NCTC Phil 1301.321 – Introduction to Philosophy: On Line

 

“Learned Institutions ought to be favorite objects with every free people. They throw that light over the public mind which is the best security against crafty & dangerous encroachments on the public liberty.” - James Madison

 

Part A – Preliminaries

 

Philosophy Department Mission Statement:  The mission of NCTC’s Philosophy Department is to provide students with a comprehensive introductory level sounding in a broad perspective of the philosophical tradition.  We strive to meet standards of rigor and quality while being faithful to all major eras, themes, and thinkers in the history of philosophy, by maintaining a commitment to a reading of original texts in philosophy.  In so doing, we hope to make students participate in genuine rational discourse on subjects unusual but not unimportant, and open them to philosophical issues in their own lives.  Ultimately we hope to instill in our students the value and habit of critical and deliberate thinking as an antidote to the increasingly superficial, simplistic and entertainment driven consumer culture in which we live.

 

Instructor:  Seth Thompson (sathompson@nctc.edu)  Office: COR 215, (this is my physical office on the Corinth campus – you are welcome to drop in in person during office hours [see separate Contact Me page on the Orientation Section of the course] or, if you want to set up a meeting time, email me to work something out) ph. 940-498-6832.  Email is the best way to reach me.

 

Office Hours: I’ll hold virtual office hours on Fridays from 2-3p.

 

Catalogue Description: Introduction to the study of ideas and their logical structure, including arguments and investigations about abstract and real phenomena.  Includes introduction to the history, theories, and methods of reasoning from the Pre-Socratics to present.

 

Required Texts:  Classics of Western Philosophy. 8^th edition.  Ed. Steven Cahn. Hackett, 2006. ISBN: 13-978-0-87220-859-9.  In addition, you will need to watch a movie this semester on your own; Gladiator.   This movie is on reserve in the library, though it can be readily attained through a variety of other sources.  You may be quizzed on it and getting your hands on copies is your responsibility.  Please note that there are older editions of the text that are cheaper than the one required, and generally students are adept at finding them.  The older edition is likely do have much of the same material as the 7^th but the page numbers, etc., will be different.  If you choose an older edition of the text, it is YOUR responsibility to ensure that you have all the things you need.

 

 

Course Competencies and Learning Outcomes:  Upon successful completion of this course [providing students follow the course expectations and apply themselves as advised], students will be able to identify, understand, and explain important events and developments in Philosophical history as well as demonstrate various philosophical methods of inquiry and analysis on such things as:

1. To be aware of the major thinkers and philosophical periods presented
2. To analyze the ideas and arguments of thinkers presented
3. To demonstrate understanding of abstract and esoteric ideas
4. To produce written work which demonstrates active reading at a scholarly level

 

Part B – Expectations and Evaluation

 

Short Note on Student Expectations:  I don’t want to sound harsh or scare anyone off, but this course will be somewhat challenging, and success will warrant a certain degree of skill and responsibility from students, especially since it is online.  You will definitely need to be independent and do the assigned readings etc on your own.  I tend to expect that you are self-motivated enough to read what is assigned and understand what you read – on your own.  I am there to guide and help but a lot will be based on your own work at reading the assignments. You should be able read (English) at a college level and write an essay, and cogently reply to discussion boards.  If your writing really needs work, I have advice for you and can help to an extent, but I’d steer you toward the Writing Center for more help. Remember that this course can count for credit at four year institutions, and that is why I tend to set the bar a bit high.  I am available for your questions, but I tend to treat students with much autonomy, and will expect you to remain on top of things like your grades, your reading assignments, etc.  Basically, if you are willing and able to work and to read and to think - and if you conduct yourself in a mature and responsible way - you will enjoy the things this course will expose you to.

