PHIL 201: Critical Thinking About Moral Problems

TR: 2PM - 3:15PM, Grace E Harris 4153

Instructor: Dr. Alexander Anderson
Email: awanderson@vcu.edu
Hours: W: 4:30 5:30 PM, Starke House, 915 W Franklin Ave., Rm 304 (The
Office across the landing at the top of the stairs)

Objective: This course is designed to improve your critical thinking skills

and introduce you to a number of topics in ethics. During the semester, we
will critically analyze a number of ethical theories. You will also be
introduced to meta-ethics, which considers the nature of morality. Finally, we
will consider specific moral questions, such as abortion, marriage-equality,
torture, and our obligations to the less fortunate.

Required Text: Russ Shafer-Landau, The Fundamentals of Ethics, 3rd

Edition and The Ethical Life, 3rd Edition

Grading: TOTAL

Two in- class Pop Quizzes 6%

Blackboard Quizzes 18%

Class Participation 6%

Midterm Essays:
(Date to be Determined Available on Blackboard) 30%

Final Exam (Multiple Choice on Blackboard) 40%

Classroom Conduct: No electronic devices of any kind, including

laptops, tablets, and cellphones are to be used during class. No side
conversations. We will, at times be discussing issues which can engender
strong sentiments. Treat each other with respect and courtesy.

Attendance Policy: No points are awarded or subtracted for

attendance and punctuality. That said, more often than not, changes to
assigned readings, test extensions, or changes in grading approach will only
be announced in class. Also, if you miss the pop quizzes, there will be no way
to make up those points.

Dont plagiarize

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PLEASE NOTE!!

Credit toward graduation may be received for only one of PHIL,

201, 212, 213 or 214 - In other words, these courses are redundant. If,
for example, you have taken 213 and are now taking this course, it is
important to note that for the purposes of fulfilling graduation
requirements, they are considered the same course.
Readings:

Will be assigned on a weekly basis, typically on Thursday. That said, there

are some readings that will definitely be assigned. I will make a list of the
readings we will definitely be covering available on Blackboard

A Note About Reading Philosophy:

Reading Philosophy is hard. Very hard. In order to make sense of most

philosophical texts, the material must be read several times. Typically you
will have two texts a week to read. Expect to spend between four and seven
hours, as an absolute minimum, on each text.

The Blackboard Quizzes:

The quizzes are intended to demonstrate to me that you have read and
understood the texts. They will be multiple- choice, and timed (probably a
twenty minute limit). There will be eight to ten questions per quiz. Most of
the questions will pertain to the readings that have been assigned from, The
Ethical Life.

Critical Thinking:

Contrary to popular thought, philosophy is not a think outside the box sort
of discipline. If anything, Philosophy is deeply concerned with the box.
Specifically (and continuing the analogy) Philosophy is concerned with the
nature of the box: what are its limits, what is it made of, and where the Hell
did it come from? Philosophers are also deeply concerned with what should
go in the box, and what has to be or should be left out. The way we pursue
these answers is through reason and critical thinking. Reason and critical
thinking are the tools philosophers use to explore this whole box thing. The
proper name for the tools in question is Logic.

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Logic should be a pre-requisite for all Philosophy courses, even 200 level
classes. Sadly, it is not. That said, in the first couple of weeks of the
semester, you will receive a rudimentary introduction to the tools we use to
explore ideas. Some of you will find this initiation quite enjoyable. Some of
you will hate it. Whichever the case, grasping the basic concepts behind
logic is a necessary pre-requisite to reading the challenging texts that lie
ahead.