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PHI 201

I. TITLE: Introduction to Philosophy

II. CATALOG DESCRIPTION:
An introduction to the content and methods of philosophy, with an analysis of topics such as inductive reasoning, relation between mind and body, formulation of value judgments, the concept of knowledge, and nature of the deity.
  Philosophy like science and mathematics transcends culture. All three of these disciplines are seeking truth that is universal (true for all cultures and not opinions that are determined by culture). Philosophy, in contrast to mathematics and science, does asks the question if reason and logic are determined by culture. The other problems listed are central problems discussed in the philosophical tradition.

III. PURPOSE:
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the problems and spirit of philosophy, by reading, studying, and discussing some of the great texts from the history of philosophy.
  The goals of interdisciplinary studies and the application of philosophy to everyday life are met by some of the works of literature to introduce students to philosophical problems. Plato thought this was so important that he wrote philosophy as dialogues.
  Thus the introduction to philosophy is concerned with educating students so they will have many of the characteristics the board of regents has defined as the "Characteristics of the Murray State Graduate":
encourages independent thought through effective writing and oral communication
teaches critical understanding of the philosophical tradition
teaches students to employ sound methods of moral analysis and evaluation
teaches students to apply sound analysis and evaluation to reach logical conclusions

IV. COURSE OBJECTIVES:
This course aims to cultivate the ability of students to recognize, reconstruct, analyze, and evaluate philosophical arguments.  These exercises in higher literacy will be measured via various written assignments: essay exams and short papers.  At the same time students will be learning about some of the perennial issues in ethics, politics, epistemology, metaphysics, and theology.
  The higher literacy skills are the advanced critical thinking skills of argumentative thinking and writing. To build upon the critical writing skills learned in Eng. 101 and 102 is one of the main purposes of this course. The logic skills of recognizing and reconstructing arguments are also essential components of higher literacy. Thus this course has the following general objectives:

It introduces students to fundamental ways of knowing of all academic disciplines
It promotes interdisciplinary understanding by seeking methods and principles common to all academic disciplines.

    Sample Content Outline:

 Unit I: Utopia/Dystopia: Exercises in Philosophical Imagination
  1.  Wells, "The Country of the Blind"
  2.  Abbott, Flatland
  3.  Plato, "The Allegory of the Cave"
  4.  More, Utopia
   (Paper and Exam)
 Unit II: Natural Theology: Inferences and Philosophical Argumentation
  1.  Aquinas, "The Existence of God"
  2.  Pascal, "The Wager"
  3.  Leibniz, "Theodicy Reduced"
  4.  Clarke, "The Star"
  5.  MacLeish, "Dr. Sigmund Freud Discovers the Sea Shell"
  6.  Lewis, "Religion and Rocketry"
   (Paper and Exam)
 Unit III: Socrates: Merely Human Wisdom
  1.  Plato, Crito
  2.  Plato, Apology, with excerpts from the Phaedo
   (Paper)

Assigned Readings: In lectures and discussion of the readings, the professor gives examples of how a book (argumentative essay) should be read: problem of the essay stated clearly, assumptions spelled out, argument reconstructed distinguishing the premises and the conclusion, and implications of the argument discussed.  The criterion for evaluating student's essays and/or exams is these same critical reading and thinking skills stressed in class discussion of the readings.  Thus lectures, discussions of readings, and the active learning by the students--namely writing short papers and essay exams--are designed to meet the objectives of the course listed above under course objectives.

Short Papers: Criteria for grading class papers indicates how this active learning methodology, writing short philosophy papers, is related to the goals and objectives of the course: teaching students to recognize and to evaluate philosophical arguments and to build on the writing skills they have learned in English 101and 102.

VI. CRITERIA FOR GRADING SHORT PAPERS AND ESSAY EXAMS
Since essays and papers is the method of testing students work in philosophy, the department wanted clear and common criteria to judge their work. Thus the department developed criteria to be used in grading essay exams:

"C" LEVEL OF ACCEPTANCE
Essays at this level will need to clearly address the exam question, have a definite focus, be reasonably well-organized and developed, and contain few mechanical errors.  Essays at this level should demonstrate that the student understands the material he has read by developing the overall pattern of argument of the essay and by stating the main issue being discussed by the author of the essay.