 

Grading Policy and Procedures:  There will be three ways that you will be evaluated in this class:  Quizzes, Discussion Boards and Essays.  There are 6 quizzes, all timed and multiple choice.  There are 10 Discussion Boards and there are 3 Concluding Essays.  Essentially the procedure is like this:  you read the passages and use the Informal Discussion Boards to make sure you understand the material.  Then, you will take a quiz over the passage you were to read, to solidify your understanding.  By that time you will be able to intelligently discuss and comment on the material, and hence will participate in a Graded Discussion Board which will evaluate your preparedness to talk about what you are expected to have mastered.  And, lastly, you will write a paper which asks you to apply one of the perspectives that we will have discussed.  The break down is like this:

1. Quizzes – 6 of them (20 points each) = 120 pts
2. Discussion Boards – 9 of them (25 points each) = 225 pts
3. Concluding Essays – 3 of them (40 points each) = 120

Grand Total = 465 points.  You simply add up your points, and divide by 465 to get your grade.

• Quizzes – timed multiple choice
• Essays – Well organized, textually based answers to prompts given.  You will usually have a few days to write them, and they will be of a summary nature – that is, they are meant to wrap up a unit by having you apply what you have learned. You can see the rubric on the page in the online course.  They will be graded thus:  8 points for content (how well you understand the material and refer to the texts), 8 points for style (grammar and organization) and 4 points for staying on topic and being coherent.  This adds to 20, but I will double this number to make them out of 40.
• Graded Discussion Boards:  There are two types of discussion in this class:  informal and graded.  The informal ones are there for your questions and are meant to imitate a kind of free flow discussion on the texts that we read in order to aid in your understanding.  Informal discussions are optional and intended to provide you a community to assist in your understanding of the concepts if you need it.  The graded ones will be more formal and, of course, graded.

Here are the expectations for the Graded Discussion:

1.  Post your response to the prompt
2.  Respond to at least 2 classmates
3.  All responses should be “scholarly,” in other words formally written, serious, thoughtful and engaging of the texts.  You should use proper grammar and form, complete sentences and think about your responses.

Rubric:

1. Post your response – 3 points. 
   1. 3 = articulate and engaging text
   2. 2 = meets minimum standard – needs textual support or clarity
   3. 1 = more effort needed
2. Respond to 2 classmates – 2 points (1 point per response)
   1. 1 = a scholarly response
   2. 0 = bare minimum or not done

 

Note on Extra Credit and Sympathy Points:  Many students begin to ask about “extra credit” projects toward the end of a given semester.  The answer on whether I will accept an extra credit assignment is no.  The reason is this; I expect that, as you have chosen to take this class, you will meet the requirements.  This course starts on the first day, and you need to begin working to meet the requirements on that day.  I do not think it fair to allow people “do overs” at the end of semester in lieu of working consistently through the semester.  Hopefully one of the skills you will learn here is to take responsibility for your own goals. Also, many students contact me toward the end of the semester with various reasons for which they “need an A in this class.”  Again, if you need financial aid, or entrance to another program, or your parents will buy you a car if you get an A, these are all YOUR issues.  I will not inflate a grade for any reason, so if you need an A in this class, begin to take responsibility now and work accordingly.  Also, please avoid telling me long and personal stories in support of absences or poor performance.  If you attend, make the best of it, if you do not, try to catch up, excuses are not necessary.

 

Academic Integrity:  There is a great temptation to cut and paste from the internet and other nefarious means of cheating on assignments, and while this might be more common today, it does not make it excusable. Everyone should know what plagiarism is, and if not, please seek to make sure you understand it.  This is the definition of plagiarism and collusion as quoted from NCTC’s Student Handbook:

 

“Plagiarism” shall be defined as the appropriating, buying, receiving as a gift, or obtaining by any means another’s work and the unacknowledged submission or incorporation of it in one’s own written work.

 

“Collusion” shall be defined as the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work for fulfillment of course requirements.

 

In order to preserve the sanctity of the mission of education, we will take all appropriate actions to prevent and to punish instances of scholastic dishonesty, up to and including the following consequences: 

 

First, the Philosophy Department uses TurnItIn.Com to check written submissions, so be aware that your submissions will be vetted through this vehicle.

