NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COLLEGE COURSE SYLLABUS

 

Course Title:	Introduction to Philosophy
Course Prefix & Number:		PHIL1301	Section Number:	406 500	Semester/Year:	Fall 2018
Semester Credit Hours:		3	Lecture Hours:	3	Lab Hours:	0
Course Description (NCTC Catalog): A study of major issues in philosophy and/or the work of major philosophical figures in philosophy.  Topics in philosophy may include theories of reality, theories of knowledge, theories of value, and their practical applications.
Course Prerequisite(s): None
Required Course Materials: Cahn. Classics of Western Philosophy. 9th edition.  Hackett Publishing. ISBN 9781603847438

 

INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

Name of Instructor:	Heather Williams
Campus/Office Location:	Corinth/ Flower Mound Campuses
Telephone Number:	817-578-1176
E-mail Address:	hwilliams@nctc.edu

 

OFFICE HOURS

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
	2 p.m-3 p.m.		2 p.m.-3 p.m.

 

 

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES (From Academic Course Guide Manual/Workforce Education Course Manual/NCTC Catalog

At the successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
	Read, analyze, and critique philosophical texts.
	Demonstrate knowledge of key concepts, major arguments, problems, and terminology in philosophy.
	Present logically persuasive arguments both orally and in writing.
	Demonstrate critical thinking skills in evaluation an application of philosophical concepts to various aspects of life.
	Evaluate the personal and social responsibilities of living in a diverse world.

 

 

 

 

 

GRADING CRITERIA

# of Graded Course Elements	Graded Course Elements	Percentage or Point Values
25	Investigative Report Project	100
25	Test 1	100
30	Test 2 (Final Exam(	100
20	Attendance/Discussion	100

 

COURSE SUBJECT OUTLINE (Major Assignments, Due Dates, and Grading Criteria)

 

Attendance (10%) You are expected to be on time and attend every class.   Excessive absences will lower your grade.  Owing to the contingencies of life, you are permitted 4 absences, after which each subsequent absence will lower your final grade by one letter grade. If you are absent, there is no need for documentation explaining the absence- all absences will be treated the same (no difference between “excused” or “unexcused” absences).  If you do not stay for the entirety of class, you will be counted absent. During the summer this is of particular importance as every day will be very in depth to cover our materials in time.

 

Group Online Discussion (15%): Weekly Discussion boards online, I will post asking a question for that week and you are expected to contribute at least one posting on each question. In addition, you must respond to at least one other posting made by another student. This ends up being a total of two postings for each week (not each class, each total week). I will provide more than one question for each week, extra postings are encouraged.

 

 The requirements are as follows

1)  your response must discuss the course material and provide evidence for the view you agree, or disagree with. Evidence is defined by providing reasons, that you can clearly state and provide a citation for your reasoning from the text. For example, if I state that “Aristotle believes…..____” I must provide the area where the author has stated that belief.

 

2) Citations must be done in MLA format, search for MLA online and there  are free  resources for you to use. Please use Times New Roman Font for all postings, and at least 12 point in sizing.

 

Mid-Term Online Exam (20%) The midterm exam will cover the assigned content and readings from the first six weeks of the term as well as lecture content. It will be taken in person and the grades posted a week from the date of the exam.

 

Research paper (25%) You are expected to write a short Research Paper in the form of a critical review, and explanation of one  of three selected research questions that I will post online for your to select from. Your research is meant to be done independently and the writing resouces at Tarrant County would be every helpful for you to utilize.

 

Final Exam (30%) The final exam will cover the content and readings assigned after the mid-term; the final exam is not cumulative for the entire semester. It is online, each student has four hours to complete the exam. Due by 11 p.m. 8/10 no exceptions.

 

Grading policy: this course is graded according to the requirements specified and weighted above. Letter and numerical grades are translatable on the following scale:

 

A = 90%+

B = 80-89%

C = 70-79%

D = 60-69%

F = 0-59%

 

Classroom Policies:

 

Late Assignment Policy: Late papers, exams and homework will not be accepted.  

 

Missed Exam Policy: If you know in advance expected absences for religious observances or other reasons, please make arrangements with your professor before the exam date.

