PHH 2063 Summer A 2008 (Section U02A)
Classics in Philosophy: An Introduction to the History of Philosophy
Copyright © 2008 Bruce W. Hauptli
This web-site has a copy of the syllabus, extensive lecture supplements for each of the readings and lectures, and other information relevant to the course. You are encouraged to provide me with suggestions and comments about the content, and I am grateful for help in correcting the inevitable typos and grammatical errors!
Hauptli's Web Page Hauptli's E-Mail
Select the following links to move quickly to the indicated material below:
Click on these links for the indicated portion of the syllabus, or scroll down to view it as a single document:
Course Description:
This course introduces both the tools of philosophical thinking and some of their applications to fundamental topics such as knowledge, value, meaning, and human society.
In this course students should become familiar with the problems, positions, and methodologies of the philosophers studied. Students should also enhance their ability to interpret complex texts; they should enhance their ability to provide balanced exposition and examination of such texts; and they should come to understand the philosophical activity of criticism of doctrines and things commonly taken for granted. In addition to introducing students to various philosophical thinkers, this course is intended to enhance the student's critical reading, writing, and speaking skills. This is a "Gordon Rule" writing course, and students will be expected to write a three 2,000-word papers.
The course focuses the students’ attention on inquiry and analysis; seeks to extend their abilities to adopt critical perspectives; and it endeavors to connect the philosophical problems, positions and methodologies studied with the concerns and methodologies of other disciplines, as well as of our culture generally. The lectures, readings, papers, and exams are integrated in a manner intended to promote these objectives. In all of these activities students will be encouraged to interact analytically with, and respond critically to, the primary texts studied. Students will also be encouraged to endeavor to assimilate the ideas studied with those they have previously studied.
Classics of Western Philosophy (7th edition), ed. S.M. Cahn (Indianapolis: Hackett, 2007) [available in the FIU U.P. Campus Bookstore]
Readings:
Passage from Meno Plato p. 7 [77c-78b]
Euthyphro Plato pp. 20-28
Apology
Plato pp. 29-41
Crito Plato pp. 42-48
Republic
(selections)
Plato pp. 113-177 and handout.
Leviathan
(selections) Hobbes pp. 534-548 and handout
Proslogion Anselm pp.
413-419 [Prologue-Chapter 11]
Meditations I-III
Descartes pp. 490-503
Requirements and Policies:
The following requirements and policies will apply for this course, and students should read them carefully. I do not accept claims to ignorance in their regard.
1.Regular class attendance is required: after the first two class meetings attendance will be taken via a roll sheet which will be passed around the class ten minutes after class has begun--the roll sheet will quickly circulate, and students who arrive later than ten minutes into the class period will be deemed late. Students must attend for the whole class period, and those who arrive late or leave early will be considered to have been only "partially" present for the class. Every three such "marks" against a student will be assessed as an unexcused absence. Students who miss no more than one class will have their course grade raised by one third of a letter grade (B to B+, etc.). Students who miss three classes will have their course grade lowered by one third of a letter grade (C+ to C, etc.), students who miss five classes will have their course grade lowered by two thirds of a letter grade (C+ to C-, etc.), students who miss seven classes will have their course grade lowered by one letter grade (C to D, etc.), additional absences will be treated according to this progression. Students arriving after the roll has circulated will (unless their excuse is accepted after class) be treated as either two-thirds or one-third absent for that day (depending upon the extent of their tardiness).
The only acceptable excuses for the first absence are jury duty, or absence because of university sponsored events which the student must attend. Only verifiable excuses will be accepted for the second and subsequent absences, and multiple excuses for any individual are viewed with ever-increasing skepticism. Such excuses must be presented to me in person--messages on my voice mail do not count as excuses. Excuses should be presented as soon after the absence as possible (students who wait till the end of the semester to offer excuses for early absences need to meet a high burden of verification for the absence to be excused). Please note that I check with Doctors' offices, hospitals and funeral homes; and I will only rarely accept work-related excuses (which should be offered before the absence).
2. Appropriate conduct is expected in class: I expect students to turn off portable phones and beepers, and to have reset or muted any distracting watch alarms. Courteous consideration others is a fundamental element in the classroom. I expect students to refrain from engaging in private conversations, noisy snacking, and only in the case of emergencies should students momentarily leave the classroom while class is in session. In short, students are expected to comport themselves in a manner which does not interfere with instruction and learning. Disruptive behavior will not be tolerated.
3. Regular reading is assumed: students who do not do their readings will have difficulty with the requirements and students who do not attend class will have difficulty with their readings. I strongly recommend that students do the readings several times--at least once before the class in which they will be discussed and once after the class. Extensive lecture supplements are available on this web-site (see Lecture Supplements below), and I am available in my office to discuss readings, paper topics, etc.
