Phil 1010 Critical Thinking CRN 81825 MW 10:00 10:50AM Aderhold 30

Georgia State University Department of Philosophy CRN 84717 11:00 11:50AM MW Aderhold 30

Fall 2012 Adam Fox

Contact Info Instructor Office Office Hours Phone Email Adam Fox Library North, L204 or 205 8.15 9.45AM MW, and by appointment (404) 413-6100 (office message) afox11@student.gsu.edu

Check your GoSOLAR schedule today and be sure that the CRN on your schedule is the correct one. You must be registered for the exact CRN to receive credit for this course. Course Objectives The primary objective of Phil 1010 is to help you improve your critical thinking skills. Critical thinking is the skill of recognizing, composing and evaluating arguments. All college courses rely on arguments. Examples include: arguments about business plans, arguments about the qualities of a novel, arguments about the significance of historical events, and arguments about the nature and function of genetic material. Because arguments are found in all your courses, doing well in this course should increase your chances of successfully completing the core curriculum, the courses required by your major, and the other courses required to earn your degree. This course is not intended to be an introduction to philosophy and it does not focus on ideas discussed in most philosophy classes (e.g., justice, knowledge, mind). For an introduction to philosophy, take Phil 2010, Introduction to Philosophy. Phil 1010 is not a prerequisite for Phil 2010. Prerequisites: There are no other courses required for taking this course; however be aware that a significant portion of the course grade involves writing in English, so completion of English composition courses is recommended. Required Materials Critical Thinking: The Art of Argument, 2d custom edition. Rainbolt & Dwyer, ISBN 9781133269458 There are used copies of this book available online and in bookstore. Aplia for Critical Thinking: The Art of Argument ISBN 9781111928650 PURCHASE ONLINE ONLY at Aplia.com. Other handouts will be sent electronically. IMPORTANT NOTE: The authors of this textbook do not receive any money from the sale of course materials to GSU students.

Grade Composition 1. Components By Weight: Quizzes/Attendance 10% Exercises 10% S&E 1 5% S&E 2 15% S&E 3 25% Midterm 10% Final Exam 25% 2. Grading Scale Assignments in this class are scored on a scale from 1 to 100. Scores transfer to point scale and letter grades as follows: A+ A AB+ B BC+ C CD F 4.3 4.00 3.7 3.3 3.00 2.7 2.3 2.00 1.7 1.00 0.00 98 -- 100 93 97 90 92 87 89 83 86 80 82 77 79 73 76 70 72 60 69 0 59

3. To pass the course, students must earn an overall average of 60, get least a 60 on either the midterm or the final, take the final, and turn in all three S&Es. 4. I reserve the right to withdraw any student who, prior to October 9, 2012, misses more than 2 exercises or misses more than 2 quizzes/classes. However, missing more than 2 exercises or 2 quizzes/classes does not guarantee that I will withdraw you. If you want to withdraw, you need to do that yourself via GoSOLAR. 5. If you are not doing as well as you would like in this or any of your other courses, consider making an appointment with the Undergraduate Studies Office, Sparks 224. It offers one-on-one academic coaching, as well as workshops and tutorials on study skills.

Important Tip It is hard to get less than a C in this course if you take all the quizzes, come to all of the class sessions, do all the exercises, take both exams, and complete all three S&Es. It is easy to get an F if you miss more than 2 quizzes or class periods, miss more than 2 sets of exercises, miss an exam, or miss a S&E. In other words, effort counts. S&Es: S&E stands for Standardize and Evaluate an Argument. These will be discussed in detail in class. I reserve the right to use any students S&E for pedagogical purposes. Students names and any other identifying marks will be removed to ensure anonymity.

