Syllabus - Philosophy

Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 11
Spring 2015
TuTh 6:00 – 7:45pm
Earth and Marine Sciences, B 206
Instructor
Janette Dinishak
Office:
Office Hours:
Email:
105 Cowell Faculty Annex (the annex is south of Page Smith Library)
2:20pm - 3:45pm, Tuesdays & Thursdays
jdinisha@ucsc.edu
Teaching Assistants (TAs)
Israel Dawson:
Jared Gampel:
Nikos Knightly:
Delio Vasquez:
idawson@ucsc.edu
jgampel@ucsc.edu
nknightl@ucsc.edu
dvasque4@ucsc.edu
Section
Day
Time
Location
TA
A
M
09:30AM-10:40AM
Cowell Acad 216
Jared
B
M
11:00AM-12:10PM
Cowell Acad 216
Jared
C
W
12:30PM-01:40PM
Cowell Acad 216
Nikos
D
W
02:00PM-03:10PM
Cowell Acad 216
Nikos
E
Tu
08:30AM-09:40AM
Cowell Acad 223
Delio
F
Th
10:00AM-11:10AM
Crown Clsrm 201
Delio
G
W
02:00PM-03:10PM
Crown Clsrm 201
Delio
H
W
03:30PM-04:40PM
Crown Clsrm 201
Nikos
I
M
03:30PM-04:40PM
Crown Clsrm 201
Jared
J
F
09:30AM-10:40AM
Cowell Acad 223
Israel
K
F
11:00AM-12:10PM
Cowell Acad 223
Israel
L
F
12:30PM-01:40PM
Cowell Acad 223
Israel
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TAs will announce their office hours during your first discussion section meeting in Week 2. Their office hours will
also be posted on our course website in eCommons by Week 2.
Swapping Sections
If you would like to swap sections you must do so officially, through the online enrollment system. This ensures that
you are recorded in AIS as a member of the section you plan on attending. You can only swap into a section with
an available seat. The registrar’s guidelines for swapping classes are here:
How to Change a Grade Option or Secondary Section:
http://registrar.ucsc.edu/faqs/students/enrollment/edit-enrollment.pdf
FAQs Student Enrollment Questions:
http://registrar.ucsc.edu/faqs/students/enrollment/index.html
Please contact the registrar for additional help with enrollment issues:
http://registrar.ucsc.edu/about/contact-us.html.
Course Description
This course provides an introductory survey of classic and contemporary approaches to some central topics in
several key sub-disciplines of philosophy: philosophy of religion, metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind,
and ethics. Some of the questions we will explore include: What is philosophy? Is it a subject matter? An activity?
What is the value of philosophy? Does God exist? What can we know? Is the mind distinct from the body? How do
we know what is right and what is wrong? Is disability necessarily a negative feature? What is it that makes some
lives meaningful, others less so?
General Education Requirements Satisfied: Textual Analysis and Interpretation (TA), Introductions to
Disciplines, Humanities and Arts (IH)
Readings

Text: Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings (6th edition), edited by John
Perry, Michael Bratman, John Martin Fischer. Oxford University Press 2012.
Available for purchase at Literary Guillotine 204 Locust Street, downtown Santa Cruz (831-4571195); Webpage: http://www.literaryguillotine.com/.
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A copy of our text is on reserve at McHenry Library (2-hour loan period).
Assigned readings listed in the tentative schedule below are found in our required text unless
otherwise indicated.

Any additional recommended or required readings will be posted in Resources on eCommons at least one
week prior to the class meeting in which the reading will be discussed.