 

Secondly, a paper that demonstrates plagiarism will receive an F, and, the student may receive an F in the course.

 

Thirdly, students caught plagiarizing will be reported to the registrar’s office (via NCTC’s Scholastic Dishonesty Report Form).

 

A Further Word on Plagiarism – Argument for why it is wrong.  I assume that most of you know the definition of plagiarism.  If not, you can find NCTC’s official definition of plagiarism on the website, but, in short, it amounts to stealing someone else’s ideas or words and trying to pass them off as your own.  In my experience, the biggest source of plagiarism comes in cutting and pasting from internet sources.  This is plagiarism, and every semester I catch people attempting to do this.  Plagiarism is one of my pet peeves, and I will outline the reasons for this below.  Be warned, I have no mercy and no sympathy when I catch people plagiarizing.  So, do know now that I will not give second chances to anyone I catch doing it.  I know that it is very common, even acceptable by many students today, but to me it remains a wrong.

Plagiarism is fraud, which is a type of stealing.  Those who plagiarize attempt to short cut their education by not doing the required work; and that “work” is your own enlightenment.  For this reason, I feel that people who plagiarize have no business in academia because they have no idea what education is about.  Education is not about “winning at all costs”, it is not about competition, getting ahead in the world; and it certainly is not about grades and degrees.  It is about nurturing your intellect so that your awareness of things grows.  The liberal arts, for example, are called the “arts of a free man” (from Latin) because a man free from the drudgery of work naturally wants to expand his mind.  As Aristotle said, “All men, by nature, desire to know.”  So, an education is something that is to be respected and taken seriously.  It is what makes one’s life higher, more valuable and more meaningful than a life of nothing but work.  Education is not a hurdle to be gotten over in as little time as possible so that you can get a job; it is the process of your own coming to know.  Having said this, I know that seeking a job is what many people in America today think that education is about.  And, for this reason, they plagiarize when they can because their goal is not knowledge, but a credential.  My perspective is the opposite.  That is why plagiarism angers me, and I hope that by reading this, you might come to more fully appreciate the centuries of struggle that have gone on to allow you to sit in a college.

If you commit plagiarism it shows to me that you have no respect for the purpose of education, and have no interest in your own development, so you have no business being in college.  In the old days, one could get expelled for committing plagiarism.  Unfortunately, this is no longer the case.  You will, without any room for appeal, get an automatic “F” on anything that you plagiarize in this class, though if I could penalize you more, I would.

If you have a difficult time understanding how to organize your paper, what to write about, or even what the question asks; that’s why I am here.  I welcome the opportunity to discuss ideas with you in my office hours or via email, and really want you to understand the things that we cover in the course.  If you are confused, seek to clarify your confusion rather than to commit fraud to get around it.  I welcome the opportunity to make things easier for you to understand.  That is why I have office hours.  Come and see me and we can set you on the right track as to how to write your papers.

Even though I make very clear the importance of submitting your own work, each semester I catch several students plagiarizing.  I know the websites, I know how to track things down, so chances are I will catch you if you try to cheat. Be therefore warned. If you plagiarize you will suffer the consequences.

 

Withdrawal Date:  Students wishing to withdraw must notify the Registrar’s Office by completing a Petition for Course Drop.  The last date to withdraw for this semester is:  April 6, 2017.

 

Part C - Course Organization and Reading Schedule

 

Schedule:  You’ll find the schedule under the “Modules” tab in Canvas. The schedule is subject to change, and it is up to the student to keep themselves aware of any changes.  Also, it is expected that you have read the material before the discussion date.  That is, if we are discussing a certain philosopher on a given day, I expect that you have already read the material when you show up for that day, and you may be quizzed on it. 

 

Notice:  You are being assigned one movie to view on your own.  It is available at the NCTC library, most public libraries, as well as Netflix and other online services.  It is YOUR responsibility to obtain the movies there, or through some other means.  Do not put this off, if you wait until the last minute, you will not be able to see them, and any possible assignments will thus be adversely affected.