"B" LEVEL OF ACCEPTANCE
In addition to all the characteristics attributed to C level essays, essays at this level will clearly address the essay question, have a distinct focus that is maintained consistently throughout the discussion, reflect a tightly organized development appropriate for the purpose.  The essays should contain few mechanical errors and should not contain any serious mechanical errors (for example, sentence fragments).  On the whole, B level essays provide a better interpretation and analysis of the author's position than a C level essay: clarity of explanation of key concepts of the statement of the author's presuppositions, and finally, the student's understanding of the author's over-all argument.

"A" LEVEL OF ACCEPTANCE
In addition to all of the characteristics attributed to B level essays, the principal distinction of writing at this level will be its richness of content and no mechanical errors.  Some people might describe the content as "meaty," "highly developed," or "packed."  Focus is clearly apparent throughout the essay; organization is consistent; reasoning is highly specific and appropriate.  Essays at this level, because of their careful organization and development, provide a sense of logical completeness.  Apart from fulfilling all the expectations of C and B work, what clearly distinguishes A work is a sense for the evaluation of argument, analysis, and interpretation.  A essays characteristically indicate that reflection has altered or deepened the writer's opinions--the emergence of self-critical reflection.  Characteristically A papers will raise questions about the assigned text in light of the writer's interpretation of that text.

Thus, the instructional activities of the course, essay exams and short papers, which are graded by these criteria, encourage students to meet the course's objective of developing students' ability to recognize, analyze, and evaluate philosophical arguments.

VII. FIELD, CLINICAL AND/OR LABORATORY EXPERIENCES:
N/R

VIII. RESOURCES:
Xerox capacity for Instructional Handouts, Internet and the library.

IX. GRADING PROCEDURES:
(1) Two Hourly Essay Exams (dealing with materials in Units I and  II) (50% of grade).

(2) Two Short (( 5 pages, written using a word-processor *, double- spaced) Papers  (25% of grade) * The student is required to use the  computer labs to do word-processing if he/she does not have a computer to  do word-processing at home.  Computers in the open lab in Faculty Hall  have Word and Netscape on them. The department's homepage and the  instructor's on-line course materials are a good place for the student to  begin to use the Internet as a tool to do research in philosophy.

(3) Final Exam (Essay): On Plato's Apology   (25% of grade)

X. ATTENDANCE POLICY:
Regular class attendance is expected of all students:  (1) Irregular attendance of freshmen and sophomores will be reported to the Chairman of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies and to the office of Student Affairs; (2) Missing 10% or more of your classes will be considered irregular attendance, and reported as a serious attendance problem.
  The professor will excuse absences for two reasons: extraordinary circumstances and participation in university activities.  "Extraordinary circumstances" are defined as a death in the immediate family and other situations to be decided by your professor in each particular case.  University activities are, for example, band, dance, debate, and sports.

XI. ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY:
Academic honesty is expected.  Your signature on each written assignment represents a pledge that you have adhered to the College of Humanistic Studies Policy on Academic Integrity.  No unsigned written work will be accepted in this course.  This statement adopted by the Board of Regents, February 14, 1975, on Academic Integrity will be vigorously enforced:

  "Cheating, plagiarism (submitting another person's material as one's own, or doing work for another person which will receive academic credit) are all impermissible.  This includes the use of unauthorized books, notebooks, or other sources in order to secure or give help during an examination, the unauthorized copying of examinations assignments, reports, or term papers, or the presentation of unacknowledged material as if it were the student's own work.  Disciplinary action may be taken beyond the academic discipline administered by the faculty member who teaches the course in which the cheating took place."

  Note:  Faculty reserves the right to invalidate any examination or other evaluative measures if substantial evidence exists that the integrity of the examination has been compromised.

1997-1999 Undergraduate Bulletin, p. 51

XII. REQUIRED TEXTS:
 Edwin A. Abbott, Flatland (NY: Dover, 1992)
 Thomas More, Utopia, trans. E. Surtz (New Haven:  Yale, 1964)
 Plato, Five Dialogues, trans. G.M.A. Grube (Indianapolis, IN:  Hackett,  1981)
 "Readings for PHI 201: Introduction to Philosophy" (available at Copy  Plus)

XIII. PREREQUISITES:
None

Last updated February 14, 2000. Designed and maintained by Kyosung Koo