and E-Mail several times a day, and I return my calls.
File revised on: 01/10/2014.