COURSE SYLLABUS Dr. Michele Svatos, Phil 1301 Intro to Philosophy Spring 2012 Online Eastfield College Social Science, Human Services & Business Division Instructor & contact information: Dr. Michele Svatos Eastfield College Social Science Division Office G237 214-546-7872 [email protected] or [email protected] Office hours: TBA on eCampus. I mostly work from home, and my office hours are held online. Required Text: Velasquez, Manuel. Philosophy: A Text with Readings. 10th or 11th edition. The first chapter is available for free online. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing. The 10th edition is 2008, and the 11th edition is 20011. You can use either and DO NOT need both. You do not need the CD-ROM or Infotrack. For 10th edition: ISBN-10: 0495094978 or ISBN-13: 9780495094975. For 11th edition: ISBN-10: 049580875X ISBN-13: 9780495808756 Please note that previous editions of the textbook are not supported; see the FAQs button for more details. Course Description: An introduction to the ideas about such things as the good life, reality, God, the acquisition and characteristics of knowledge, and the nature of humans. Students will evaluate both ancient and modern theories about these issues in terms of their logic, historical significance, and meaning in everyday life, as they practice the methods for doing philosophy. (3 Lec.) Coordinating Board Academic Approval Number 3801015112 Prerequisite: Developmental Reading 0093 or English as a Second Language (ESOL) 0044 or have met the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) standard in Reading. Goals: - Introduce major philosophers and philosophical controversies - Develop some familiarity with the philosophical writings on which they are based - Foster a lifelong appreciation for philosophical thinking As a result of successfully completing this course, students will be able to: - Identify the major moral theories and the philosophers who hold them. - Discuss philosophical issues using critical thinking skills and reasoned judgments - Correctly apply philosophical theories to various issues - Provide objections and responses to various views and theories Structure: You never need to come to campus. You do not need to be online at any particular time or on any particular day; you just need to meet the deadlines. Students will read each chapter in the textbook in numerical order and take a test corresponding to that chapter. All testsare taken online and are timed. Students may prepare for the online tests by taking a series of practice quizzes, also available online, as well as through dialogue with the instructor and other students on the Discussion Board. The practice quizzes do not affect your grade. Discussion is not required or graded. The 1st 8 exams consist of 18 questions worth 5 pts each, for a total of 90 pts per test. The 9th exam consists of 16 questions worth 5 pts each, for a total of 80 pts. There is also a required term paper worth 200 points. Requirements: As a largely self-paced course, students are mostly free to organize their time as they see fit. You may complete the course as quickly as you like. There are a number of deadlines, however; see the deadlines button. - If you are receiving Financial Aid grants or loans and are enrolled in a Distance Learning class, you must show participation in this class prior to the certification date. See the deadlines button. - There is a required orientation quiz worth 10 points, but the points are extra credit. - There are deadlines for the first 5 exams. See the deadlines button. - Students earning a 70% or lower on the first test must retake it, and the 2 scores will be averaged. This will not be done for other tests. - The term paper has a specific deadline; see the deadlines button. - The remaining tests (that do not have specific deadlines) must be completed by the last day of the course. - All work must be done through eCampus, including the submission of the term paper. Emailed papers will not be accepted. - You will need a password for the orientation quiz, and if applicable the ch. 1 retest. See those areas for explanations of how to get the passwords. Grading: 9 chapter tests 800 pts 80% Term paper 200 pts 20% Your grades are determined by your points only. I do not round grades; what you see in the eCampus system is what you get. The only extra credit available is the required orientation quiz, worth 10 points. Grades are not rounded up; an 89.5% is still a B. If you have 800 points and decide not to turn in your term paper, your grade for the course would be 80% = B; this is the highest grade you can earn without the paper, and it would require you to earn 100% on every exam. If you don't have a perfect score on every exam and you don't write the paper, you will not earn a B. Please email to let me know if you are not doing the paper. Grade scale: 1000 points total A = 900 - 1000 total points B = 800 - 899 total points C = 700 - 799 total pointsD = 600 - 699 total points F = 0 - 599 total points Academic Honesty Statement: Scholastic dishonesty is a violation of the Code of Student Conduct. Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating on a test, plagiarism, and collusion. As a college student, you are considered a responsible adult. Your enrollment indicates acceptance of the DCCCD Code of Student Conduct published in the DCCCD Catalog at http://www1.dcccd.edu/cat0506/ss/code.cfm Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating on tests, plagiarism and collusion. Cheating includes copying from another student’s test or homework paper, using materials not authorized, collaborating with or seeking aid from another student during a test, knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing, or soliciting the contents of an unadministered test, and substituting for another person to take a test. Plagiarism is 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 is the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work for fulfillment of course requirements. Academic dishonesty is a serious offense in college. You can be given a failing grade on an assignment or test, can be failed for the class, or you can even be suspended from college. In this course, any instance of academic