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PHL 103 Syllabus Fall 2017 PDF
PHL 103 Syllabus Fall 2017 PDF
PHL
103:
INTRODUCTION
TO
PHILOSOPHY
FALL
2017
Philosophy
103:
Introduction
to
Philosophy
General Education Outcomes
Humanities (A3)
Writing (B1)
WELCOME!!
Philosophy comes f rom the ancient G reek words for wisdom (Sophia) and devotion (philo), so
traditionally the term m eant something like a love of wisdom. Today we tend to view philosophy as
a way of seeking to understand the n ature of reality itself, where reality includes o ur very way of
thinking about it.
Does this sound confusing? It should, because once we call our o wn perspectives, or ways of
thinking, into question, we g et into thorny t erritory with what we can claim to know about the world
beyond our personal experience. WARNING!!! Philosophers t end t o question common sense and
other things that most p eople take for g ranted. In fact, some of you might g enuinely b e surprised
and perhaps unsettled by the extent to which a little philosophy can undermine much of what we
assume to b e normal. Try to keep your mind open as we upend many of the ideas that underpin
everyday life. And remember: common sense once told us that the earth was flat, that the sun
revolved around the earth, and that slavery was an acceptable m eans by which to operate a
T/R
2-‐3:15pm
Swan
Hall
plantation. Common sense, while necessary, is overrated. Philosophy will show you why.
What’s in this syllabus?
& Required Book: Stephen Law, The Philosophy G ym What is philosophy? Why study it? 2
This is an unusual but accessible introduction to the subject of
philosophy, broken down in 25 themed “cases.” Buy the book What do we do? How are we g raded? 3
and bring it to every class; we use it every day!
Expectations and Accommodation 4
:SAKAI You m ust also work through an accompanying slide
lecture on each topic before class – we look at l ecture notes Course Goals and G en Ed Outcomes 5
online so we can be active in doing philosophy during class.
This is called a “flipped” classroom. Resources, Philosophical and Otherwise 6
Course Schedule 7-‐8
2
PHL
103:
INTRODUCTION
TO
PHILOSOPHY
FALL
2017
WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY? WHY SHOULD WE STUDY IT?
Traditionally philosophical problems fall into one of four While philosophy is an old discipline, its topics and
broad categories, all of which we’ll cover in some form. methods still form the foundation of other subjects.
LOGIC: the study of argument structures and Epistemology grounds the sciences, concerned with
reasoning issues like whether our perceptions are reliable, whether
other people have minds like ours, what constitutes
EPSTEMOLOGY: the study of knowledge and what acceptable evidence, and whether past patterns of data
we can claim to know provide sufficient support for future predictions. Drug
trials, for example, rely on good models of testing before
METAPHYSICS: the study of what is real as opposed approval; controversies about Artificial Intelligence
to what is an illusion involve whether machines can “think.”
AXIOLOGY: the study of values as reflected in human Metaphysics questions the foundational truths of
behavior and practice existence, such as the origin of the universe, evidence for
supernatural phenomena, and whether God exists.
These questions can be heavy lifting, intellectually Cultures have gone to war over disagreements about what
speaking, but along the way you will learn a little logic to they take to be religious truths; some people spend a lot
think clearly about them. of money to have psychic readings done, or communicate
with dead relatives. What do you take to be “real” and,
conversely, how might your beliefs be inconsistent,
ungrounded, naïve, or gullible?
This stuff is
heavy!
Moral Theory reflects on what we value as right/wrong, or
good/bad, and asks whether morality can exist without
God, if all morality is relative to culture, and whether we
see moral issues through a social lens of bias.
Controversies such as female genital mutilation or
whether assisted suicide is permissible demonstrate how
complex moral thinking is once we think our way through
different perspectives on the same problem.
Applied Ethics investigates how to use moral thinking in
real-‐world situations. Should we separate conjoined twins
knowing that one will die, when failure to separate means
Some sample questions:
both will die? Should we eat meat? Should we use
technology to design better babies? Very recently, for
Reliable reasoning? If it’s raining, the streets are wet.
example, the gene manipulation mechanism known as
The streets are wet. Therefore, it is raining. (Logic)
CRISPR has made it possible to correct defects such as the
(This is logically invalid by the way: a fallacy known as
inherited blood disorder beta-‐thalassemia in human
Affirming the Consequent)
embryos. This has ethicists sitting up and taking notice:
should such “corrected” embryos be implanted in the
If a computer generated the world you are now
womb? What happens to human society when only the
experiencing, could you realize that fact? (Epistemology)
rich can afford to manipulate embryos before implanting?
