You are on page 1of 5

Introduction to Philosophy: Honors

Syllabus

Mrs. Teresi
Email: cteresi@centralusd.k12.ca.us
Room: 903
Phone: 276-0280 x50903
Website: mrsteresi.weebly.com
Google Classroom code: ocil09

"Philosophy is to be studied, not for the sake of any definition answers to its questions, but for the sake of the questions themselves;
because these questions enlarge our concept of what is possible, enrich our intellectual imagination and diminish the dogmatic
assurance which closes the mind against speculation."
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)
The Goals of the Course
Philosophy is known for its desire to penetrate further into questions than most people are accustomed and to question the assumptions
that most people, including professionals in various fields of inquiry, are very willing to make. For example, whereas physicists ask
why objects fall when dropped, philosophy asks whether the objects themselves exist and whether it is possible to know that they exist
(if they do). Whereas modern psychology takes the mind for granted, philosophy investigates how a conscious mind could possibly
follow from a material brain. Criminology accepts that lawbreakers must be punished for the crimes they are responsible for, but
philosophy questions whether the modern scientific view of the world really entails that no one is really free. In this course we will
look at these or related questions. As the course proceeds, the students ability to recognize and critically analyze the presuppositions
hidden behind everyday claims will be enhanced.
Specific Course Goals:
1. The foremost goal of the course is the development of critical thinking skills. By the development of critical reasoning I mean:
a. the student will be expected to master a basic set of logical tools and devices, including the recognition of common formal
and informal fallacies, the application of definitional tools (such as necessary and sufficient conditions) to the enterprise of
philosophical argumentation, and the use of modal semantics possible world theory to critique proposed hypotheses and theories.
b. the ability of the student to look at a position or argument and (a) recognize the presuppositions made by that argument or
position, (b) recognize what is entailed by that position or argument and (c) critically engage and analyze those presuppositions and
entailments. Frequently students are completely mystified by the type of theoretical and abstract analysis that philosophy requires of
them. This course will seek to make them more comfortable with it and more precise and analytic practitioners of the method.
c. the student will learn how to assess rival theoretical responses to central problems by applying criteria of adequacy to
determine which theory appears to be currently the best one and why (so they will learn to assess theories in terms of conservativism,
simplicity, predictive force, consistency and scope). A theory, for example, that saves our notions of free will and responsibility at
the cost of denying modern science may, then, be inferior to one that jettisons free will and abdicates talk of responsibility.
d. The student should learn to be at ease with and welcome the task of theoretical criticism. The student must learn to engage
with a wide variety of difficult and many times threatening ideas and concepts but yet come to recognize that such an engagement is
central to an intellectually honest, and qualitatively valuable, life. Frequently students are completely mystified by the type of
theoretical and abstract analysis that philosophy requires this course will seek to not only make them more comfortable with this
type of thinking, but to make them better and more precise thinkers.
e. The student will learn to engage with other students in a critical yet civil fashion, utilizing in-class and on-line board
discussions to facilitate the development of critical debating skills (see below in participation). Through the development of these
skills and the interaction with others, the student should succeed in building a foundation not for a simple-minded understanding and
tolerance of different views, but rather a critical one built on intellectual rigor and honesty.
2. The second goal of the course is to familiarize the student with a long and distinguished history of philosophical conversation. As an
ideas and events course, Introduction to Philosophy aims at familiarizing the student with a number of historically famous
philosophical problems and with the (equally famous) variety of competing solutions those problems have engendered. After focusing
on training the student in basic logic, the course in different semesters will concentrate on three of the following problems: (A) the
mind-body problem, (B) the existence or non-existence of free will, (c) the illusion of personal identity, (d) skepticism about the
external world, (e) The problem of good vs evil, (f) ethics, and (g) political philosophy.
Journal Composition Book
Required Texts
General Course Requirements
Doing Philosophy: An Introduction through Thought
Exams/Philosophy Statements
40%
Experiments By Theodore Schick and Lewis Vaughn
Participation/Discussions
30%
Recommended Materials
Projects/Assignments
30%

Specific Course Requirements


I. Unit Exams: Unit Exams and Philosophy Statements are worth 40% of the total class grade for the semester. You will be given group
multiple choice exams and be required to write 2-3 page philosophy statement for each chapter (more details later).

Exam One: Ch.1 Logic, Argumentation and Personhood


Exam Two: Ch. 7 Problem of Skepticism and Knowledge
Exam Three: Ch. 3 Problem of Free Will and Determinism
Midterm: Cumulative of Units 1,7,3 and Personal Philosophy
Statements
Exam Four: Ch.4 Problem of Personal Identity

Exam Five: Ch. 5 Relativism and Morality


Exam Six: Class Choice
Final: Cumulative Units 5-7 and Final Personal Philosophy
Statement
Final Project: Philosophical Inquiry

IV. Participation: 30% of course grade in total


Although this is not the case in all disciplines, discussion is the life blood of philosophy. As such, class and web/discussion group
participation really does count in this course (together it counts for 30% of your grade!). As the syllabus above indicates, participation
credit in this course is based on two separate things (a) active discussion during class including any written responses and (b) lively
participation on the on-line discussion board set up for the course.
Online Discussions: 40-50 points for each unit awarded at the end of the unit. The following explains what you need to do: Every
Monday, I will post a prompt every other Monday. By the following Sunday (11:59pm that day) you must post a reply to that
question to get the points for web participation. Grading is straight forward.
To get a "B-" (80%) you must post at least twice per prompt. One initial response, and at least one as part of a conversation with
another student.
Although I obviously want you to post high-quality reflections on the board, if posts such as...
"I agree."
"The posters above have said it all."
"I think the theory is stupid."
...or posts falling into this general "no effort" category are the most that you are willing to contribute to the weekly question, you
should seriously rethink your desire to be in a philosophy course. Take another course that will probably be easier and that will not
require you to be an active participant.
"B" and "B+" are reserved for posters who make a minimum of 10 posts over the course of each unit and whose posts strive, in
content and quantity, to move beyond merely meeting the minimum.
"A-" or "A" will be reserved for those students with more than 15 posts over the course of each unit and who have shown a real
dedication to not only understanding the course material, but to helping others to understand it as well. "A" grades show a level of
dedication to the material and to philosophically engaging -- as well as helping -- other students.
Grades underneath "B-" will be given to students who post less than the minimum based on the number of posts they make. In any
event, if you never contribute to the discussion board, then regardless of the quality of your work elsewhere in the course, your final
grade will suffer.
Why Do I Use Online Discussion Forums?
1.

I strongly believe that good collaboration makes possible the best possible product of a good education: intelligent, provoking
and meaningful ideas. To this end, I believe that the more students engage with others about the course content (the readings, the
writing assignments, and the issues surrounding them), the better able they become to articulate complex and compelling
thoughts. To help you achieve the kind of sophisticated and nuanced thinking that is born out of collaboration, I have set up a
discussion forum. This discussion forum is a virtual space on the web for students to engage with each other, much as they do
within the confines of the classroom. I believe that adding this component to the class will both enrich the class as a whole and
make the task of what occurs in the classroom more productive. I take participation in the forums seriously, and I encourage you
to do the same. Your grade depends on it. You will find the online discussion forums used

3. I have found that online discussions, when moderated and run properly, increase the students ability to effectively engage with
others in a critical and meaningfully reflective way. I have found that such engagements rarely occur in class on a one-to-one
level. Students are often reflective and critical on message boards in ways that they have never been (or rarely are) in person.
Online, such abilities start to grow. Students start to slowly ask each other for reasons and they slowly begin to learn to critique
each others responses. In addition, the ability for reflection increases as students read a diverse set of opinions and observations
from others, some of which one would rarely hear in class. Thus, despite some limitations inherent in the medium, such
environments can help to develop such skills and serve as a virtual halfway house to real in-person critique and often serve to
significantly increase the quality of not only in-class discussion, but also written analysis.

Academic Misconduct
Plagiarism involves any attempt to represent someone else's words or ideas as your own. These include:
copying your paper or sections of your paper from a friend, off a website, or out of a book without proper citation.
paraphrasing someone else's presentation or idea without giving proper citation.
presenting someone else's ideas as if they were your own ideas.

Plagiarism is a serious offense. I don't take it lightly and I have prosecuted every case I have encountered in my teaching career. Let
me be entirely clear on this:
Any academic misconduct will result in a zero on the assignment. There is no possibility of a lighter consequence such rewriting
the assignment, or merely getting an F on the assignment.

Dear Students and Parents,


I am looking forward to working with you this semester. Please review the above information together
and return the course contract by Thursday, August 20th . I will respond to any questions or comments you note
as soon as possible. Please feel free to contact me via email at cteresi@centralusd.k12.ca.us if you have any
questions or concerns throughout the year.
Sincerely,

Mrs. Teresi

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Philosophy-Honors
Course Contract
We have reviewed and understand the class expectations, consequences, and grading policy for Mrs. Teresis
Philosophy-Honors class at Central High School East Campus.

Student Name ______________________________________________________________________________


Signature _______________________________________________________________Date_______________
Parent/Guardian Name(s)_____________________________________________________________________
Signature ______________________________________________________________ Date_______________
Phone Number _____________________________________________________________________________

Email address ______________________________________________________________________________


Questions and/or Comments

You might also like