NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COLLEGE COURSE SYLLABUS M / W  12  –  1:20 pm   FLM  Room #207

 

Course Title: Introduction to Ethics
Course Prefix & Number: PHIL 2306	Section Number:  500	Sem:  Fall  2021
Semester Credit Hours: 3	Lecture Hours: 3	Lab Hours: 0
Course Description (NCTC Catalog): The systematic evaluation of classical and/or contemporary ethical theories concerning the good life, human conduct in society, morals, and standards of value.
Course Prerequisite(s): None
REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS: *Michael Morgan.  Classics of Moral and Political Theory.  5th edition.  Hackett Publishing Company.  ISBN #13-978-1-60384-442-0.    In addition, there are 2 films you will be expected to watch ONLINE:  Planet of the Apes (Franklin Schaffner, 1968) AND The Fountainhead (King Vidor, 1949). These can be viewed online in CANVAS for free (under “STUDIO”).  You can also view at Amazon Instant Video OR Youtube for a few dollars ($).    *It is highly recommended that you buy/rent a PHYSICAL book.  That way, you can make notes and highlight important passages.  E-versions do not contain the correct pagination.  USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!

 

INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

Name of Instructor:	Mark Thompson
Campus/Office Location:	Room #107 (Office Hours: Mon. and Wed.  3 – 4:00 pm); online hours [emails]: M / W  10 – 11:00 am)
Telephone Number:	--------------------- (use email)
E-mail Address:	USE CANVAS  or   mthompson@nctc.edu

 

GRADING CRITERIA

# of Graded Course Elements	Graded Course Elements	Percentage or Point Values
daily	In-Class Assignments /  Attendance	10% (100 pts)
5*	Textbook Quizzes*	16% (160 pts)
2	Movie-Reflection Essays	34% (340 pts)
2	Online Exams	40% (400 pts)

*Lowest grade will be dropped

 

 

 

 

 

COURSE PROMISES:  This course is a journey (should you accept it) that will reveal why people behave the way they do; it will help answer why people believe in certain ethical ideas and how those beliefs lead to actions and habits; you will learn how to identity common assumptions and foundations that people utilize to understand what is “right” and “wrong” as they live out their lives on planet earth; you will discover why you are the person you are today, allowing for a more fulfilling human existence.

 

 

NOTE ON ATTENDANCE and ABSENCES:  Attendance composes 10% of your overall grade.  This includes any in-class assignments.  Each day is worth 2 pts (plus any additional in-class assignments; these particular assignments CANNOT be made up).  Students who arrive 20 or more minutes after the start of class will be considered partially absent for that day (1 pt. deduction), as will students who leave early.  As we have only 27 total class meetings, attendance, bodily participation, and reading are all crucial components for this class.  Without coming to class, you will struggle to understand the key concepts, ideas, and points regarding the philosophers we read.   

 

NOTE ON COMMUNICATION WITH YOUR PROFESSOR:  You must use your NCTC-based email (either CANVAS or your @nctc.edu email account) to communicate with me.  Due to legal reasons, I CANNOT CONVERSE WITH YOU USING PERSONAL EMAILS!!!

 

 

During the week (Monday – Thursday), my policy is to respond to emails within 24 hours.  During the weekend (Friday – Sunday) and on holidays, I generally do not check work email, so an email sent to me on those days/times might require a few days before getting a response.  IF ONE IS NEEDING A QUICK RESPONSE, TRY THE ONLINE HOURS (Mon. and Wed. 10 -11:00 am via email).  Better yet, come talk to me (in person!).

 

FAQ

 

1. For individual quizzes, you will post answers to multiple-choice questions online in CANVAS about the assigned text pgs. (under “Quizzes”; see CALENDAR for time and due dates).  THIS IS A TIMED QUIZ!  YOU WILL HAVE 12 MIN. TO COMPLETE ANYWHERE FROM 6-8 MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS.  DO NOT START UNTIL YOU HAVE READ THE ASSIGNED MATERIAL/TEXTBOOK PGS.  The aim of these quizzes is to ensure that you have read and understood the assigned material.    

 

2. The Online Exams are taken online (under “Discussions”).  These will usually open during the last week of each unit.  You will have 3-4 days to complete and is an open-note and -book exam; it is hoped that this will alleviate any “test anxiety” that you may be prone to.  It is important to periodically check your syllabus to know what assignment/exam is approaching (and its due date).  This is a responsibility of the student, although the professor will provide helpful reminders.  When in doubt, consult your syllabus schedule.  Reduce unnecessary stress!!!