 

Other Pertinent Information about Preparing for Philosophy:  If you are unfamiliar with philosophy, it is going to be different than any other class you’ve taken.  And, since it is on line, it might be even more challenging.  The essence of philosophy is to question things (often things that we simply accept as true because we’ve been habituated to accept things uncritically) and to construct rational and reasoned accounts for the nature of things in question.  As a result, you may find the readings to be rather difficult, for they will lack “factual” quality of other disciplines.  So if you like to have a sense of certainty, you may find yourself confused and frustrated-but don’t despair.  You may also find the readings difficult and have to read them a couple times to understand what’s being argued.  This is to be expected.  Do not worry.  I hope that you will use class time to sort out the confusions that you have encountered in your reading by asking questions. 

            I encourage you to budget out your reading time throughout the week.  It is best to try to do it in small chunks of no more than 45 minutes or so and avoid last minute reading marathons.  If you try to skim through this material you will not make sense of it.  Most of our readings will present and follow out an argument.  You have to follow the argument in order to understand the reading:  that is the point of philosophy.  The conclusions are easier to simply accept, but the point is to understand WHY a conclusion is made.  So, I will be available via email for your questions at any time during the week.  I check my email daily and will get back to you within 24 hours (though maybe not on weekends) if you have a question about what you encounter in your reading.

            Beware of the internet, even though this is an online course.  There are all kinds of sites that can claim to help you out, but many are run by charlatans, or deal with things beyond our scope.  We will be looking at tiny slices of what a given philosopher has written, so whatever you find on the internet on, say Plato, may have no bearing on what we are focusing on in class.  I encourage you to either email me with questions or to talk to your peers.  Discussing philosophy will help you greatly in your understanding of it.

            Finally, make sure that when you read you are alone and in a quiet place.  Newspapers, magazines and some textbooks can be mulled over in noisy and crowded places.  Our material cannot.  Carve out bits of time to read wherein you are free from the telly, internet, phones, other people etc.  This alone will greatly aid your ability to understand what you read.

     Lastly, remember that philosophy is the art of living.  The point of our encounters is not to get you a job, but to help you understand yourself and your world!

 

 

Part D – Advice on How to Do Well in This Course

 

Course:  The point of the course is to help you understand what you read.  Presumably you are literate enough to read a text book.  But, this is no ordinary text book.  It really takes a guide to help you navigate and analyze the material so that you understand.  That is what the purpose of the course is.  The readings are generally organized like an argument, and I will move through the passage hitting the high points of the argument in my “video lectures” so that you can see how the “facts” are connected or how the parts relate to the whole. I have anticipated parts of the readings which are likely to need some explanation.  If you rely solely on the lectures, you will not be able to make sense of things however.  In order to get a grasp of things you must read first, then watch the lectures.  It is this simple.  I strongly encourage you to ask questions in the Informal Discussions if you are unclear on something.  That is what they are for.  The point of the lecture is that you understand the readings and what they are explaining.  Philosophy is not the kind of subject where you remember facts and spit them back.  This is about UNDERSTANDING abstract ideas.  The class is where you should make sure you understand.

 

Readings:  The things that you will encounter in this class may be quite different from the kind you read in other classes.  They will likely be rather abstract to you at first, and will require a high level of ability as well as the ability to look things up on your own.  The readings can be challenging and unfamiliar because philosophy does not accept any presuppositions – everything must be proven.  Remember that in every case the author is demonstrating a point; that is, he is arguing a perspective.  The overall “opinion” of the author is often quite simple, and he could just come out and give it to you in a few sentences.  But, philosophy is geared to providing proofs and explanations of things, not merely accepting what other people say.  For example, in Psychology you might be told that there are certain personality types, and you must simply accept this.  In Philosophy we will always question WHY something is the case, and so we end up actually knowing very little at the end of the day.  This is why it might seem that what you are reading is pointless.  But have faith, it’s not pointless, you may not be used to thinking in a deeply critical way.  You must be patient, and keep an open mind, and it will make sense.  Also, the way you read might need to change.  These readings demand your undivided attention.  You cannot skim through them on your way to class, or read in front of the telly or while IM’ing your friends.  You need to set aside a block of time to have no interruptions and be totally present to the works.  That is the way you will understand them. 