4. Papers, examinations, and deadlines: because writing is important to philosophy, students in this course will be required to write three critical, analytical or expository philosophy papers each of which should be at least 2,000 words long (equivalent to eight double-spaced typewritten pages of 250 words per page). This indication of length is meant as a guide to the student—papers much shorter than the indicated length are unlikely to have adequately addressed one of the assigned topics. Papers may, of course, be longer than the indicated length. The papers should be typed and are due in my office by 4:15 P.M. on the following dates Tuesday, May 27; Monday, June 9; and Monday, June 16.
Because of the Gordon Rule requirement for this course, students whose three papers fail to meet the combined minimum length requirement will be required to submit a fourth paper before they may receive a passing grade for this course—if such an additional paper is required, it must be submitted before noon on Thursday, June 19.
The papers written for this course should
address an assigned topic in a
manner that clearly displays its purpose, thesis, or controlling idea,
clarify the relevant elements of the philosopher’s theory so that they can be
understood by other students taking such philosophy courses,
support the thesis with adequate reasons and evidence,
show sustained analysis and critical thought,
be organized clearly and logically, and
show knowledge of conventions of standard written English.
A supplement entitled “Writing Philosophy Papers” is available on the course web-site. It describes what critical, analytical or expository philosophy papers are like, and this handout also provides a list of “grader's marks” which I employ in grading papers and exams. I provide detailed comments regarding the compositional, expository, and the critical elements of such papers, and I review the comments from earlier papers prior to reading later ones so that I can assess continuing progress and problems. The first two paper topics will be distributed so that students have two weekends to work on their papers (this will not be possible for the final paper for this short summer semester), and all the topics will be directly related to the readings, lectures, and discussions in the course prior to the assignments.
In addition to the three required papers, there will be an in-class objective essay exam which will be designed to assess the students’ understanding of the philosophical theories, positions, topics, and methodologies studied. Sample study questions will be distributed in advance of the exam so that students have an opportunity to organize their thoughts and integrate the readings and lectures around sample questions designed to indicate what they are expected to have mastered. The exam will be on Thursday, June 19.
Together the papers are worth 75% of the grade (25% each) and the exam is worth 25%. Students must submit all papers and take the exam to pass the course—that is, failure to complete any of the course requirements will result in a grade of F for the course. Therefore, students who do not turn in a paper or take the exam on time must nonetheless submit that paper or take a make-up exam if they wish to pass the course (grades higher than an F are given only for performance and accomplishment; and late papers and make-up exams may demonstrate these, while unfulfilled requirements demonstrate neither). An incomplete will not be assigned simply because work is late—after the designated final exam day, if a student has not been granted an extension and any required work has not been turned in, the student will receive a grade of F for the course.
5. Grading Scale: in grading papers and exams, and in calculating the course grade, I use the following scale:
| A | 4.00 |
| A- | 3.67 |
| B+/A- | 3.49 |
| B+ | 3.33 |
| B/B+ | 3.16 |
| B | 3.00 |
| B-/B | 2.83 |
| B- | 2.67 |
| C+/B- | 2.49 |
| C+ | 2.33 |
| C/C+ | 2.16 |
| C | 2.00 |
| C-/C | 1.83 |
| C- | 1.67 |
| D+ | 1.33 |
| D | 1.00 |
| D- | 0.67 |
The "split" grades (B+/A-, for example) are assigned when the work is between the indicated grades. Of course, these split grades can not be used for the ultimate course grade, and thus the grades for the various individual papers and exams are calculated using the percentages indicated above (and adding or subtracting the appropriate fractional consideration in accordance with the attendance policy). For the overall course grade the above point equivalents constitute the minimum necessary to receive the indicated grade (thus students must earn at least a 3.67 to receive an A-). Where students are very close to a minimum point, I will take into consideration improvement (or its opposite) in grades throughout the course.
I indicate the due dates for the papers and the exam dates above. Moreover, I hand out paper topics so that students generally have at two weekends to work on their papers. I will hand out sample exam questions in advance of the examinations). Because this is a short summer semester, however, there is not enough time to give two weekends for students to work on each of the papers exclusively. I have planned the due dates and days when I will hand out the paper topics in a manner which allows students to have two weekends to consider the different topics, but so that the weekends allowed for working on the second and third papers overlap. Before the due dates I will consider reasonable requests for extensions. Note, however, that excuses do not guarantee extensions, and excuses offered after due dates are far, far less successful than those offered before due dates. If I grant an extension to a student, that extension will establish a new due date, and that date must be met (or in extraordinary circumstances, an additional extension may be arranged [but only when it is requested prior to the (extended) due date]). Please note that requests for extensions must be made directly to me—neither my secretary nor your doctor may grant extensions for this course, and last minute calls to my voice-mail provide no assurance of extensions. On and after the due date, only an extraordinary request will be accepted (acceptable examples: hospitalization on due date, extremely serious personal problem, death in the immediate family; unacceptable examples: running out of time; and flat tires).