 

Classroom Behavior: Respect must be shown for both the instructor and your fellow classmates at all times. This includes being on time for class, not leaving early, having your phone on silent (or off), refraining from disrespectful comments in online discussion, and any other actions that may be distracting to the instructor or the class. Any disruptive, rude, or inappropriate behavior can and will result in grade penalizations and the loss of a daily attendance grade. I understand everyone has bad days, but inappropriate comments will be accepted from anyone.

 

Class Cancellation: In the event of class being cancelled (either in the event of the university closing or just a particular meeting of this class being cancelled), you should assume that any readings, assignments, or exams due on the day class is cancelled will instead be due at the next scheduled class meeting. Any necessary adjustments to the schedule will be announced at the next regular class meeting and posted on Blackboard.

 

Schedule: Fall 2018

 

Week 1
	Introduction to Course	The Importance of Asking Questions. “Why do we use the Socratic Method? And What is it?”
	Getting underway: The Myth of the Cave	Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, and the Theory of the Forms, reading section 1.1 in text.
Week 2	Types of Knowledge: Epistemology, Metaphysics, and Ethics.	Divisions of Knowledge in Philosophy section 1.2
	A Philosopher  in Action: Living a Just Life.	Socrates Life, and his ethical actions towards society, reading section 1.3.
Week 3	Human Nature, Hobbes and “Psychological Egoism”.	Section 2.1 and 2.2. Defining Human Nature and Rationalism “Reason as Self”
	Human Nature continued “Immaterial, and Immortal Soul”	Section 2.2 continued, Thomas Aquinas and Saint Augustine.
Week 4	The “Mind-Body” Problem.	“Are you, your brain?” “Are you, your behavior?” “Are you, what you do?” Section 2.3
	Is There an Enduring Self?	Section 2.3 the changing mind over time and what makes up the Self. Do we have a “consistent self”?
Week 5	Are We Independent and Self-Sufficient?	“Atomism” or the problem of independence of Self.
	Defining and Understanding the ideas of female, and male.	Section 2.6 in text, Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”.
Week 6	Plato, Aristotle, and Confucius.	Section 2.7. Write five questions concerning this reading to bring to class for the next week.
	Continuing Plato, Aristotle, and Confucius.	Discussing questions presented by students and understanding the differing view of the ancients.
Week 7	Reality, Non-Reality, and the Problem of Being.	Sections 3.1-3.2 in text.
	Freedom, or the lack of it.	Section 3.6 class assignment, pairing up into teams to discuss Freedom as Reality, or Freedom  as Impossible.
Week 8	Review	Review for Midterm: Bring questions to ask and discuss concepts in detail.
	Midterm	Midterm. In person exam grades to be posted by a week after the date of the exam online.
Week 9	Significance of Religion: A part of Philosophy, yet not completely of it.	Section 4.1 Defining Religion, and  how it fits into Philosophy.
	Does God Exist?	Section 4.2 St. Anselm. The Ontological Argument for the existence of God
Week 10	Dealing With Problem of Evil.	Section 4.3 in text Atheism, Agnosticism.
	Traditional Religious Belief and  Experience.	Section 4.4 “The  Will to Believe”
Week 11	Non-Traditional Religious Experience	Section 4.5 Radical Religious Experience, Kierkegaard, Feminist Theology.
	Non-Traditional Religious Experience	Continued Section 4.5 Easter Religious Traditions. Hinduism, and Buddhism.
	The Problem of Knowledge	Section 5.1 “Why is Knowledge a Problem?”
Week 12	Reason as the Source of Knowledge.	Section 5.2 the Issues with Perception, and Reality. Descartes Doubt and Reason.     Thesis for Research Paper Due submitted online at 11 p.m.
	The Senses, and Knowledge.	Sections 5.3 John Locke and Empiricism.
Week 13	What is evidence exactly? What are the requirements for it?	Knowledge and evidence, contemporary article research psychology of “blowback effect”.
	The Senses, and Categorical Knowledge.	Section 5.4 Kant how Knowing shapes the world.
Week 14	Does Science give us Knowledge?	Section 5.5 focus on reading selection by Ambrose Bierce “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” for in class discussion.
	Ethics, How do we put it all together?	Section 7.1 understanding what makes up morality, and how we determine what  is right and wrong.
Week 15	Is Ethical Choice Relative?	Section 7.2 Ethical Relativism. “Moral Relativism”.
	Consequences as Right Action: Utilitarianism, versus Machiavellism.	Section 7.3 Consequentialist Theory, versus Egoism.
Week 16	Rules as Morality: An Extension of Kant.	Section 7.4 Divine Law, Moral Law, and Human Societies.   RESEARCH PAPER DUE. ONLINE AT 11 p.m. NO EXCEPTIONS.
	Character Ethics: Aristotle, Plato, and the Ancients.	Section 7.5 Virtue Ethics, “Excellence as a Habit.”
	Moral Quandaries: Abortion, Gay Marriage, and Gun Control.	Section 7.6 What is the “right” decision \ within a democracy?
	Will to Power: Nietzsche and Wollstonecraft.	Section 7.8 Nietzsche “God is Dead”, Wollstonecraft “Reason as the Source of Morality.”
	Social and Political Philosophy: The Connections to the Everyday Life.	Section 8.1 Conservatism, Liberalism, and  Social views on ethical, moral, and knowledge  based claims.
10	Governments, The State, and The People.	Section 8.2. “What Justifies the State and Its Power?”
	Justice within the State.	Section 8.3 “What is Justice?”
	The state as a historical mechanism of oppression and the history of peaceful resistance.	Civil Rights, Women’s Rights, Voting rights, Unions.  What is peaceful demonstration, and what is its place in civic progress?
11	Limits on the State.	Section  8.4 Hobbes, Locke, and political theory.
	Ethics of War.	Section 8.5. Erich Maria Remarque, from “All Quiet on the Western Front” and Bertrand Russell, “The Ethics of War.”
	Social-Political Philosophy: Communism and Rawlsian Social Theory.	Section 8.6 Karl Marx, and Rawls.
	The Meaning of Life: Creating a Purpose through Questioning.	Section 9.1: Class Discussion, what is the basic purpose of Philosophy?  Does it help form a basis for living a better life?
	Review	Looking back over important topics from the class. Go in depth where students have questions, in order to prepare for final exam.
	READING DAY - No class
8/10	FINAL EXAM	Exam Schedule as Posted by NCTC.