For eCommons technical support, please contact the ITS Help Desk:
Online: http://itrequest.ucsc.edu/
Phone: (831) 459-HELP (4357)
Email: help@ucsc.edu
In-Person: Kerr Hall Rm. 54, M-F 8am to 5pm
Here is a link to “Helpful eCommons Info for Students”:
https://ecommons.ucsc.edu/access/content/group/473329d1-b5f5-43b9-bfb69b70859f2442/eCommons%20Help%20for%20Students
Course Requirements
Weight
Due Dates
In-Class Midterm
Essay 1
Essay 2
In-Class Final Exam
15%
20%
25%
30%
April 16
April 30
May 21
June 10
Section
10%
Weeks 2 thru 10
Attendance & Participation
Each student is assigned to a discussion group led by a TA. Discussion sections will start meeting in Week 2 and
continue to meet each week, including Week 10. There are two aspects of section:
1. Section Attendance is mandatory. TAs will take attendance. Student who miss three or more discussion
sections will receive 0% credit for discussion section and an additional half letter grade reduction to their
final course grades (e.g., a B will drop to a B minus).
2. Section Participation is strongly encouraged. Your section is your smaller, more interactive learning
community. The success of this community depends on your consistent attendance and quality
participation. There are lots of ways to participate: (a) ask a question; (b) answer a question posed by
someone else; (c) initiate a line of discussion by making a comment about the reading or something that
came up in lecture; (d) respond to a comment someone else has made during the section meeting. There
are also less familiar forms of participation. Some of them are “silent”. If you’re shy or prefer not to speak
in section for some reason, consider writing down a question or comment in section and then handing it in
to your TA after class. Or go to your TA’s office hours. Maybe you like to think with pictures and
diagrams more than with words. Draw a cartoon or diagram that illustrates a concept from class and share it
with your TA or with me. Come talk to me during my office hours. Or approach me during the lecture
break. Or share an outside resource with me that I can incorporate in lecture (e.g., a relevant poem, song, or
video clip).
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Midterm and Final Exam
The in-class midterm will consist of short answer and essay questions. The final exam will consist of essay
questions. The midterm covers material from the first few weeks of the course. The final is cumulative.
Essays
Specific instructions and topics will be provided in lecture and posted on eCommons under Resources.
Other Course Information
1.
Students with diverse learning styles and needs are welcome in this course! If you qualify for
classroom accommodations because of a disability, please submit your Accommodation Authorization
from the Disability Resource Center (DRC) to me after class or during my office hours, preferably within
the first two weeks of the quarter. The sooner you let us know your situation, the sooner we can assist you.
Contact DRC at 831-459-2089 or by email at drc@ucsc.edu. For more information please visit UCSC’s
Disability Resource Center homepage: http://drc.ucsc.edu/ .
2.
Extra help: Learning Support Services (LSS) offers many academic programs to UCSC students (see
http://www2.ucsc.edu/lss/ ). One of these programs is course-specific tutoring that is available to all UCSC
students. Students meet in small groups (up to 4 people per group) led by a tutor. This quarter Camille will
be assisting you. All UCSC students are eligible for up to 1 hour of tutoring per week per course, and may
sign-up for tutoring beginning Tuesday, April 7th, at 10:00am here:
https://eop.sa.ucsc.edu/OTSS/tutorsignup/. All of the LSS tutors are current UCSC undergraduate students
who have previously taken the course, have received a B or above, and have been recommended by a
UCSC faculty member in the appropriate academic discipline.
3.
Late assignments: Late assignments and make-up tests are not allowed except for documented
emergencies/illness, DRC accommodations, or conflicts with religious observance. Please notify your TA
in advance of your need for an exception to course deadlines and attendance requirements. Ensure that all
your correspondence on the matter is documented (e.g., save copies of your email correspondence).
4.
Laptops and other electronic devices. The success of our class depends on you being present, not just
physically but also in terms of engagement and focus. In an effort to promote focus and limit distractions,
students are asked to “unplug” for class. The use of laptops, cell phones, iPads, and other electronic devices
are not permitted during class time. If you need to use a laptop or other electronic device during class due
to learning differences or other legitimate reason, please consult with me and I will consider making an
exception.
5.
To pass this course, all assignments must be completed. Any student who fails to do so will not pass the
course. Students who plagiarize an assignment will receive 0% credit for the plagiarized assignment,
which means they will not meet this requirement and will fail the course. If you’re struggling to fulfill the
requirements for any reason, please talk with me during my office hours about your situation.
6.
Email correspondence: Please direct any questions you may have regarding assignments, evaluative
feedback, or administrative concerns to your TA first. This will facilitate record-keeping and
communication. Your TA is also available via email. As always, I’m here too if you have any questions or
concerns about anything related to our course. Note regarding all email correspondence: Please be kind
and considerate. Note what section you’re in when you correspond with any member of our teaching team.
Because substantive philosophical questions about readings, arguments, or ideas often require back and
forth discussion, they are best answered in person—during office hours or in discussion section.
7.
Plagiarism: You are responsible for being familiar with UCSC’s policies on academic integrity
(http://www.ue.ucsc.edu/academic_integrity). Proper sourcing and good scholarship are expected.
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Plagiarism is a serious academic offense and will not be tolerated. Plagiarism will be handled on a case-bycase basis. If you have any questions or concerns about how to avoid plagiarism and ensure the originality
of your work, please ask us.
UCLA has helpful tips on avoiding plagiairsm: http://unitproj.library.ucla.edu/col/bruinsuccess/
“How Not to Plagiarize”: http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/images/stories/Documents/how-not-toplagiarize.pdf
Tentative Reading and Lecture Schedule
For the most up-to-date information regarding our actual reading and lecture schedule, check the first page of each
weekly lecture supplement posted in eCommons under Resources.
Week
Topic
(3/31 & 4/2)
The Value of Philosophy
(4/7 & 4/9)
Readings:
 On the Study of Philosophy (6 pgs)
 Plato, “Apology: Defense of Socrates” (16 pgs)
God and Evil
Discussion sections begin meeting.
Readings:
 Saint Thomas Aquinas, “The Existence of God” (3
pgs)
 Blaise Pascal, “The Wager” (4 pgs)
 Gottfried Leibniz, “God, Evil and the Best of All
Possible Worlds” (2 pgs)
(4/14 & 4/16)
Knowledge and Reality
**4/16**
In-Class Test
Bring blue books
How to write a philosophy paper
Readings:
 René Descartes, “Meditations on First Philosophy”
(25 pgs)
(4/21 & 4/23)
Knowledge and Reality cont’d
Readings:
 David Hume, “An Enquiry Concerning Human
Understanding” pp. 193-205 (13 pgs)
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(4/28 & 4/30)
Minds, Bodies, and Persons
**4/30: Essay 1 due in lecture
Readings:
 Frank Jackson, “What Mary Didn’t Know” (4 pgs)
 Peter Carruthers, “The Problem of Other Minds”
(available under Resources on eCommons) (7 pgs)
(5/5 & 5/7)
Minds, Bodies, and Persons cont’d
(5/12 & 5/14)
Readings:
 Alan Turing, “Computing Machinery and
Intelligence” (13 pgs)
 John Searle, “Minds, Brains, and Programs”
(13pgs)
Searle cont’d & Ethics and Society
(5/19 & 5/21)
Readings:
 John Stuart Mill, “Utilitarianism” (17 pgs)
 John Stuart Mill, “The Subjection of Women” (5
pgs)
Ethics and Society cont’d
**5/21: Essay 2 due in lecture**
(5/26 & 5/28)
Readings:
 Immanuel Kant, “Groundwork of the Metaphysic
of Morals” (17 pgs)
Ethics, Neurodiversity, Disability
(6/2 & 6/4)
Readings:
 Jim Sinclair, “Don’t Mourn For Us” (available
under Resources on eCommons) (4 pgs)
 Simon Baron-Cohen, “Neuroethics of
Neurodiversity” (available under Resources on
eCommons) (7 pgs)
 Elizabeth Barnes, “Disability, Difference
Minority” (available under Resources on
eCommons) (19 pgs)
Existential Issues
Readings:
 Albert Camus, “The Myth of Sisyphus” (3 pgs)
 Richard Taylor, “The Meaning of Human
Existence” (17 pgs)
 Susan Wolf, “The Meanings of Lives” (12 pgs)
Final Exam: Wednesday, June 10, 4:00-7:00pm
Bring blue books
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