 

Reading Quizzes:  The Reading Quizzes (RQ) will be multiple choice or short answer, and will be from the readings in the text and the handouts and other assignments. They will be open book but will be timed.  If you want to do well on them, YOU MUST READ THE TEXT, and be familiar with it.  They will be quite literal to the text and ask you “factual” questions that do not necessitate your understanding things perfectly, but that you have a sense of the reading.  You will have 15 minutes to do 10 questions. Hence, if you have not read the material, it will be very difficult to finish the quiz.  If you miss the quizzes, you cannot make them up.  Hence, attendance is crucial.

 

Concluding Essays:  You will be asked to write short essays of about 2 – 3 pages which will test your understanding of a given topic after you have read and been lectured on it.  The intent of these papers is to see how well you have read, listened and tried to understand the unit and the thinkers presented in it. Since they are “after the fact,” and are given at the end of a topic, they encourage you to keep with the topic and continue to struggle to understand it, even after you have read it.  These papers will be graded on both style and content.  The former will include things like how well it reads, how clear it is, and whether it is organized and structured.  The latter is basically how well you engage the text.  The point of my lectures is to explicate the text, and these papers are always about an issue in the text.  The best answers will rely on, and use the text, rather than my lectures.

 

Discussion Boards:  A great way to help you understand this stuff is to talk about it. 

 

How to Get an A in this Philosophy Class

 

            Your grade in this class is, of course, up to you.  Below is a rough guide about how much effort you will need to expend to get whatever grade you want.  The key to an A is in understanding what you read.  Reading and asking questions until you UNDERSTAND is the “secret” to doing well in this class.  A good memory, which is often the key to other classes, will not necessarily save you here.  But, to understand the ideas that you are presented with does take some effort.  Many people who say “it’s hard” or, “it’s confusing” use these as reasons to stop trying because they really don’t care enough to make themselves understand.  So, first you must commit yourself to wanting to understand; then you must take steps to make sure you understand, and then you must discuss what you understand to test that you actually do understand it.  It’s actually quite simple…but not easy!

 

A: If you want an A in this class it is really as simple as applying yourself.   As stated above, to get an A, you will make sure that you understand what you read and will also follow the expectations on the papers.  In the first case, this means reading the text UNTIL YOU UNDERSTAND IT, not merely eyeballing the pages.  This means that you will need to set aside quiet reading time and truly focus on the ideas.  You will also attend classes regularly, but will also be engaged in them.  Often, students attend regularly but spend their time texting their friends, sleeping, doing homework for other classes, etc., and so gain nothing.  If you are engaged in the textual material you will recognize things on the test from the text book, so you will do well.  Your posts on the Discussion Boards will be scholarly, thoughtful and on time. When it comes to written work, you will make sure to follow my guidelines if you want an A.  I will give you exact specifications as to how I want your papers organized, what to avoid, what style to use etc.  To get A’s on your papers, you will follow the guidelines I give you, read the advice I provide you, and you will edit your work to make sure that it meets my standards.  It is up to you to do these things.  If you care enough to ask, I am of great help to you in both of these areas (writing papers and understanding the text), and welcome the opportunity to assist you in office hours.