Quizzes Most class meetings will begin with a quiz. The quizzes will begin promptly and last precisely 3 minutes. They will be composed of two multiple-choice questions that cover the reading assigned for that day's class. The questions will be easy if you have done the reading. For merely taking the quiz and remaining in class for the full 50 minutes, you will get 50 of a possible 100 points. You will get 75 of 100 if you get one question right, and 100 of 100 if you get both questions right. This is an ideal opportunity to get an A on 10% of your course grade. Exercises & Aplia Exercises are completed electronically via Aplia. You must purchase the software at Aplia. They are due once a week at 11:45 pm on Sunday. Note that the computer will close at precisely that time so you need to be sure your exercises are submitted before that time. See the handout on page 5 for accessing Exercises on Aplia. Your grade on each set of exercises is the percentage of the questions you get right. For example, if there are eight questions in an exercise set, and you get six of them right, your grade on that set is a 75. However, Aplia will be based on your good faith effort. If you attempt to do all of the questions on the exercises every week, and you average between 6093%, your total Aplia grade will be set at 93. Scores over 93% will be recorded as they are. This is an ideal opportunity to get an A on 10% of your course grade.

Make-Ups 1. Late assignments and absences are excused only when there is a sufficiently documented, last minute significant emergency. 2. There are no make-ups for daily Quizzes. If you have an excused absence on that day, that days quiz will simply be dropped from the calculation of your quiz grade. Email 1. Email is the best way to contact me. 2. You should check your official Georgia State email at least once every 24 hours. 3. By University policy, I must use your official Georgia State student email address. If you send an email from a non-GSU email account, I cannot respond. 4. If you email me from your GSU account and have not received a reply within 24 hours, you should assume that I did not receive the message. Contact me in person. 5. If you turn in any assignment by email, it is your responsibility to confirm that I received it on time. You will know that I got it because I reply to all student emails. If I do not receive it on time, you will not get credit for the assignment without time-stamped email proof that you sent it before it was due. Having trouble with your email, computer, or ISP is not an excused late assignment. Attendance Everyones presence is an intrinsic and vital feature of the class. Even if you do not speak, your presence has an effect on what is said by others. Attendance can be the deciding factor for course grades on the borderline.

Class Format The class will be a combination of lecture, discussion and practice. This format demands that students be well prepared for class. You do not have to understand all the readings before class, but you need to read all the readings before class and be prepared to ask questions about what you do not understand. Electronic Devices No computers, cell phones, smart phones, PDAs, pagers, or other electronic devices may be used in the classroom. If you carry such a device, turn it off before class begins. Each occurrence of one of these devices going off during class will result in 1 point deducted from your final grade. If my phone goes off in class, everyone in attendance that day gets 1 point added to their final grade. Students with Disabilities If you have a disability that may impair your ability to successfully complete this course, contact your instructor as soon as possible to arrange accommodations. GSU has two programs that provide supports services to students with disabilities. Office of Disability Services - http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwods/ - 404.413-1560 Accessibility At GSU - http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwada/ - 404.464-9044 Students who wish to request accommodation for a disability may do so by registering with the Office of Disability Services (second floor in the Student Center; dismail@gsu.edu) . Students may be accommodated only upon issuance by the Office of Disability Services of a signed Accommodation Plan and are responsible for providing a copy of that plan to instructors of all classes in which accommodations are sought. Academic Dishonesty Failure of the course is the default departmental penalty for plagiarism, cheating on a test, copying someone elses work, letting someone else copy your work, or any other form of academic dishonesty. For example, copying someone elses standardization of an argument is a case of plagiarism and will result in failure of the course. You are encouraged to study for tests with your classmates, but all work turned in for credit must be either your own work, or correctly cited. If you use even a small part of a classmates work or a line from an online source, you must use proper citation. If you dont, you have violated GSUs academic honesty policy. Finally, note that on assignments in this class, no outside sources are permitted for in class tests or S&Es. Moreover, you are liable for further administrative action, which might include expulsion with notation on your permanent record. See the GSU Policy on Academic Dishonesty attached to this syllabus, available in the University Student Handbook, and found online at http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwcam/overview/index.html In addition, be sure you give due consideration to what it means to be a good friend! Not infrequently, students draw the natural but erroneous conclusion that allowing or facilitating a friends cheating is somehow helping that friend. FAR FROM IT! Good friends, truly good friends, help us to avoid cheating and any other kind of dishonesty. Anyone who helps us cheat is clearly not interested in our becoming autonomous beings. HOW TO DO WELL IN THIS COURSE Come to Class and Come on Time: Because of the way grades are computed, and the fact that so much of the course is discussion based, your grade will suffer if you are not present for discussions, and your grade will be favorably affected if you are present. Study Outside of Class: 1. A normal expectation is that undergraduate students will spend a minimum of two hours studying outside of class for every hour spent in class. 4