 

Regular and punctual attendance is expected of all students in all classes for which they have registered.  All absences are considered to be unauthorized unless the student is absent due to illness or emergencies as determined by the instructor.  It is the student responsibility to provide documentation as to the emergency for approval and judgement by the faculty member.  Approved college sponsored activities are the only absences for which a student should not be held liable and only when provided by a college official ahead of the absence.  Valid reasons for absence, however, do not relieve the student of the responsibility for making up required work.  Students will not be allowed to make up an examination missed due to absence unless they have reasons acceptable to the instructor.  A student who is compelled to be absent when a test is given should petition the instructor, in advance if possible, for permission to postpone the exam.  Student will be dropped from a class by the Registrar upon recommendation of the instructor who feels the student has been justifiably absent or tardy a sufficient number of times to preclude meeting the course’s objectives.    Persistent, unjustified absences from classes or laboratories will be considered sufficient cause for College officials to drop a student from the rolls of the College. From Board Policy FC (LOCAL)

 

The Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) provides support services for students with disabilities, students enrolled in technical areas of study, and students who are classified as special populations (i.e. single parents).

Support services for students with disabilities might include appropriate and reasonable accommodations, or they may be in the form of personal counseling, academic counseling, career counseling, etc.  Furthermore, OSD Counselors work with students to encourage self-advocacy and promote empowerment. The Counselors also provides resource information, disability-related information, and adaptive technology for students who qualify.

For support, please contact the counselors at (940) 498-6207 or (940) 668-4321.  Alternatively, students may stop by Room 170 in Corinth or Room 110 in Gainesville.

 

 

CORE CURRICULUM FOUNDATIONAL COMPONENT AREA (For classes in the Core)_______       

o         Communication

o         Mathematics              

o         Life and Physical Science

X         Language, Philosophy & Culture

o         Creative Arts

 

o         Government/Political Science

o         Social and Behavioral Sciences

o         Component Area Option

o         American History

 

X             Critical Thinking

X              Communication

o           Empirical and Quantitative

 

o           Teamwork

X              Personal Responsibility

X              Social Responsibility

COURSE TYPE

STUDENT HANDBOOK

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY