ADVENTURE OF IDEAS
Philosophy 110
1/12/2008
GENERAL INFORMATION
University of Tennessee at Martin Department of History and Philosophy
Phil 110: Adventure of Ideas, all sections, 3 credits, no prerequisite
Instructor: Dr. James Fieser
Office: Humanities 216A
Office Hours: MWF 1:00-2:00, and by appointment
Phone: 881-7537 (Office) 588-2791 (Home)
E-Mail: jfieser@utm.edu
Required material: all readings are posted online www.utm.edu/~jfieser/class/course.htm
COURSE PURPOSE, GOALS, AND OBJECTIVES
Catalog Description: The Living Heritage of Philosophy. An introductory study of the philosophical quest for understanding and wisdom from Socrates to Kant. A study of classical Greek, Biblical, medieval, Buddhist, scientific, and early modern thought.
Course purpose: This course is a study of the philosophical thought of the European, Middle Eastern, and Far Eastern cultures from ancient times to the middle of the 18th century. Readings from original sources will include topics such as early Greek explanations of the physical world, Plato's theory of abstract forms and his account of political obligation, Aristotle's theory of the soul, Epicurean and Stoic accounts of the highest moral good, Medieval arguments for God's existence, Confucian and Taoist concepts of the individual and society, Buddhist and Hindu views of self and world.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Tests: Three tests will be given throughout the semester consisting of about 40-60 multiple choice questions each. Test questions will be based on both the lecture material and the text. Students should not assume that all material in the text will be covered in the lectures or that all material in the lectures is covered in the text. Please note that I may discard some questions on exams if in retrospect I see determine that they are unclear. Students will receive a five point penalty for each day an exam is taken late for up to two days. No make up exams will be given after the second day and students will fail the course by default. No make up exams will be given for the final exam at the end of the semester. Do not show up late for class on test days, especially for the final exam. Exam dates are listed in the course reading schedule. The dates are fixed; please do not request that I change them. The third exam will be given during finals week, and will not be comprehensive. Please see the UTM final exam schedule for the day and time of the final exam for your section (the schedule is linked off the following web page: www.utm.edu/departments/registrar/CourseListings.php).
Attendance: Attendance is expected and will be taken regularly; poor attendance may adversely affect your grade by 5-15 points. All students are granted six absences with no penalties; these six absences include both documented and undocumented ones (i.e., so-called “excused” and “unexcused” absences). I advise you to save your six free absences for important contingencies such as university-related activities or doctors’ visits, rather than waste them on sleeping in or extended vacations. University athletes should avoid missing any additional classes beyond their sports-related absences. In rare instances a student may have more than six documented absences in excess of the six free ones. In this situation, the burden is on you to hold onto all of your written excuses until the end of the semester and show them to me only then; you will be penalized for having any undocumented absences beyond your documented ones. Here are some examples. If you have six documented absences, you are safe. If you have three undocumented and three documented absences you are safe. If you have three undocumented absences and four documented absences, you have exceeded your six and will be penalized. If you have no undocumented absences and eight documented absences, you are safe. If you have one undocumented absence and eight documented absences, you have exceeded your six and will be penalized. The aims of this policy are to (1) encourage class attendance, (2) allow students a reasonable amount of flexibility on attendance, and (3) reduce the need for me to make daily judgment calls about what counts as an excused or unexcused absence. Please note that students typically miss more classes than they think they do; thus, I advise that you try to keep track of your absences. Ultimately, however, it is my record of your absences that counts, not your recollections. Students who miss class are responsible for acquiring the missed material from other students.
Tardiness: I understand that students may need to show up to class late. However, routine lateness is disruptive since it requires me to halt class and revise the daily attendance sheet. To discourage chronic tardiness, three tardies will count as one absence. A tardy occurs if a student enters the room after his/her name is called for attendance.
Study Questions: All of the reading material in the course has accompanying study questions, which will be posted on the web. Students are required to handwrite all answers to the questions in a blue exam book (to be purchased from the bookstore). The exam books are due up to three times during the semester on test day, and are worth 5 point each time collected. The exam books will not be returned. Do not copy your answers from other students; I’ll be checking for this.
Short Papers: A few short essay papers of about 700 words each may be assigned throughout the semester. Instructions will be given during the semester as appropriate.
Class Participation: Class participation is encouraged, but not required. The purpose of all class discussion is to help clarify and advance the material under consideration. Please note that I may need to cut short discussions that stray from this aim. Please also note that this course will cover controversial issues and you will likely be exposed to views that differ from your own, particularly in the areas of moral, political and religious philosophy. When discussing these issues, you are expected to respectfully address me and your fellow students, and not let your emotions take over. If you cannot maintain an attitude of respect, or if you are exceptionally sensitive to exposure to controversial issues, then I encourage you to drop this class.