2. Since this course meets for 3 hours of class time each week, you should plan on spending at least 6 hours outside of class each week studying the material. It is also likely that it will take more than that amount of time to complete the readings in a manner sufficient to understand the material. Read the Assignments Multiple Times: Philosophy is demanding reading. I expect you to do all the readings before class and after class. We will not read a great many pages, but some of the readings might be dense and difficult to follow. First, read the work through quickly to get the general idea and to circle any words you dont understand. Then looks up all the words you dont know and read the work again slowly. Third, after we cover the reading in class, read it, slowly. Read. Rinse. Repeat, as they say in the shampoo business. Final Notes The course syllabus provides a general plan for the course; deviations may be necessary. Everything in this syllabus can change (and something always does). You are responsible for all changes announced in class, on PAWS, and via email. Your constructive assessment of this course plays an indispensable role in shaping education at Georgia State. Upon completing the course, please take time to fill out the online course evaluation

How to access your Aplia course

PHIL 1010 - Critical Thinking - Fall 2012
Instructor: Various Start Date: 08/20/2012 End Date: 12/16/2012 Course Key: V98U-LDNR-88Y7

Step 1. Register for Aplia Exercises

Aplia is part of CengageBrain, which allows you to sign in to a single site to access your Cengage materials and courses. 1. Connect to http://login.cengagebrain.com/ 2. If you already have an account, sign in. From your Dashboard, enter your course key (V98U-

LDNR-88Y7) in the box provided, and click the Register button.

3. If you don't have an account, click the Create a New Account button, and enter your course key when prompted:

V98U-LDNR-88Y7. Continue to follow the on-screen instructions.

Step 2. Pay for Aplia Exercises

Online: Purchase access to your course from the CengageBrain website, http://www.cengagebrain.com/micro/gsuphil1010 You can use Aplia without paying until 11:59 PM on 09/09/2012.

After paying for the Aplia exercises, you will have the option to purchase a physical book at a discounted price. The book is also available in the GSU bookstore.

Department of Philosophy

General Syllabus Statement Fall 2012

This syllabus provides a general plan for the course. Deviations may be necessary. The last day to withdraw from a course with the possibility of receiving a W is Tuesday, October 9, 2012 Students are responsible for confirming that they are attending the course section for which they are registered. Failure to do so may result in an F for the course. By University policy and to respect the confidentiality of all students, final grades may not be posted or given out over the phone. To see your grades, use PAWS. The customary penalty for a violation of the academic honesty rules is an "F" in the course. See the University Policy on Academic Honesty on the reverse of this sheet. Copying or using material from the internet without citation is a violation of the academic honesty rules. A student may be awarded a grade of "W" no more than 6 times in their careers at Georgia State. After 6 Ws, a withdrawal is recorded as a WF on the student's record. A WF counts as an F in a GPA. Your constructive assessment of this course plays an indispensable role in shaping education at Georgia State University. Upon completing the course, please take the time to fill out the online course evaluation. Students who wish to request accommodation for a disability must do so by registering with the Office of Disability Services in Suite 230 of the Student Center. Students may only be accommodated upon issuance by the Office of Disability Services of a singed Accommodation Plan and are responsible for providing a copy of that plan to instructors of all classes in which an accommodation is sought.

Subscribe to one of our department listservs for current information and events: 1. Undergraduate Students: 2. Graduate Students: www2.gsu.edu/~wwwphi/2131.html www2.gsu.edu/~wwwphi/2109.html

For more information on the philosophy program visit: www.gsu.edu/philosophy

Policy on Academic Honesty, from the GSU Catalog As members of the academic community, students are expected to recognize and uphold standards of intellectual and academic integrity. The university assumes as a basic and minimum standard of conduct in academic matters that students be honest and that they submit for credit only the products of their own efforts. Both the ideals of scholarship and the need for fairness require that all dishonest work be rejected as a basis for academic credit. They also require that students refrain from any and all forms of dishonor-able or unethical conduct related to their academic work. The universitys policy on academic honesty is published in the Faculty Handbook and On Campus: The Student Handbook and is available to all members of the university community. The policy represents a core value of the university, and all members of the university community are responsible for abiding by its tenets. Lack of knowledge of this policy is not an

acceptable defense to any charge of academic dishonesty. All members of the academic communitystudents, faculty, and staffare expected to report violations of these standards of academic conduct to the appropriate authorities. The procedures for such reporting are on file in the offices of the deans of each college, the office of the dean of students, and the office of the provost. In an effort to foster an environment of academic integrity and to prevent academic dishonesty, students are expected to discuss with faculty the expectations regarding course assignments and standards of conduct. Students are encouraged to discuss freely with faculty, academic advisers, and other members of the university community any questions pertaining to the provisions of this policy. In addition, students are encouraged to avail themselves of programs in establishing personal standards and ethics offered through the universitys Counseling Center. Definitions and Examples The examples and definitions given below are intended to clarify the standards by which academic honesty and academically honorable conduct are to be judged. The list is merely illustrative of the kinds of infractions that may occur, and it is not intended to be exhaustive. Moreover, the definitions and examples suggest conditions under which unacceptable behavior of the indicated types normally occurs; however, there may be unusual cases that fall outside these conditions that also will be judged unacceptable by the academic community. Plagiarism: Plagiarism is presenting another persons work as ones own. Plagiarism includes any para-phrasing or summarizing of the works of another person without acknowledgment, including the submitting of another students work as ones own. Plagiarism frequently involves a failure to acknowledge in the text, notes, or footnotes the quotation of the paragraphs, sentences, or even a few phrases written or spoken by someone else. The submission of research or completed papers or projects by someone else is plagiarism, as is the unacknow-ledged use of research sources gathered by someone else when that use is specifically forbidden by the faculty member. Failure to indicate the extent and nature of ones reliance on other sources is also a form of plagiarism. Any work, in whole or in part, taken from the Internet or other computer-based resource without properly referencing the source (for example, the URL) is considered plagiarism. A complete reference is required in order that all parties may locate and view the original source. Finally, there may be forms of plagiarism that are unique to an individual discipline or course, examples of which should be provided in advance by the faculty member. The student is responsible for understanding the legitimate use of sources, the appropriate ways of acknowledging academic, scholarly or creative indebtedness, and the consequences of violating this responsibility. Cheating on Examinations: Cheating on examinations involves giving or receiving unauthorized help before, during, or after an examination. Examples of unauthorized help include the use of notes, computer-based resources, texts, or "crib sheets" during an examination (unless specifically approved by the faculty member), or sharing information with another student during an examination (unless specifically approved by the faculty member). Other examples include intentionally allowing another student to view ones own examination and collaboration before or after an examination if such collaboration is specifically forbidden by the faculty member. Unauthorized Collaboration: Submission for academic credit of a work product, or a part thereof, represented as its being ones own effort, which has been developed in substantial collaboration with another person or source or with a computer-based resource is a violation of academic honesty. It is also a violation of academic honesty knowingly to provide such assistance. Collaborative work specifically authorized by a faculty member is allowed. Falsification: It is a violation of academic honesty to misrepresent material or fabricate information in an academic exercise, assignment or proceeding (e.g., false or misleading citation of sources, falsification of the results of experiments or computer data, false or misleading information in an academic context in order to gain an unfair advantage). Multiple Submissions: It is a violation of academic honesty to submit substantial portions of the same work for credit more than once without the explicit consent of the faculty member(s) to whom the material is submitted for additional credit. In cases in which there is a natural development of research or knowledge in a sequence of courses, use of prior work may be desirable, even required; however the student is responsible for indicating in writing, as a part of such use, that the current work submitted for credit is cumulative in nature.