 

 

             

 

 HOW TO SUCCEED IN THIS CLASS:

 

• While in class, it is highly recommended that you turn off (and leave off) your cell phone.  When studying/reading the textbook, turn off your phone/computer—or better yet, place these items in a different room; the spatial arrangement of your study area can significantly determine your brain’s ability to concentrate for extended periods of time.  If you don’t believe me, I would recommend reading Nicholas Carr’s enlightening The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains (New York: Norton, 2010).  You can also watch a short interview with the author here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tqRMbg7MPc  Better yet, ask yourself after 5 minutes what you’re thinking of as you attempt to read your textbook for an uninterrupted hour:  Emails? Headline news? Sports scores?    
• Don’t think of your engagement with the textbook as a “forced exercise” or an “assignment I have to do” for “school.” Instead, view this moment as an opportunity to converse with the dead; in essence, you’re conjuring the ghost of Aristotle/Nietzsche, etc. and seeking advice/knowledge about this crazy world we all inhabit (and in their case, have inhabited).
• After completing the readings, assignments, and exams, think about the level of comprehension and the actual grade you projected to obtain.  Was it accurate?  If not, come talk to the professor, bringing your notes and textbook so you can display what kind of notes you are taking during class.  It’s no use expecting different results by doing the same thing over and over: learn from your experiences.

 

 

Last day to withdraw from a course with a “W” is  Monday, Nov. 1st.

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.

 

Students are expected to follow all rules and regulations found in the student handbook. https://www.nctc.edu/_documents/academics/student-handbook.pdf

 

Name of Chair/Coordinator:	Crystal R.M. Wright
Office Location:	Gainesville Campus, Room 824
Telephone Number:	940-668-7731, ext. 4320
E-mail Address:	cwright@nctc.edu
Name of Instructional Dean:	Sara Flusche
Office Location:	Gainesville Campus, 1300 Building, Room 1312
Telephone Number:	sflusche@nctc.edu
E-mail Address:	940-668-3351

 

 

CALENDAR

 

                    Instructor reserves the right to alter schedule at ANY time. 

 

 

֎ONLINE EXAM and MOVIE-ESSAY Due Dates to Remember (each due by 11:30 am, before class on Monday):  Exam #1 (Monday; 11: 30 am) 9/27;  Movie Essay #1 Due (Mon) 10/25; Exam #2 Due (Mon) 11/15; Movie Essay #2 Due TBA

        UNIT 1:  ANCIENT ETHICS (“How to be virtuous”)

AUG.  

M (23rd)                      INTRODUCTION;  DISCUSS SYLLABUS

 

 

W (25th)                      Discuss HAND OUT (have read before class) “Ethics: Thou Shalt Become Perfected” by Donald Palmer         

 

 

M (30th)                      LECTURE:  “Virtue and Wisdom in Ancient China”

 

 

SEPT.

W (1st)                        Discuss HAND OUT on CANVAS (“Files”): Analects  by Confucius

 

 

M (6th)                                      LABOR DAY (no class)

 

 

 

W (8^th)                         LECTURE:  “Virtue Ethics in Ancient Greece/Rome”

 

 

M (13th)                      QUIZ #1 DUE: 11:30 am (before class; go to “Quizzes” in CANVAS): (have read) Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, pgs. 252-260 (Books I [Ch. 1-7])

 

 

W (15th)                      “          “          “          “

 

 

M (20th)                      Discuss: (have read) Epictetus, Encheiridion, pgs. 428-433.

 

 

W (22nd)                     “          “          “          “

 

 

֎ Reminder:  1^st ONLINE EXAM DUE MON. 9/27 at 11: 30 am

 

Be sure to watch Planet of the Apes  over the weekend (We will discuss on Monday).  USE STUDY GUIDE UNDER “FILES” TO HELP MAKE NOTES WHEN WATCHING

 

 

          UNIT 2: HUMAN NATURE(“What am I able to do morally as a human?”)

 

 

M (27th)          EXAM #1 DUE BY 11:30 am; Discuss: (have watched) Planet of the Apes

 

 

W (29th)          QUIZ #2 DUE: 11:30 am (before class; go to “Quizzes” in CANVAS): (have read) Hobbes, Leviathan, pgs. 575-76; 593-97 [Ch. 6]; 618-625 [Ch. 13]

                                   

OCT.