Worse still, what if CRISPR is used commercially to create
Are claims about the existence of ghosts plausible?
embryos with things like higher intelligence, better
(Metaphysics)
athleticism, and artistic ability? How we identify moral
values and regulate institutional – and individual –
Can the very same thing be morally right for you but
practices in relation to them are very urgent and ongoing
morally wrong for me? (Axiology – Moral
challenges for humanity.
Theory)
You are in the end stages of cancer but your heart is
By the end of our course you will you have practiced the
good. Another patient needs a heart to survive and yours
philosophical method, see its pervasive relevance to most
is a match. Is it morally acceptable for your doctor to kill
issues in the world even today, and figure out how to
you right now in order to harvest your heart, since you are
apply philosophical techniques to other areas of your
going to die soon anyway and the other person will die
studies and your life!
without a new heart? (Applied Ethics – part of Axiology)
3
PHL
103:
INTRODUCTION
TO
PHILOSOPHY
FALL
2017
WHAT DO WE DO IN PHL 103? HOW AND ON WHAT ARE WE GRADED?
We read. We think. We read some more, then we write. We Your grade will be based on three types of work: the scaled
talk, we give feedback, we edit, we think, we write. average of quizzes undertaken in class; four multiple choice
Sometimes we take exams. The key things are to develop examinations of increasing weight, also taken in class; and
knowledge of the humanistic practice known as philosophy points for accumulated, written “exit tickets” that your TA
and to refine our writing skills to empower thinking all collects from you at the end of many classes.
through college…and life.
Exit Tickets
K Ex nihilo nihil fit. At the end of many sessions we will ask you to write a few
Out of nothing comes nothing. There is no such thing sentences in response to a specific prompt provided in
as a free lunch. Cliché city! In other words: the work class. Each ticket is worth 1 point, and your grade for
you put in = the value you derive here in PHL 103. We tickets will be based on a ratio of your adequately
don't use class time to repeat exactly what the book completed tickets to a ticket baseline determined by us.
says, or to walk you through the slides. Instead, when For example: let’s say we assign 15 total ticket prompts
together, we analyze the issues through many over the term. We might then set the baseline for ticket
writing exercises, the creation of “concept maps” for points at 13 (to allow for a missed class or two). If you
the reading ,and lots of discussion and questioning. hand in 12 tickets, your grade would be a 12/13 or 92. Of
Come unprepared at your peril!! We grade course, if you completed 13, 14 or all 15 tickets you’d have
anonymously so will be starkly honest about the a 100! We reserve the right to award a nonsense response
quality of your WORK. Not you, but the work you zero points, but otherwise all tickets with a good faith
hand in – just like jobs in the so-‐called real world. effort to write about the prompt will gain a point.
15% of final average.
Strength in Numbers
We are going to subdivide the class into small groups, ! Pop Essay Quizzes
which we refer to as PODS. Your POD will be based These are unannounced, very short, timed essays that you
on information you provide to us at the beginning of write in a small box on less than one side of a page. They
the course. Peer workshops on written quizzes, as are always on the reading for that day but will cover
well as debates and arguments about issues we material we have not yet gone over in class. The quizzes
study, will take place in PODS – PODS are like your will sometimes be the basis for rubric-‐guided, small group
mini-‐cohort inside the class, and can be useful for workshops; students will have the chance to comment on
group study beyond class. In class, PODS can get and correct their initial responses following these
noisy. But they are often fun! workshops. Quizzes are graded on a 1-‐4 scale, with the
occasional opportunity of an extra point for strong self-‐
h I Think, Therefore I Am critique based on peer feedback. We scale the total quiz
The capacity to formulate and express ideas well is points generously at the end, in expectation of less strong
the sign of a good education. To aid you in this goal, performance at the start of term, so don’t be discouraged!
we will offer an opportunity to attend a September The key is to respond to feedback and strive for
28 workshop on metacognition with renowned expert improvements over the course of the term.