Extra Credit and Lottery Scholarships: No extra credit will be available for this course; the reason is that it is nearly impossible to devise an extra credit system that is fair to everyone and doesn't inadvertently penalize otherwise good students who decline an extra credit opportunity. Students on Lottery Scholarships/Grants should take particular note of this since recipients must maintain a designated grade point average (see http://www.tennessee.gov/tsac/tels_facts.pdf). To avoid jeopardizing your average, please begin working hard at the outset of the semester.
Class Disruption: Penalties for class disruption may include one or more of the following: points deducted from score, lowered grade, relocation to another part of the room, temporary removal from class, permanent expulsion from class, a report to Student Affairs, and a report to your supervisor (e.g., athletic coach, advisor). Continued disruption will result in permanent expulsion from the class and further penalties from Student Affairs. Class disruptions include unnecessary talking with one's neighbor, reading material which is not relevant to this course, leaving class early, ducking out of class to answer your cell phone, text messaging in class, surfing the web on your laptop, profanity, and any other indication of disrespect. If you have a special need to leave class early or receive a cell phone call, let me know in advance. Please be respectful of the fact that crowd control in a class of 50-plus students is difficult, and stray disruptions can compound quickly. I do not object to students eating food that isn’t noisy. I do not object to students discretely dozing off for a maximum of 15 minutes.
Academic Dishonesty: Dishonesty on tests, essays, or study questions will result in the penalties listed above, particularly permanent expulsion from the class and further penalties from the Office of Student Affairs, including expulsion from UTM. Dishonesty with attendance is a form of academic dishonesty, and will result in the same penalties. A common example of this is sneaking out of class through the back door after attendance is taken. Also, if during attendance a student deceptively says “here” (or an utterance to that effect) for an absent friend, both students will be penalized and reported to Student Affairs. Please note that these warnings regarding disruption and dishonesty are not bluffs. In recent semesters I have reported seven students to Student Affairs (who were subsequently put on probation) and have reported five others to their athletic coaches. I have relocated about 10 students to other parts of the room, docked points for about 10 other students, and had one student expelled from school.
Mid-Term Grade: if you receive an F for mid-term, I encourage you to drop the course and try again another semester. While it is possible for you to improve your standing later in the semester, my experience is that bad study habits set in early, and students typically sustain their failing grades throughout the semester.
Course Grade: Final grades will be determined according to the total points from the three exams (120-180 total points), quizzes and Attendance (10-15 points), study questions (15 points), minus penalty points for class disruption and late exams. The total number of points will be between 145 and 215. Students should assume that final grading will follow the standard grading scale, that is, A: 90%, B: 80 %, C: 70%, D: 60 %, F: under 59% and under. However, the final grading scale may be curved slightly lower as will be determined at the end of the semester. Final grades will be calculated at the very end of finals week, and entered into Banner at that time (the print out sheet with the third exam scores will be posted in the hallway at that time, but it will not include final grades). When you receive your final grade at the close of the semester, please do not contact me to request a higher grade.
Implied consent: By remaining in this class you implicitly consent to the class policies and penalties associated with infractions. If you have difficulties with any of the above, I encourage you to drop this course.
Hints for Exams: All exams will emphasize definitions, famous theories, and pro/contra arguments in the assigned readings. I do not stress dates or superfluous names mentioned in the readings; you will get a sense of which names are important based on what I emphasize in class. Your best strategy for preparing for the exam is to outline all the readings (or expand on the outline that I provide for you) and study from that. As a sample of how I typically construct exams, I have posted on the course web page a sample test from a course that I no longer teach (http://www.utm.edu/~jfieser/class/sample-exam.htm).
Disclaimer: The above items are subject to change during the semester.
Disability Services Information: Any student eligible for and requesting academic accommodations due to a disability is requested to provide a letter of accommodation from PACE or Student Academic Support Center within the first two weeks of the semester.
READING AND STUDY QUESTION ASSIGNMENTS
For each of the assigned chapters, answer all of the “Questions for Review” and one “Question for Analysis.” Below is the schedule of assigned chapters and tests.
Chapter 1: Presocratic Philosophy
Chapter 2: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle
[*first exam*: Wednesday, February 13]
Chapter 3: Hellenistic Philosophy
Chapter 4: Asian Philosophy
Chapter 5: Medieval Philosophy
[*second exam*: Wednesday, March 26]
Chapter 6: Renaissance Philosophy
Chapter 7: Rationalism
Chapter 8: Empiricism
Chapter 9: Enlightenment Philosophy
[*third exam*: finals week]