M (4th)                        “          “          “          “ 

                                    

 

W (6th)                        LECTURE:  “The Enlightenment and Moral Autonomy”

 

                                   

 

M (11th)                      Discuss: (have read) Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals  pgs. 942--959

                                                            

                                   

 

W (13th)                      “          “          “          “

 

 

M  (18th)                     QUIZ #3 DUE: 11:30 am (before class; go to “Quizzes” in CANVAS): (have read) Huxley,  Evolution and Ethics

 

 

W (20th)                      “          “          “          “

 

MOVIE ESSAY #1 DUE MONDAY (10/25) at 11:30 am; Upload to link in CANVAS ([Under “Assignments”])  

 

 

UNIT 3:  OBJECTIVE MORALITY or SUBJECTIVE VALUES ?

 

M (25th)                      MOVIE ESSAY #1 DUE BY 11:30 am;                                       

   LECTURE:  “Nietzsche and the ‘Will to Power’”

 

 

                                   

W (27th)                      QUIZ #4 DUE: 11:30 am (before class; go to “Quizzes” in CANVAS): (have read)  (have read) Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morality, pgs. 1214-1215; 1271-1276 [2nd Treatise, secs. 1-6]; 1284-89 [secs. 16-23]

 

NOV.

M (1st)                        “         “          “          “         

 

 

 

W (3rd)                       LECTURE:  “Moral Intuitionism and Emotivism

 

                                               

 

M (8^th)                         Discuss: (have read) HAND OUT on CANVAS,  excerpts from Mere Christianity and The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis

 

 

W (10th)                      “          “          “          “

 

 

֎ Reminder:  2^nd ONLINE EXAM DUE MON. 11/15 at 11: 30 am

 

 

M (15th)                      EXAM #2 DUE BY 11:30 am; LECTURE:  “Mill and Nineteenth-Century Liberalism 

                                       

 

 

W (17th)                      Discuss: (have read) Mill, Utilitarianism, pgs. 1008-1009; 1069-1072; 1086-1089 [Ch. 4]

 

 

 

M (22nd)                     QUIZ #5 DUE: 11:30 am (before class; go to “Quizzes” in CANVAS): (have read)  HANDOUT on CANVAS, Rand, “Ethics of Objectivism”

 

 

W (24th)                                 THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY (no class)

 

 

M (29^th)                       LECTURE:  “Ayn Rand and American Capitalism”   

 

 

DEC.

W (1st)                        “          “          “          “

 

 

 

 

FINAL EXAM WEEK:  MOVIE ESSAY #2 DUE (Date/Time to be Announced Later)

 

 

 

 

ADDITIONAL HELPFUL INFORMATION:

 

COVID-19 Specific Syllabi Statements Fall 2021

 

Syllabi statement regarding potential Conversion of Onsite Classes to Online/Remote Format: North Central Texas College students should be aware that in the event of a college closure due to COVID-19 or other health related crisis, onsite classes will be converted to an online/remote format. Students should plan ahead to ensure they have access to the computer equipment (either PC, MAC, or tablet), webcam, and internet connectivity to continue their classes in an online/remote format. Please read all your official North Central Texas College student emails as the transition from onsite to online/remote might require a reorganization in your personal situation. Students will be granted a 72-hour transition and grace period. Online classes will continue as scheduled without disruption. Contact your Instructor as the situation arises. These policies and procedures were updated on July 27, 2021 and are subject to change as conditions change.

 

Syllabi Statement Regarding Face Coverings: Per the North Central Texas College guidance on face coverings on campus, in the instructional setting, faculty and students are NOT required to wear face coverings, such as masks or face shields. In May, Texas Governor Gregg Abbott released an Executive Order prohibiting Government entities from mandating the use of masks. As a political subdivision of the State of Texas, NCTC will follow the Governor’s Executive Order for Government entities and effective immediately NCTC is no longer mandating the use of masks while on campus. This order does not mean that you cannot choose to wear a mask, rather it is no longer allowed to be mandated. These policies and procedures were updated on May 19, 2021 and are subject to change.

 

Return to Standard Attendance Protocol for Face-to-Face Meetings: In spring 2020, we faced an unprecedented situation in which all of us had to be flexible and make prudent decisions in the best interest of our families, our campus, and our community. In light of this, North Central Texas College is temporarily establishing the requirement that faculty keep records of student attendance for face-to-face course meetings as well as a documented seating chart. In addition, students who are sick or need to quarantine should not attend classes. Students will NOT be required to provide formal documentation from a health care provider and will NOT be penalized for COVID-19 related absences when proper notification to campus health officials is made in accordance with the guidelines stated below.