Papers are due in my office by 4:15 P.M. on the due date—papers turned in after 4:15 will be treated as if they were turned in the next day. The additional time on the due date beyond the time when the class meets is offered so that students who need additional time that day may attend class on the due date, and avoid suffering from the provisions of the attendance policy noted above. Students who turn their papers in at the office rather than in class should give them to the Department secretary so that the date and time may be noted on the papers. Papers submitted after 4:15 but before 4:15 P.M. the next day will receive a one-third decrease in grade (example: B+ changes to a B), papers turned in two days late will receive a two-thirds grade decrease, additional days will be treated according to this progression, but papers turned in between 4:15 on Fridays and 9:00 on Mondays will be counted as turned in on Monday morning, and will be assessed a “double penalty” for each weekend day). A paper turned in one week late, then, would receive a 9/3 grade reduction (an “A” paper would receive a “D”). Clearly, students have a strong incentive to contact me if they are going to be unable to turn their papers in on time—failure to do so may have serious consequences in terms of the course grade. If your paper is late, then, it makes sense to speak with me (after class, in my office, or on the phone)—when I am provided with a good reason, I will stop the penalties from continuing to pile on to those already assessed for the lateness. Note that unless I have explicitly granted you an incomplete, all late papers must be turned in by the final class of the semester—moreover, I will not accept any but the most extraordinary of excuses for missing or being late for the Final Exam. Assignments which are not turned in as indicated will be considered undone, and the penalty for having not done any of the requirements for the course is a course grade of “F.”
7. "Pass/Fail" grades: this is a "Gordon Rule" course, and to fulfill the writing requirement it must be taken for a letter grade. Students should not sign up for this course with the Pass/Fail grading option.
8. Plagiarism and academic misconduct: when you engage in plagiarism you present as your work the opinions or arguments of someone else. Plagiarism is dishonest since the plagiarist offers for credit what is not her or his own. It is also counter-productive because it defeats a purpose of education--the improvement of the student's own powers of thinking, reasoning, and expression. Plagiarism may even occur when one expresses another's sequence of ideas, arrangement of material, or pattern of thought in one's own words. We have a case of plagiarism when a sequence of ideas is transferred from a source to a paper without a process of digestion, integration, criticism, and inquiry in the writer's mind and without acknowledgment (I have borrowed this statement, to a large extent, from the FIU English and Sociology/Anthropology Departments' descriptions of plagiarism). Academic misconduct occurs when the norms of inquiry are violated. Examples include students who present false Doctors' notes, who pretend that they have a family or medical emergency, or who seriously hinder other students' scholarly activities. I assign a course grade of F when I confront cases of plagiarism or academic misconduct, and I bring such students before the appropriate disciplinary body (the processes are set forth in the Student Handbook). The minimal penalty for students found guilty of plagiarism through the process is an F in the course, the provision that the University’s “Forgiveness Policy” may not be used to expunge that grade, and such students are placed on Academic Probation for the remainder of their undergraduate careers at FIU (so that a second such act usually results in expulsion from the University).
Students should be aware that it is not hard for professors to spot many cases of plagiarism. In the 2002-2003 academic year, for example, I caught and charged a total of six students for plagiarism and all it took to catch them was a simple web search! The University’s policies on Academic Misconduct and Code of Academic Integrity may be found on the FIU web-site at:
http://www.fiu.edu/~oabp/misconductweb/1acmisconductproc.htm
Students should not live under the illusion that it is difficult to prove plagiarism or misconduct. Contemporary web-based search engines make it easier than it was ever before to detect such activities, and I routinely filter passages I am suspicious of through one or more such filters.
Mondays and Thursdays: 2:00-3:00 in DM 341 D,
and by appointment. I am generally on campus five days a week, but when I am not teaching or holding the designated office hours, I am usually in the Faculty Senate's office [PC 225].
Office: DM 341D
Phone/Voice Mail: 305-348-3350
E-Mail: hauptli@fiu.edu
I check
both voice and e-mail several times a day, and I return my calls.
Lecture Supplements and Suggested Links:
Click on these links for the indicated lecture supplement:
Suggested Links:
The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Paper Topics and Sample Exam Questions:
Throughout the semester paper topic assignments and sample exam questions will be posted below:
| First Paper Topics | Second Paper Topics | Third Paper Topics | Sample Final Exam Questions |
File last revised on 06/18/2008.