Dr. Sondra Maguire. Metacognition: understanding 35% of final average.
how you think (and work, and produce things). Not
only will this workshop empower you to 4 Multiple Choice Exams
conceptualize and structure your college experience It takes a while to master philosophical thinking, so we
in a productive way; we’ll award 2 Exit Tickets to weight the exams differently along the course of the
anyone who attends! More details to follow! semester. Each exam has 10 complex multiple choice
questions, often with a long passage, then four options to
choose among as the correct one in response. Of the four
Final
Grade
Scales
Quiz
Scale
(out
of
4)
responses, one is the most thorough and accurate, one is
A:
93-‐100
4
=
excellent
correct but not as thorough or detailed, and two are out
A-‐:
90-‐92
3.5
=
v ery
good
and out wrong. You get half points for selecting the
B+:
87-‐89
3
=
good
correct but less thorough response, and full points for
B:
83-‐86
2.5
=
quite
good
B-‐:
80-‐82
2
=
adequate
mastery
correct ones.
C+:
77-‐79
1.5
=
getting
there
Exam 1: 5% of final grade
C:
73-‐75
1
=
poor
but
s omething
ok
Exam 2: 10% of final grade
C-‐:
70-‐72
.5
=
glimmer
of
hope
Exam 3: 20% of final grade
D+:
67-‐69
0
=
out
a nd
out
fail
Exam 4: 15% of final grade
D:
63-‐66
F:
62
a nd
below
4
PHL
103:
INTRODUCTION
TO
PHILOSOPHY
FALL
2017
http://web.uri.edu/aec/
WHY, US!
Cheryl
cherylf@uri.edu
401-‐874-‐4022
Angie
Angela_bedigian@my.uri.edu
774-‐280-‐4294
Harry
Harry_miller@my.uri.edu
401-‐829-‐7619
Mike
Mgrenier94@my.uri.edu
401-‐529-‐5649
In addition, Harry will host informal
philosophy hangouts at the 193 Degrees
Coffee House on s ome Fridays, Mike will be
generating philosophical playlists for your
listening pleasure, and Angie will post some
helpful hints on thriving i n college (Angie’s
List!)
7
PHL
103:
INTRODUCTION
TO
PHILOSOPHY
FALL
2017
UNIT ONE: EPISTEMOLOGY
DATE TOPIC READING AND EXAMS
R Oct 5 Where did it all come from? Read: Where Universe Come From? – Chapter 1
View: Origin of Universe Slides on SAKAI
T Oct 10 Where did it all come from? Review: Universe chapter/slides
R Oct 12 ESP, ghosts, and miracles: rational? Read: Miracles and the Supernatural -‐Chapter 23
View: Miracles Slides on SAKAI
T Oct 17 ESP, ghosts, and miracles: rational? Review: Miracles chapter/slides
R Oct 19 Should we believe in God? Read: Does God Exist? – Chapter 7
View: Does God Exist slides on SAKAI
T Oct 24 Should we believe in God? Review: Does God Exist chapter/slides
R Oct 26 EXAM: Metaphysics
8
PHL
103:
INTRODUCTION
TO
PHILOSOPHY
FALL
2017
UNIT THREE: MORAL THEORY
DATE TOPIC READINGS AND EXAMS
T Oct 31 Does morality come from God? Read: Morality Without God/Religion? -‐Chapter 10
View: Morality Without God Slides on SAKAI
R Nov 2 Does morality come from God? Review: Morality Without God chapter/slides
T Nov 7 Is it wrong for me but right for you? Read: Into the Lair of the Relativist – Chapter 5
View: Lair of the Relativist Slides on SAKAI
R Nov 9 Is it wrong for me but right for you? Review: Lair of the Relativist chapter/slides
T Nov 14 Are moral claims just statements about or reflections of culture? Read: Is Morality Like Spectacles? – Chapter 20
View: Moral Spectacles Slides on SAKAI
R Nov 16 Are moral claims just statements about or reflections of culture? Review: Moral Spectacles chapter/slides
T Nov 21 EXAM: Moral Theory
UNIT FOUR: APPLIED ETHICS
DATE TOPIC READINGS AND EXAMS
T Nov 28 When – if ever – is killing morally permissible? Read: Killing Mary to Save Jodie – Chapter 17
View: Killing Mary to Save Jodie Slides
R Nov 30 Is meat-‐eating morally justifiable? Read: Should You Be Eating That? – Chapter 21
View: Should You Be Eating That Slides on SAKAI
T Dec 5 Should we manipulate human embryos? Read: Designer Babies – Chapter 12
View: Designer Baby Slides on SAKAI
R Dec 7 Prize Day!! (first 45 minutes) Universal Make Up Quiz (optional)
Universal Make Up Quiz! (last 30 minutes)
T Dec 19 Exam: Applied Ethics (mandatory) Exam: Applied Ethics
Time: 3pm – 4:30 pm
Place: Swan Hall Auditorium