 

Faculty will:

 

• Notify students about important course information and delivery changes through Canvas and campus email.

 

Students should:

• Provide notification to campus officials if they have tested positive for COVID-19 or have to quarantine so we can confirm reported absence with instructors, monitor, and assist the campus community.
• Notify instructors in advance of the absence.
• Connect with that class through Webex if the class session is being transmitted in a hybrid fashion.
• Keep up with and/or make up missed classwork or assignments.
• Submit assignments digitally through Canvas or other means as announced by your instructor.
• Work with their instructors to reschedule exams, labs, and other critical academic activities described in the course syllabus.
• Check Canvas and campus email daily to receive important announcements pertaining to the course.

During the fall 2021 semester, faculty with face-to-face meetings will establish assigned seating/work stations to facilitate roll-taking, and, if necessary, contact tracing. Additionally, we ask all members of the College community to be attentive to their health, and safeguard others, by following the CDC’s guideline to “stay home when you are sick.” You should stay home if you have symptoms. More information on what to do if you are sick is available at the CDC’s website.

Additional NCTC information is available at http://www.nctc.edu/coronavirus/index.html

 

 

 

 

• Frequently Asked Questions-all you need to know as a new or continuing student

 

Affinity Groups

Staff and faculty representing the Employee Resource Groups (ERG’s), along with academic advisors, counselors and success coaches, serve as mentors for NCTC’s student-centered ​Affinity Groups​.

An ​Affinity Group​ is a population of students who have specific needs, barriers or systems they are needing to navigate not only within college, but within life. Providing mentorship, support and resources for identified Affinity Groups such as Black/African American students, veterans and active military, single parents, students with disabilities, adult learners, Latinx, LGBTQ+ and students who have experienced foster care and/or homelessness, enables us to make more impactful, meaningful connections with students who are in dire need of equity and understanding.

 

Career Services Center

In need of employment? NCTC Career Coaches meet one-on-one to provide training in writing resumes, job searches, interviewing, and more. The Skills to Succeed Academy is also a free interactive, online employability training program focused on building the skills and confidence you need to find the best career.

 

Completion Center

The Completion Center provides a variety of services for first-time in college students. These include academic success coaching, goal setting, course planning, student resources, career development, and job placement services for all new college students. Free online Success Seminars are also available through Student Lingo and new students will also enroll in a First Year Experience (NCTC 1001) course to get started on the right track!

 

 

 

Counseling and Advising

Academic Advisors and Counselors help students explore majors and programs offered, how to take the best combination of classes to meet your goals, assist with questions related to university transfer, and guide students towards academic and personal success, and more. At NCTC, you are assigned to a specific advisor or success coach based on your major or career interests. You can locate our advisors and their majors, along with contact information on the Meet Your Advisor page-and even schedule an appointment with them through their online calendar!

 

Early Alert and CARES

The NCTC Early Alert program assists students who are at risk of failing or withdrawing from a course. Faculty and staff may refer students through the Early Alert process at any point in the semester in an effort to provide appropriate intervention and access to support services. Examples of behaviors that could prompt an Early Alert referral could be missing assignments, failing tests, excessive absences, or personal circumstances impacting academic performance. A student submitted as an Early Alert will be contacted by an academic advisor or success coach through text, phone, and/or via their NCTC e-mail address to discuss any current challenges as well as helpful resources and success strategies-we want our students to finish strong and know that education is a partnership!

 

The NCTC CARES Team is concerned not only about our students' academic success, but also their emotional and physical well-being. As a student, you have the ability to report concerning behavior which could impact your own safety or the safety of another NCTC student, such as stalking, harassment, physical or emotional abuse, violent or threatening behavior, or self-harm. Visit the NCTC CARES site to also locate campus and community resources, or email counseling@nctc.edu.  As always, if you feel there is an immediate threat to your own safety or welfare (or to another student), please call 911 immediately.

 

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)

EDI partners with the entire campus community to create, maintain and demonstrate NCTC’s commitment to an equitable, diverse and inclusive learning environment where NCTC students succeed. NCTC defines equity as encompassing the practice of acknowledging individual differences and systemic disparities when developing new programs and resources for our campus community, which may sometimes challenge our own beliefs and assumptions, in order to ensure balanced educational opportunities toward completion. Everyone Included. Everyone Belongs. Everyone Valued. Everyone Inspired.