 

B: If you are happy with a B, you can be a bit less involved in the course than those seeking an A.  That is, you will still need to read the material from the text, but you may only understand some of it, or understand most of it superficially.  You won’t be too interested the course, for whatever reasons, and will rely more on my lectures than the text for your understanding, you will assume that my lecturing is enough to get you by.  That is why you won’t do as well on the tests and papers as those who actually read the text book.  But, it is still possible to pass, because the tests are geared so that even if you don’t understand absolutely everything, you can still pass.  Also, you will not take to heart all the info I give you on how to write your essays, so your papers will tend to be summaries of your notes or sections of the text.  Usually people who summarize the chapters in the text (after I explicitly state not to do this in the paper expectations) do so because they are unfamiliar with the material and cannot apply the ideas to the essay prompt that I give.  You will tend not to make sure that your work is in keeping with my standards, but will link it to your own standards.  But, again, if done well, you can still pull off B’s if your papers make sense and do reflect the use of the text.

 

C:  To obtain a C, one has to not really care much about this course.  You will likely not read and might miss some of the Quizzes, Discussion Boards or Essays.  You will be confused, and stop at being confused without taking the steps to seek clarity of understanding.  Often, people tend to blame the philosophers or myself for their lack of clarity in understanding; this is an important thing to avoid! (not just here, but in life – understanding is up to you, I can only facilitate)  But, if you do choose to make excuses for not understanding, it is still possible for you to at least pass the class.  But, since you don’t want to make sure you understand things, you will be bewildered on the tests, and not be able to see the difference between the available choices.  It will be a confusing sameness to you and you will guess at the answers.  This lack of attentiveness will be reflected in your written work as well.  Generally, a C paper is one that is a superficial or inaccurate summary of certain points in the text, or your own notes (or lack thereof).  A C paper is one that does not analyze the question given you in the prompt and does not apply a good understanding of the text to that question.  It simply puts something on paper, without a deeper purpose.  The C grade demonstrates that you have done a minimum of work to understand and don’t really get what’s going on, but you will have some idea of central themes.

 

D: To get a D in this class, you will have to take it quite lightly.  This may be in the form of missing tests or not turning in papers, both of which are related to not caring much.  You will likely not read the text at all, and will do the bare minimum in Discussions, or not do them at all.  You will assume this stuff is just a bunch of opinions and believe that you can skate by because you have your own opinions.  You will do poorly on the tests because you won’t recognize what the questions are referring to.  Your written work will show a lack of effort, either to find out what is expected, or to understand and apply the ideas you are responsible for.  You will do the bare minimum to get a credit.

 

F: To get an F, you will have stopped attending and not dropped, plagiarized one of your papers, or really don’t care at all.  An F means you have done no work to understand anything, and have turned in shoddy or stolen papers.

 

NOTE

            If you have read this, you might notice that in order to get a good grade in this course, it is important to UNDERSTAND.  Some people are naturally good readers and good thinkers and will more easily grasp the text than others.  But, if you are not in this category and need a bit more to understand this stuff (like me!) you are hardly left out in the cold.  Philosophy is often difficult stuff, because it is abstract and unfamiliar.  But, you CAN understand it; it’s just a question of how much effort you wish to expend in order to understand.  To do so, follow this pattern:

• Read the stuff through to get an overall picture, even if you don’t get everything
• Read the stuff again – this is key!  This is where you make yourself understand – and the second time, underline confusing parts
• Look up words you don’t know either in the glossary, or a dictionary – or ask me
• Come to class with your questions and confusions, and ASK for clarity.  Point out the specific difficulties you have
• See me in office hours.  I want to help those who care, and sometimes, simply coming at an idea from a different perspective or in a non-class setting will help you to understand.

Either way, it’s all up to you!  There are no extra projects.  This is the road map to success, you can either chose to follow it, or not – it’s up to you. 

 

Part E – Institutional Information:

 

Student Rights & Responsibilities NCTC Board policy FLB (Local) Student Rights and Responsibilities states that each student shall be charged with notice and knowledge of the contents and provisions of the rules and regulations concerning student conduct.  These rules and regulations are published in the Student Handbook published in conjunction with the College Catalog.    Scholastic Integrity Scholastic dishonesty shall constitute a violation of college rules and regulations and is punishable as prescribed by Board policies. Scholastic dishonesty shall include, but not be limited to cheating on a test, plagiarism, and collusion.  See the Student Handbook for more information.

 

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