Phil 1010
August M 8/20 W 8/22 F 8/24 S 8/26 M 8/27 W 8/29 September S 9/2 M 9/3 W 9/5 S 9/9 M 9/10 W 9/12 S 9/16 M 9/17 W 9/19 S 9/23 M 9/24 W 2/26 S 9/30 October M 10/1 W 10/3 S 10/07 M 10/8 T 10/9 W 10/10 S 10/14 M 10/15 W 10/17 S 10/21 M 10/22 W 10/24 S 10/28 M 10/29 W 10/31 November S 11/4 M 11/5 W 11/7 S 11/11 M 11/12 W 11/14 M 11/19 W 11/21 S 11/25 M 11/26 W 11/28 December M 12/3 F Dec

TENTATIVE Schedule of Assignments

Chap 1, What is Critical Thinking, What is an Argument, Why Think Critically, pp. 4-13 Chap 1, Finding Arguments, pp. 13-26; Begin Putting in Standard Form Right Away. No class, but last day to Add/Drop APLIA DUE: How to Use Aplia Due before 11:45pm. Chap 1, Putting Arguments into Standard Form, pp. 31-36 S&E1 (standardize a passage in class)

Fall 2012

APLIA DUE Ch 1, Sets 1 and 2, before 11:45pm LABOR DAY. No classes meet. Chap 2, Two Characteristics of a Good Argument, True Premises, and Proper Form, pp. 42-48 and 51-53 APLIA DUE Ch 1, Set 3 and Ch 2, Set 1, before 11:45pm Chap 2, Deductive and Inductive Arguments and Relevance, pp. 55-64 Chap 2, Fallacies and Relevance, pp 70-79 APLIA DUE Ch 2, Set 2, before 11:45pm Chap 3, Three Kinds of Premises, pp. 86-102 S&E 2 (standardizing and evaluating a passage in class) APLIA DUE Ch 2, Set 3, before 11:45pm Chap 5, Identifying Propositional Statements, pp. 146-156 Chap 5, Evaluating Propositional Arguments, pp. 159-169 APLIA DUE Ch 3, Set 1, before 11:45pm

Chap 5, How PF test differs for Deductive and Inductive Arguments Midterm in class APLIA DUE Ch 5, Set 1, before 11:45pm Chap 7, Identifying Analogical Arguments, pp. 228-234 No class, but last day to withdraw with a W Chap 7, Evaluating Analogical Arguments, pp. 244-256 APLIA DUE Ch 5, Set 2, and Ch 7, Set 1, before 11:45pm Chap 8, Descriptive Statistics, pp. 258-275 Chap 8 Identifying Statistical Arguments, pp. 275-278 APLIA DUE Ch 7, Set 2, and Ch 8, Set 1, before 11:45pm Chap 8, Evaluating Statistical Arguments, pp. 281-285 Chap 8, Evaluating Statistical Arguments continued APLIA DUE Ch 8, Sets 2 and 3, before 11:45pm Chap 9, The Many Meanings of Cause and Identifying Causal Arguments, pp. 294-303 Happy Halloween! Chap 9, Evaluating Causal Arguments, pp. 306-314

APLIA DUE Ch 9, Set 1, before 11:45pm Chap 9, Evaluating Causal Arguments Continued, pp. 316-321 Chap 9, The Scientific Method, pp. 326-331 APLIA DUE Ch 9, Sets 2 and 3, before 11:45pm S&E3 in class (standardizing and evaluating a passage in class) Chap 10, Identifying Moral Arguments, pp. 342-345 Thanksgiving Vacation. No classes meet. Thanksgiving Vacation. No classes meet. APLIA DUE Ch 9, Set 4, before 11:45pm Chap 10, Evaluating Moral Arguments, Consequentialist Arguments, pp. 351-358 Chap 10, Deontic Moral Arguments, pp. 359-365

Chap 10, Aretaic Moral Arguments, pp. 365-366 Friday, December 7, Common Final Exam, 13:30pm. Room TBA

Complete the following before or on the first day you attend class, and turn it to your instructor. NAME______________________________ DATE__________________

I have received, read, or will read, and accept responsibility for following the policies noted in the syllabus. I have also received, read, or will read, and accept responsibility for fulfilling the requirements outlined in the schedule of assignments. I understand that not following the course policies or not completing all assignments can negatively affect my grade in the course. I also understand that FAILURE OF THE COURSE is the departmental default policy for cases of academic dishonesty, including, but not limited to plagiarism, cheating on a test, copying someone elses exercises or other work, letting someone else copy my exercises or other work, or any other form of academic dishonesty. I also understand that I am responsible for using and checking my GSU email account daily, and that my instructor is required by university policy to use my GSU email account for all academic correspondence.

Signature__________________________________

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